Contribute?
Please?
Volunteer!
Individuals, Youth groups, Social Circles and Corporate Offices wanting a feel good/do good volunteer experience.
We like them all.
Fetch, Haul, Carry. Park Cars, do Trash. These things could be done by paid labor- but the end result is an overpriced theme park.
Fairs are in the process of consolidating, shutting down, and commercializing. It’s not the charity’s job to directly fight this battle.
But History isn’t just for the rich.
Donate!
Help for charity-related positions—those that put on School Day and provide direct support to the guilds—would be a blessing.
They more than deserve to earn a living wage for the work they do.
Collaborate!
The future is out there, waiting to be made.
There’s a generational shift, towards fantasy and video games. We like it. We want it. We want to blend it with other things to mellow it and make something new. Make something meaningful with the change.
This hasn’t happened yet but it will. But we lack direct connections with other adjacent communities. Like County Fair Ag and occult/goth style magic/booths.
Talk to us, and connect us with someone who might be interested.
Join A Guild
The backbone of our community is our Guilds.
They are strong but heavily aging. They need structural support to help with recruitment of the next generation. They need you.
Join a guild.
Or send a teen who needs to socialize more their way. Doesn't matter, fun will be had either way!
You'll be contributing to the direct mission- of helping keep history fun and available to all.
Can't get much more important a contribution than that!
Who will you be helping?
We are obviously lovers of history, and a little nerdy.
But behind every community and cause there's a story. People naturally want to know what the 'Real' story is.
Here's ours:
Renaissance Fayres are from the 60s. They are an incarnation of the spirit of the earliest parts of that era, especially its idealism. Created with the idea of pushing back against sanitized and idealized history. A place to serve as a ‘Revel’- where people could breathe a bit. Let off steam.
This pattern was obviously repeated and intensified by the rest of the 60 era’s outdoor festival movement. They were later and more commercial. Woodstock, Burning man, etc…
The Fayre started before all that, early in 1963 as a southern California countercultural project by Phyllis Patterson and Ron Patterson. Before the rest.
So you might think of Renaissance Fayres as capturing the awkward tween years of hippy culture.
Now, that spirit has faded a bit with time. Even intentionally flirtatious and vulgar spaces, mellow with time. The 60s were a long time ago. You don’t have to hold these values to come play and enjoy.
Nevertheless, this is what actually makes Renaissance Fayres have a special vibe- remnants of hippy idealism, inclusivity, freedom, and joy. Subtle tides that come with as we present our (admittedly TOTALLY nerdy) love of history.
Under the surface, we like to smile.
