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hopefully-a-good-buy t1_ixuyevr wrote

King Richard’s New England Renaissance Fair is super cool.

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SolitudeNH t1_ixv102q wrote

This was what I was gonna say. Been there for a long time, my sister worked there and I went as a kid (25+ years ago). Wicked fun, clean, and very well done, not campy or cheaply put together. Plus the turkey legs….oooh the turkey legs. I have few memories from childhood, lots of head injuries, but I clearly remember those turkey legs!

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fightfortheright603 t1_ixvgno1 wrote

I love king richards! Every weekend has a different theme like a game of thrones weekend or a cleavage themed weekend

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gerdataro t1_ixv5s2f wrote

It’s a hike, but the one in Tuxedo, NY is worth the travel. There’s budget accommodations in the area and it runs from late summer to early fall. Highly recommend, but def would try to steer to cooler weather.

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MGermanicus t1_ixvw5xz wrote

The NH Ren Faire is cool, bit small as others have said. King Richard's is an institution but pricey with scammy food tickets. I really like the VT ren faire. It's not huge but has great craft beer/mead/cider and has a good variety of vendors and food trucks.

Maine is fine, but also a clusterfuck. You can get costume stuff at faires or websites like Calimacil.

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ralettar t1_ixvwanm wrote

That Vermont one sounds great

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MGermanicus t1_ixwgtbg wrote

It's definitely my favorite of the ones, even if it is a bit of a drive. Groenfell Meadery is an organizer for it and their shit is amazing.

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ralettar t1_ixxkn88 wrote

I don’t live far from the Moonlight Meadery and know a guy who makes really good mead at home. Always down to try a new place!

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No1_Nozits_Me t1_ixxm4se wrote

We've gone to the NH Ren Faire many times and have always had a blast.

We went to King Richard's Faire for the first time this year, and we'll never waste our money again.

Now, we're, once again, eagerly awaiting the NH Ren Faire in May. Highly recommended for all ages.

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Accurate-Temporary73 t1_ixxy4b4 wrote

Just curious why do you feel that way about king Richards? I used to go almost every year but haven’t in a long time.

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No1_Nozits_Me t1_ixysscv wrote

It was basically a day of standing in line after line for anything we wanted to do. We expected a long line to get in, of course. But then there were lines to buy tickets for food, lines to buy food, lines to buy drinks, lines for rides, etc. Each line was 20-25 people long, and the employees seemed to have no desire to be fast and efficient at getting the lines moving.

Trying to get food and drinks was especially ridiculous. After standing in line for tickets for food, we stood in one line for a burger, had to go to a different line for chicken fingers and yet another line for a pretzel, even though all the windows shared the same kitchen space behind them. The person at each window would only sell what their window advertised, even though they had to walk past the other items to get it. Between tickets and food, we were in line for nearly 90 minutes, just to have lunch.

There was also no real happiness coming from the actors. Everyone just seemed in a bad mood, giving off negative vibes, and completely unhappy.

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stephithewolf t1_ixy27n8 wrote

I used to work there. The newer owner Bonnie is so bad. Doesn't care about the actors or booth owners. So much drama. It's really gone down the drain and the price jack doesn't help. It started before covid.

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No1_Nozits_Me t1_ixz5xjz wrote

We actually sat with a woman who worked there in through the 90s but hadn't been back until this year. She said it was completely different and she'll never go back again.

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stephithewolf t1_iy05gzv wrote

I know a lot of the jousters, and worked for a couple booths. Just to give you an idea of how bad it's gotten. The new owner at one point was refusing to let the booth owners and jousters stay at the fairgrounds. People would drive hours to work there. After about 5-6 booths said if you don't let us stay we're pulling out for good. It was pretty damn bad. The jousters said you can either pay for our horses to stay at a barn for the faire season or we're done. It was so bad. The head of security Norm was telling me that the owner was scrambling and almost closed because she was a dimwit. I haven't gone in a couple years but to be honest it's not what it was.

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No1_Nozits_Me t1_iy0fz0n wrote

I love the NH Ren Faire, so I was excited to finally go to King Richard's Faire after hearing years of hype, but I'll never waste my money going back again. Very disappointing.

