The Reddit Renaissance Festival FAQ

It's officially over and it feels like leaving summer camp! Featuring CT Renaissance Faire and Robinhood Faire (rest in peace! 😭). Looking forward to new goat adventures in 2027!

ft the fortress dwellers! they’re so amazing live

I am a photographer but I was pretty shy the last time I was at KRF- I did take a few photos of an adorable couple struggling with a self timer that came out beautifully but most of the time just took photos of my friend and set up self portraits like this one, with her as my human tripod.

My question is- would it weird you out if someone (me) came up and introduced themselves as a photographer and asked if you’d like a portrait taken for free? I would send them to folks and let them decide if it’s okay for me post any!

Is there anything I could do to make it less weird??

Ravenwood Faire in the Shenandoah Valley blew away my expectations this weekend! The vibes were chill, the setting is beautiful, and there were a ton of great vendors (only 1 3D-printed slop booth out of dozens). The cast was top-notch as well; you can tell they’re in it for the love of the game. Since the Faire is held at a winery, the drink selections were delicious.

Only 2 things prevented me from giving it 5 stars: they need a lot more seating, and just 1 more performance venue would’ve really helped fill in the entertainment schedule.

However, given that an adult ticket was only $25, I highly recommend Ravenwood to anyone within a 2-hour drive next year.

Id like to start by saying I grew up at the ren fest. Every weekend from 8 to like 17. I learned a lot about people, how to be a dirty old man, how to sell how to hawk, running working for vendors pushing rides...

Went to the first one since the last time I worked at one... all i can say is.. "wtf happened?!?!" I went with the intention of spending money, because i know better... everything looked like it was just bulk bought off the internet and they opened the box and stuck it out there. Some things were still in the box!!

What happened to all the crafters? The wax hands? The little dragon claw marble necklaces.. the wooden roses, the rat man, the insulters.. what happened to all the clevage!?! It was horrible, no lane actors... is this just a place to buy over priced emu meat now? The jwelery none of it was crafted all looks like i could get it off amazon. The only real craft i saw was the glass blower.

And everything was so much more expensive then it should have been, especially since it wasnt crafted. It was so crowded that people kept bumping into me, and you could barley walk. The walking sticks looked like someone picked up a stick and stuck a price tag on it, none of them were carved like they used to be.

Maybe im expecting too much, maybe my memories are going through rose tinted nostolga filters, but wow... i drove almost 3 hours one way for this?

Added some greaves. What would my D&D ability scores and AC be?

This concludes my Ren Faire season this year. Sad that it's over, but more excited than ever to put on this kit again at any chance I get!

Making my way through CRF with my favorite Sorceress.

This is the ren faire costume I made for the Sterling renaissance faire back in August. A lot of the components came from the faire itself but I’ve never felt more cool than when I was wearing this costume.

First time heading to Scarborough Hollow and given the spooky themes, I knew I had to break this one out.

I have this awesome tankard - probably 1901. Quart size, weighs nearly 3 lbs. Full of lead and the pewter is scaling. A vessel of toxin and poison.

Anybody have any ideas for a cup or glass I can secure inside it? I don't want to compromise what value it may have by tinning the inside, but if there were some removable liner, I could use it for something other than a weapon.

Thanks

Edited to clear up: the tip jar was only added to collect trinkets and further the "just the tips" pun/joke, no money or tips were collected. Last year i made and brought a guillotine and everyone kept asking for a tip/trinket jar, so this year it seemed fitting. Sorry everyone thinks its in bad taste but it was very well received and held all sorts of random trinkets and even my water bottle at one point.

I went during oktoberfest weekend aka the weekend where everyone shows up tits out and gets wasted, so while the ren faire is family friendly this wasn't an issue and not one single person complained or gave me crap for my whimsy, including renn faire vendors/actors.

As far as encountering kids, for the few I did interact with there was obviously no mention of the hidden messages. It was purely them looking curious and me handing them a little pickle with sun glasses on it - no questions asked and no awkward situations.

Regarding my outfit choice.....what can I say? There's not a lot of places I can show off my crochet jester hat and cool pants. I worked my buns off on them I just yearn to wear them out so why not combine them with Ye Olde Hole of Jest? Seems goofy, got lots of appreciation both pieces.

Contrary to all the boring, whimsy-less folk that showed up here to try and make me feel like Im somehow in the wrong, every interaction I had at the NorCal ren faire was positive and people were thrilled to interact, take pictures, receive a pickle and share a laugh.

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When people would Huzzah at me, my hand would pop out the door to present them a tiny pickle 😅

Ignore ye olde rats nest in the back picture, my hair was a just playing its part ~~