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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 7, 2007 22:18:31 GMT -5
MDRF. The first Renaissance Festival I ever attended. . . I attended faires mind ye. . .but MDRFestival is named the way it is because it's a FESTIVAL. It's a place where people dress in somewhat Tudor style (I say that only because Sir Black Fox is 12th Century and Pyrates Royale are very GAOP) . . . but it's all there. The festival is called that, in my OPINION, is that it's like Mardi Gras. . . it's a celebration of 19 days of revelry (i.e. the name Revel Grove) and I think, in my OPINION that fair means it's a local thing for just locals. . . look at fairs. . . firemen's carnivals, 4H fairs, pumpkin' chunkin' (another post to come) and others. . .they're just faires. . . . just weekends of a few fun and that's it. FESTIVALS last for months. OK. . . I'm just sitting on words and defending what MDRF is all about. . . that it's a FESTIVAl and not just some fair. You have to admit, there's a LOT that goes on at MDRF that doesn't at Renaissance Fairs. Themes are something Festivals have. . . fairs often just have the same thing over and over. . . . Festivals change up from week to week. OK. . . I defend my FESTIVAL to the hilt. . . . not because of the name but what it means to me. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I met some of my wife's family for the first time. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I saw an old HS friend, Tom Crowl, perform. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I saw my "girlfriend" from a distance and fell in love with just the sight of her. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is the only place I cried after 9-11-01. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I pined a man named Bill who gave me a handshake, then a hug and whispered in my ear "I love Danny Kaye references." He had me at "Danny" The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I complimented on the original Friends of MDRF . org website about the new King Henry "Fred" who thanked me in several emails. He offered to help me propose to Cynthia, which we accomplished in 2003. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where King Henry VIII knighted me, then stood as my best man in front of friends and family who now understood what The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL means to me. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I met some folks who've become the best friends of my life. . . Kevin "Amras" Arrington, Greg "Scotsman" Moore, Michelle "Capt. Chelle" Campbell, Angi "Magpie/Mistress Fetch" Bynum, and the one woman who I adore almost as much as my wife (I said ALMOST) Meredith "Mistress Pepper" Eriksen (I'm still not sure I spelled that right). I'd love to count Fred and Brad among these folks but it works against them in public. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is also where I discovered the SDW when they stalked me and grabbed my posterior without any provoking. . . and Kendell & Tigerlilly (who I adore). . .then you have the sisters Annabelle and (hubba-hubba) Bella. . . . But most of all. . . I fell in love, at The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL, with The O'Danny Girls. . .in all their incarnations. . . . you'll always find me in the crowd or sometimes selling their CDs. . . the ladies are beautiful, tawdry, saucy, and hysterical. If you want to see the best act at The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL, it's the O'Danny Girls. So there I am. . . I started Friends of The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL in 2002 on a Yahoo board. In 2004 I set up a website at my own design site: www.blackfoxdesigns.com . . . . then on its own on 2005 at www.friendsofmdrf.org. Since then, a copycat site of former members set up and they have their own group of "fans" but not the friends we set up. Friends is what MDRF tends to appeal to. Folks that attend MDRF understand that friends goes so much deeper than just being a "fan" of the FESTIVAL. Being a fan means you're outside looking in. . . being a friend means you're part of the entire scene. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL gives back to its patrons in the form of very cooooool ID cards that give you a FREE souvenier (the card itself) and it sets you apart from everyone who's just a "Fan" of the Festival. . . if you buy a Fairever Pass. . .you're a FRIEND.. . . . not some silly fan. The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL Rocks. . . and with all the new changes (like the demise of the "tonight-show-formatted PubSing"). . . and the chance to catch new acts, new entertainment at a totally new festival. . . it will be THE MDRF SEASON to catch. Remember. . .it's FESTIVAL not faire.. . . . because it's festive. . .not just fair.
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Post by Annabelle on Aug 7, 2007 23:29:23 GMT -5
You forgot to mention it's where you get to embarrass people who are near to perfect strangers, ONLY to find them as a very good friend. HUGS!! This was great! And it's definately a festival all the way!
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Post by ladyneysa on Aug 8, 2007 6:06:50 GMT -5
The festival is like your second family. You can't get that at the local county fair. **I must interrupt this message to say* HI ANNABELLE!!! Miss you, HUGS!!!
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Post by jenniferlynn on Aug 8, 2007 6:44:13 GMT -5
Well for some families, fairs are run by family - immediate and extended - and possibly one in the same, if you catch my meaning... and those people wigs me out!!
