Pleasure and Fair
Went to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, which is on the edge of nowhere, and generally populated with people who either have better taste than folks at a Star Trek convention, or who couldn't get in to the Star Trek convention.
I don't mean to sound mean . . . but . . . okay, I do, a little. These folks are weird. Nice but weird. Some are just weird.
If you've never been, well, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing to do. And I mean once. I really can't imagine paying $16 bucks to walk in the heat and the dirt, and be insulted by actors who couldn't get a real job (i.e. waiting tables). Not even 15 seconds inside the gate, a guy dressed up as a . . . I don't know. Some kind of medieval thing. Ugly hat, ugly brown cloak over an oversized shirt -- and he made fun of my Hawaiian shirt. I was surprised I was being criticized over my clothing when the dress code seemed to be overflowing with tights for the men and huge cleavage for the women. Then there were the Musketeer types, and guys in kilts, and others who seemed to have mixed up their vampire garb with their Star Wars retro look.
Although a lot of these people seemed to be enjoying this stab at "dress-up", as if it were some kind of new-found freedom, I got the impression that they wouldn't dare wear any of this to the shopping mall. Then there were some sheepish looks from (mainly) guys who apparently were talked/roped by their girlfriends/wives into attending in full medieval gear when their own common sense might have been leaning away from it. More than once I caught the baleful eyes of some poor man dressed like Dartanian at a gay Halloween party.
Now, it's not all bad. The food is passable, and only over-priced, not outrageous. The beer is a big plus. And getting to watch these weirdos without being one of them is like going to the San Diego Wild Animal Park -- you get to be amongst the creatures and not be eaten.
I don't mean to sound mean . . . but . . . okay, I do, a little. These folks are weird. Nice but weird. Some are just weird.
If you've never been, well, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing to do. And I mean once. I really can't imagine paying $16 bucks to walk in the heat and the dirt, and be insulted by actors who couldn't get a real job (i.e. waiting tables). Not even 15 seconds inside the gate, a guy dressed up as a . . . I don't know. Some kind of medieval thing. Ugly hat, ugly brown cloak over an oversized shirt -- and he made fun of my Hawaiian shirt. I was surprised I was being criticized over my clothing when the dress code seemed to be overflowing with tights for the men and huge cleavage for the women. Then there were the Musketeer types, and guys in kilts, and others who seemed to have mixed up their vampire garb with their Star Wars retro look.
Although a lot of these people seemed to be enjoying this stab at "dress-up", as if it were some kind of new-found freedom, I got the impression that they wouldn't dare wear any of this to the shopping mall. Then there were some sheepish looks from (mainly) guys who apparently were talked/roped by their girlfriends/wives into attending in full medieval gear when their own common sense might have been leaning away from it. More than once I caught the baleful eyes of some poor man dressed like Dartanian at a gay Halloween party.
Now, it's not all bad. The food is passable, and only over-priced, not outrageous. The beer is a big plus. And getting to watch these weirdos without being one of them is like going to the San Diego Wild Animal Park -- you get to be amongst the creatures and not be eaten.
posted by Eric at 3:57 PM
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