Great Kilts?? at the Renn Faire

[Shay]

I always thought that it was common knowledge that Renaissance Faires were in existance to provide men with an outdoor venue to get ripped on some interesting ales, get them well fed on whole turkey legs, and afford them the entertainment of leather-clad women!

Silly boys. They hold Ren Faires so I get to see men dressed as pirates and men dressed in kilts running around eating turkey legs and quaffing ale without the slightest idea how ravishable it makes them look.

Yarr....

[Schultz]

I think it's possible to attend these events and have fun provided you don't take them seriously. Offer a knowing wink, let your guard down, and enjoy the bufoonery for what it is.

I wholeheartedly agree. I took my ex-girlfriend, who was finishing up her degree in medieval studies, to her first Ren Faire (the MD one) a few years ago and all she could do was criticize this and that, how anachronistic some things were. She totally missed the point. I had a blast as usual.

My fiancee used to work at the Ren Faire (again, MD) and now going there still elicits some criticism, but its of a different variety. She just laughs at all the people, her former friends, who are still stuck "living there", as it were. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience...even if she doesn't like the smoked turkey legs.

[davedove]

That's why I LOVE to play at these things! Do you have any idea what the view is like from the stage?!!!

I don't care if they think they're Elizabethan or Ethiopian, as long as they're dressed like THAT!!!

Ah, the wonders of a well worn bodice! ;)

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Silly boys. They hold Ren Faires so I get to see men dressed as pirates and men dressed in kilts running around eating turkey legs and quaffing ale without the slightest idea how ravishable it makes them look.

Yarr....

I guess that explains why I don't see the Barleyjuice wives around while we're up there!

When the cat's away...

[arycogre]

I went to the PA Renn Faire yesterday and it was kind of funny what some of the men were wearing for kilts.

Heh, just a couple of weekends ago I went to a RennFaire here in Washington where I saw much the same thing. The sight that amused me the most was a guy wearing a plaid skirt. Now, mind you I wouldn't be shocked at the sight of a man in a plaid skirt, but with the rest of what he was wearing you could tell that he intended for it to appear as a kilt. Of course, it had no pleating and was so light in weight it could likely have blown up from the mere act of someone whistling at him.

I've never expected anything accurate from any RennFaire I've ever been to, so I just take it as diversionary entertainment. Of course it always bothers me when the actors' fake Scottish accent is worse than one of my fake Scottish accents (which I have been told is pretty damned decent by a couple of people who have it naturally). The reason I pluralize is because I do 4 different Scottish accents based on region. Of course I don't really know what those regions are since I patterned them after actual Scots, but have never known specifically where they come from. But back to the point, grrrrrr... if you're going to play a part with an accent, learn to do it correctly! It's all part of what being an actor is all about.

[Jimmy Carbomb]

But back to the point, grrrrrr... if you're going to play a part with an accent, learn to do it correctly! It's all part of what being an actor is all about.

Kind of like those guys from New Jersey at a Country bar? That's the guy who wears the jeans, hats and boots and thinks that John Deere is THE tractor for actual farming? The same guys that thinks "International Harvester" is an illegal Mexican migrant worker? The same one who drinks Coors lite shows-up in a Honda? The one who thinks that adding "y'all" to every sentence makes him a hick?

Nah. I can't relate to what you're talking about!

[MACKAY]

Yes, that is a sad situation Todd. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do except to try to educate them (if they're willing). It's bad enough when even history books don't always agree, let alone when entertainment throws its version into the works.

True .. all too often perception becomes reality ... we have seen many examples of historical fiction / entertainment being defended as hard fact by those who lack the will or ambition to discover and research on their own.

Brian

[gmcdavid]

There were quite a few tailored kilts that didn't look too bad. There were a lot of men though that wore a tailored kilt with some kind of matching tartan (usually a folded cloth) worn over their shoulder and tucked into their belt that I'm sure they thought made it look like a great kilt. Some of their tailored kilts were also pretty cheap looking,

I saw similar things at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival over this past weekend.

As far as I could tell, there wasn't a single true great kilt in the bunch.

Minnesota did better than that. I saw a lot of great kilts there (BTW, I was wearing one).

I've always considered the Faire to be "street theatre". It is based on history, but it is far more entertainment that education.

Agreed. You have to approach it that way.

Also, at least here in Minnesota, that is what the Faire Management wants. They are not particularly interested in accurate history. I know of two reenactment groups around here that have been told they are no longer welcome at the Faire. The Faire is not an educational institution. It is a business, looking to increase its profits.

The participants (actors) I've spoken to have seemed to be very dedicated to their craft. They're working just as hard at what they do as the most dedicated reenactors, they're just approaching things from a different angle. Rather than making things as absolutely historically accurate as possible, they're making them as entertaining as possible.

I know some Faire performers, and respect them and their work. If anything, I pity them; they are being exploited by the management.

The same thing happens in literature- 'Clan of the Cave Bear' is rife with historical inaccuracy in the name of dramatic license, but it got me interested in a certain period of history and the real theories and facts behind the stories.

Yes, everybody has to start somewhere. I know several people who started at Ren Faires and then went on to more more serious, or at least more accurate, historical reenactment.

While I can easily spot historical errors at the Faire, I never make a public comment about them. I do not enjoy being unpleasant. Besides, there is no fun in shooting at such easy targets :-)

Also, while there is a lot of nonsense, there are a few exhibits and craft demos that I find quite interesting.

One more thing: Saturday my wife and I visited a lot of the vendors. At a few of them she particularly admired one or another item. Sunday she stayed home. So I went back to those vendors and have now done a lot of my Christmas shopping!

Glenn

[macwilkin]

While I can easily spot historical errors at the Faire, I never make a public comment about them. I do not enjoy being unpleasant. Besides, there is no fun in shooting at such easy targets...

That is my philosphy as well, Glenn -- while I was attending my mother's hometown festival, Corn Days in Dowa, Iowa, I watched a local Civil War reenactment group give a presentation on the weapons, uniforms and equipment of the Civil War -- there was quite a bit of "questionable" information in the program, and very little mention of Iowa's contributions to the war, yet an overabundance of "folksy" stories and myths -- But I bit through my upper-lip and left the program without saying anything, since it was their program. Even identifying myself as a park ranger at the Civil War battlefield might be construed as "one-upsmanship", so I decided to go back to the free sweet corn stand! :mrgreen:

Cheers,

Todd

[Shay]

I started a new thread on kilts as 'garb,' if anyone's interested.