But I just like the word Faire - with an E - it's quicker to type and funner to say ;D
But it is a FESTIVAL...
Now if I define the word Faire by using Festival does that count??
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 8, 2007 7:09:50 GMT -5
You forgot to mention it's where you get to embarrass people who are near to perfect strangers, ONLY to find them as a very good friend. HUGS!! This was great! And it's definately a festival all the way! If I didn't embarrass you you'd think I didn't luv you darlin'. . . .
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Post by tigerlily on Aug 8, 2007 9:44:54 GMT -5
Like Jenn, I had started to refer to MDRF as "faire" and the season as "faire season" just 'cuz it was easier and faster to say (1 syllable versus 3, sorta flowed)...but I DO regard MDRF just as you do, BF...it's sooooo much more than a fair.
In our neck of the woods, the things you refer to as "fairs" (without the olde English 'e' at the end) are called "carnivals" here...and there are even those things that fit your description of fairs that are called "festivals", not only here, but in the Hampton Roads area of Va. (Harbor Festivals (aka HarborFest) come to mind, as well as the corporate name of the entity that promotes and organizes many events in that area - FestEvents - still referring to the "festival" aspect...) However, I agree with you and figure that those who refer to those weekend events that I've just mentioned are just in error, I suppose. As I said, using the term "faire" for me was just me being lazy...my bad.
We have a lot of bantering around here...good natured teasing, the occasional affectionate embarrassment, lively *ahem* "discussions" as to those things we prefer or not at FESTIVAL, me always seeming to get too wordy or appearing to have the last word (I really don't mean to...I am just a chatterbox, so sue me)...but ALL of that, to me, says not only 'friend' but FAMILY. And for me, anyway, MDRF is our HOME.
Kendall and I live in an area where people would not "get" MDRF. We tell our friends and family here about it and they look at us as if we have 14 heads between us...they get some sort of idea that it's a costume ball and ask questions like, "What are you going to "go as" next year? Has Kendall ever considered "going as" a cowboy? Where do you buy your "costumes"?" They mean no harm, but they just don't get it, no matter how well or how hard we try to explain.
We we revealed to folks here that we'd gotten married at MDRF, we received some very odd looks and I know had people wondering if our marriage was even legit. Many couldn't understand how people that we'd only met (in person) ONE WEEK before our nuptials were not only attending our wedding, but were SUPPORTING us in such a strong and familial way.
We have had many nights driving along with our O'Danny Girls cd blaring away (cover art meticulously and perfectly designed, of course) and us singing to the tops of our lungs the "Moose" song and we have had many evenings sitting on our front porch this past spring and summer, imbibing a beverage and listening to the Pyrates Royale or The Rogues...only to find ourselves BOTH misty eyed and wondering why this is affecting us in such a way. For us, both of us who were born and bred on the Eastern Shore of Va., MDRF was a way of "coming home" that we still cannot figure out. It's truly a spiritual thing for us, made even moreso by the likes of all of those FRIENDS that we met last season. We had attended MDRF for 2 seasons before last year and it was quite special and wonderful...but last year was the coup de'gras for us BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU!! It was like a family reunion, where you'd never met your family members but the minute you did, you knew you loved 'em, 'cause we were all part of the same thing. Yes, I'm getting sappy and maudlin and way too wordy for words, but it's all quite true.
BF, I printed out your initial post here this a.m. and read it to Kendall while he was getting ready to go to the office because reading it had just given me chills and moistened my eyes. He still marvels at the fact that he's even remembered by many folks here in their posts and otherwise, 'cause he knows he's a quiet kinda guy (he figures it's natural for folks to remember me, 'cause I'm so chatty and LOUD!) We may be the long lost relatives of this group, in a sense, 'cause we're not there for the pre and post FESTIVAL parties, the get togethers at northern Va. or Western Md. pubs or taverns, the various pyrate invasions, etc. But, we still consider ourselves family...for better or worse, you guys are stuck with us. Those of you whom we've met, we love you and soooo look forward to seeing you again in a little over 2 weeks...those of you whom I've only met in this forum, we hope to meet you this upcoming season.