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brain_freese t1_ixztery wrote

It has gotten massive and expensive. The NH one is smaller, cheaper, and more accessible.

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Impossible-Bear-8953 t1_ixv29k4 wrote

Get into, like participate? Attend? NHRF is held in May in Fremont. If you want to be a performer or vendor, you'll want a digital portfolio of your work before you teach out to the sites.

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smdifansmfjsmsnd OP t1_ixv2eac wrote

Not exactly sure but just been thinking it looks like a lot of fun to dress up and participate however possible.

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Impossible-Bear-8953 t1_ixvewje wrote

Dressing up is always fun. If you want to "get your feet wet", the SCA holds a winter market on Jan 28-29 in Manchester. Period dress is required for attendance, but they also have a small lending closet for folks who are in need.

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WeAreNotNowThatWhich t1_ixveid9 wrote

Anyone can dress up! It’s really fun and you don’t need a professional level costume either. Just if you plan to have edged weapons (like a sword) as part of your costume it needs to be sheathed and peace-tied, which means zip-tied into the sheath so it can’t be drawn. And no crossbow bolts or arrows. Bows with no arrows are ok. My advice is bring a bag with water and money in and stay all day! We went to king Richard’s faire near Boston this year and it was really fun!

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realnrh t1_ixvnhyc wrote

You can go without dressing up. One way you can do it is to put your costume together over time from things you get at the fair itself, so the costume itself is a memento of your visits.

You can also always dress up as Deadpool because Deadpool goes anywhere, or as the Doctor from Doctor Who because time-travellers are always period-appropriate.

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gardenfey t1_ixwfxwh wrote

There's also one in central Massachusetts called Mutton & Mead. Lots of fun!

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thatskatingkid t1_ixx403o wrote

I went for a few years while I was in high school, and it was always so fun and welcoming. And the staff were always so fun to roleplay with too!

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ThunderySleep t1_ixvvs4b wrote

Highland Games seem to be the big festival of that nature in NH. Tickets aren't cheap and I think you have to order them pretty far ahead.

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Squirrel_Toboggan t1_ixx0mi2 wrote

We used to go to the renaissance festival in Sterling NY when i was a kid, it was alot of fun. My sister worked there as a cake wench one summer. Looks like it's still in operation.

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DeuceClimaxx t1_ixxcprn wrote

Love the Ren Fair, sadly I haven’t been able to go in a while. King Richard’s is probably the closest around here in Carver MA

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ThatWerewolfTho t1_ixv29un wrote

There's on in Kingston. Never been but they do it every year.

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komoriman2016 t1_ixvj2p3 wrote

It’s very small and is only 2 weekends in may. Something to note is maine has one at the acton fair grounds in late July. It was very busy when we went

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dc551589 t1_ixxsnvb wrote

Franklin has a small one I’ve been to once. It’s fine.

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ForEverCurious22 t1_ixuz62i wrote

Yes. One happens on Mother's Day weekend. There are also others in surrounding New England states that go on throughout the Summer.

If you are just casually interested, or don't want to devote a lot of time, you are perfectly able to just show up at ren fairs when they happen.

If you want to get more involved, I would look up a local chapter of Society for Creative Anachronism

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OkBody2811 t1_ixvrrrl wrote

Not a renaissance fair but maybe similar is the New Hampshire Highland Games every early September. It’s good clean fun.

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chipach1 t1_ixw3qhp wrote

The Franklin Lions Club hosts one, I think annually. It was a month or so ago in Odell Park in Franklin.

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OTIS-Lives-4444 t1_ixv10v0 wrote

The Black Swan Inn in Tilton had a small one each summer, although that may have stopped with COVID.

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BoopSnoot_Riot t1_ixx4s53 wrote

I think there’s one in a field in Fremont or Epping

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Lilly6916 t1_ixxc0q7 wrote

It was in Kingston, but I think it was held somewhere else this year.

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Blicks666 t1_iy3gm6v wrote

Worthy of mentioning is last time I attended the NH Ren Faire there was no alcohol allowed or offered at the event. Not sure if that's changed as someone mentioned a venue change.

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