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Post by spango on Sept 6, 2007 12:34:54 GMT -5
I only refer to it as "Faire" out of habbit because I used to work at the RenFaire in Southern California.
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Post by sashenka on Sept 17, 2007 19:08:12 GMT -5
So I'm late to this party (a bit of a chronic condition with me), but I saw the post a while back and meant to reply and just never did. I happened upon it again and can't resist the temptation to chime in and show off that folklore degree I worked so hard to get. (On that note: When people are describing the things I do, why does it never come up that I have a master's degree?)
Anywhy, from a folklore studies definition, I'd say it's definitely a festival. So much so that MDRF actually came up in one of my classes when we were discussing festival (and no, it wasn't from me). Festivals are characterized primarily through spectacle. I don't think there's any better word to describe MDRF than spectacle. BF was dead on when he mentioned Mardi Gras. Festival is Carnival in South America, it's Saint's Day Processions. An event which brings a community together for celebration. It doesn't always have to be jolly and boisterous, a number of festivals are are more somber in nature, but it's a coming together to basically put on a collective show in which the audience is the participants themselves. The other thing many festival scholars would tell you is that festival is almost always a means of asserting a collective identity. I think it's pretty fair to say that's what a lot of us do at MDRF.
Fairs are generally a bit more low key. Often they have an educational bent or an emphasis on showcasing certain individuals be they vendors, performers, etc. The lines between spectator and performer (performer including not just stage performers but vendors selling food, artisans selling wares etc) are much clearer. It's more of an "us showing you who we are" as opposed to festival's "us reminding ourselves who we are".
PS--Thanks for a great, if brief, season. I'm going to try to come up one day this weekend.
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Post by Amras on Sept 17, 2007 19:34:25 GMT -5
...besides, you can't have a faire without a livestock show...and elephants don't count...
Amras "Putnam County Florida Agricultural Fair Veteran 1963-1979" Elfwine
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