Thanks, BF, for putting in such beautiful words, the way that we feel about FESTIVAL...I shall not be lazy any longer and shall always refer to it as the Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL! HUZZAH!! *apologies for the length of this post...we now return you to your regularly scheduled program* BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
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Post by Mathemactor on Aug 8, 2007 10:36:06 GMT -5
The justification for "Festival" given on the web site (ironically, in the section called "What is the Faire?" is that "Every day is a Festival Day in Revel Grove, in honor of a visit by Henry VIII and his Royal Court. As such, the village will have entertainment, crafts, food, and frivolity fit for a king!" It is a stopover on the Royal Progress to celebrate the harvest festival (although this year, it is January, 1540, a bit early for a harvest.) Black Fox, you have so perfectly expressed what is so festive about Revel Grove. Thank you.
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 8, 2007 10:40:07 GMT -5
Thanx. . . to everyone! I wrote that just before midnight and after a few glasses of wine, going through the Renaissance FESTIVAL journals that we started back in 2000. I stopped adding stuff to them in 2004 when when we switched to using a digital camera. I plan to get the journals of photos back online at www.blackfoxdesigns.com as several folks on this board miss them and have said that those online RenJournals were the reason they got involved with our www.friendsofmdrf.org site in the firstplace. I try to get some of it up by tonight.
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Post by fedelmia on Aug 10, 2007 16:53:28 GMT -5
I've always called the MDRF "Renfest"! But then my daughters began to work there a few years ago and became 'rennies' and it was "FAIRE", mom....not renfest! So I go back and forth with it. I still call it renfest, because it IS a festival. I guess sometimes when I'm around certain folk I might say 'faire' because they are 'rennies' and that's their terminology. I don't know if I consider myself a 'rennie' because there's negative connotations with it. So if you are a regular 'go-er'...what else is one called besides rennie? wench? rogue? pyrate? etc. Rennie does seem to define one as a renaissance festival regular... what do y'all dub yourselves? Counting the days.... ~fedelmia
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Post by Lady Ravenwolves on Aug 10, 2007 17:14:03 GMT -5
I go to Renfest. Renfest is where Clan Ravenwolves first discovered a place we could all have fun.
Our family is blended, not shaken or stirred, and with Fenris and Cravan marrying Midnight, Morning, and I - then adding in the Captain - well we needed a place we could just be happy and have fun. No schedule (other than running to the shows) and no worries about what was that tradition or what this family wants to do. Now we have Renfest - where we all have a good time and have a lot of memories. I credit most of our relaxation and ease of combining the household to Revel Grove.
I rarely use Faire - unless it's to distinguish which board I am talking on. I belong to both. Faire sounds olde tyme and cool... which is what I like to be.... but reality is my accent runs away once I get excited. (read I have the accent at home and in the car - but can't hold it in public.)
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Post by Mathemactor on Aug 10, 2007 17:34:17 GMT -5
...So if you are a regular 'go-er'...what else is one called besides rennie? wench? rogue? pyrate? etc. Rennie does seem to define one as a renaissance festival regular... what do y'all dub yourselves? Counting the days.... ~fedelmia I prefer the term "Renner". I mean, you wouldn't refer to a Trekker as a 'trekkie', would you?
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 10, 2007 18:24:47 GMT -5
it was "FAIRE", mom....not renfest! Proof that even "Rennies" can be incorrect!
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 10, 2007 18:26:08 GMT -5
Our family is blended, not shaken or stirred, and with Fenris and Cravan marrying Midnight, Morning, and I - then adding in the Captain - well we needed a place we could just be happy and have fun. We've missed you folks! Can't wait to see you!
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 10, 2007 18:29:08 GMT -5
I prefer the term "Renner". I mean, you wouldn't refer to a Trekker as a 'trekkie', would you? I go with the long term Renaissance Enthusiast Not Noticing Incongruencies Ever. Well that seems a bit long. . .lemme' break that down to an acronym (we Navy veterans are known to do that). . . R.E.N.N.I.E.Rennie.uh. . . . nevermind.
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pynchosalt
Ren Geek
But why is the rum gone?
Posts: 88
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Post by pynchosalt on Aug 10, 2007 19:02:16 GMT -5
...So if you are a regular 'go-er'...what else is one called besides rennie? wench? rogue? pyrate? etc. Rennie does seem to define one as a renaissance festival regular... what do y'all dub yourselves? Counting the days.... ~fedelmia I prefer the term "Renner". I mean, you wouldn't refer to a Trekker as a 'trekkie', would you? But what if you're a Renner and a Trekker all rolled into one tidy package -- in garb, of course.
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Post by alrowell on Aug 10, 2007 19:35:57 GMT -5
Rennie does seem to define one as a renaissance festival regular... what do y'all dub yourselves? Drunk in a kilt; I think Mongo uses this too. It may apply to others...
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 10, 2007 19:44:01 GMT -5
Drunk in a kilt; I think Mongo uses this too. It may apply to others... DIAK. . . . sounds like a new Ren-specific anagram!. . .Oh, and nice to see ya Quad. . . got the liver conditioned for the season, mate?
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Post by jenniferlynn on Aug 10, 2007 19:50:31 GMT -5
AL!! er I mean QUAD!!! Whatever - HEY!!!!!!
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Post by ladyneysa on Aug 10, 2007 19:52:29 GMT -5
I go to Renfest. Renfest is where Clan Ravenwolves first discovered a place we could all have fun. HI !!!!!!! Welcome back!!! I'm confused- Are we gonna see you at fest this year? I thought you were gonna be out to sea during faire season. I hope we get get to see you! Clan Ravenwolves rocks!!!
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Post by fedelmia on Aug 10, 2007 23:32:52 GMT -5
"I prefer the term "Renner". I mean, you wouldn't refer to a Trekker as a 'trekkie', would you? "
mmm...well, i do consider myself a 'trekkie' but that's because of a certain tv show!
'renner' has a certain britishness to it, wot wot?
i like the 'drunk in a kilt'....i've been around that kinda stuff most of my life seein as how i grew up with a father who was in a pipe band and we made the scottish game tours all summer long! and i even became a drunk (and other mind influencing substances) in a kilt, too, at one time....during my pipe band days... but that's another subject.
i guess i'll just have to see what fits...i just enjoy going to renfest and i never really thought of myself as 'any one' other than me! i've always gone with friends and family and last year the thought occurred to me that i need to expand my boundaries and i want to befriend others who go often! i tend to be shy, at first, so this (place) is a good way to get my toes in the water!
i do like how renfest is very meaningful to y'all...the memories you have shared show me what kind of people youse guys really are! gettin mushy now... ~fedelmia ;D
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Post by rezidentevil on Aug 11, 2007 14:47:05 GMT -5
Ren Faire or Faire.
I do not consider myself a "Rennie" a "Ren-Rat" or any other label. Labels are for food.
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Post by jenniferlynn on Aug 12, 2007 10:32:39 GMT -5
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Post by Lady Ravenwolves on Aug 12, 2007 11:06:49 GMT -5
Are we gonna see you at fest this year? I thought you were gonna be out to sea during faire season. My "Cruise" date moved unil November - So I GET RENFEST!!! Then the fun starts (8 months gone)
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April
PLAYTRON!
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Post by April on Aug 13, 2007 8:12:26 GMT -5
Stop me if this sounds crazy (I am an amateur linguaphile), but I think that there is a FEST (festival, festivities, feasting) going on at the FAIR(e). So MDRF is BOTH festival AND fair(e)! And, even though it may not always be technically speaking "right" or "correct" or "authorized", Wikipedia is how the new Orwellian reality and history is being defined (or was that redefined?) in the collective consciousness, and the W supposes Renn Fests to be henceforth known as: Renn Fairs en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_fair ALAKAZAM - so it is. And if Wikipedia says 2+2=5, then it shall be so...! "A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community." "A fair is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment" But Answers.com must be impartial, right? "An often regularly recurring program of cultural performances, exhibitions, or competitions: a film festival." I propose then, my fellow readers still holding on for the point of this post, that we are fairgoers enjoying the festival activities at the fair, not festgoers enjoying fair activities at the festival.
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Post by Mongo on Aug 13, 2007 8:22:17 GMT -5
Rennie does seem to define one as a renaissance festival regular... what do y'all dub yourselves? Drunk in a kilt; I think Mongo uses this too. It may apply to others... It's when I'm drunk and lose the kilt problems start
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 13, 2007 8:41:38 GMT -5
I like it when pretty women confuse me.
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Post by alrowell on Aug 13, 2007 12:55:29 GMT -5
It's when I'm drunk and lose the kilt problems start Amen to that...
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Post by jenniferlynn on Aug 13, 2007 19:48:57 GMT -5
I like it when pretty women confuse me. it does tend to happen to you alot... hehehe ;D
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Post by Sir Black Fox on Aug 15, 2007 6:56:26 GMT -5
So it must not be that much of a pet peeve and not really that much of a personal preference if even you are going to use them interchangeably. I still call MDRF renfest. Wow, that's a lot of work to prove your point. . .good job!
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Post by Mathemactor on Aug 15, 2007 11:31:27 GMT -5
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less." -Humpty Dumpty
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