If you love hours of traffic and long lines, then you’ll love the New York Renaissance Fair! On Saturday 9/16 Jake and I set out on the long drive back to Tuxedo, NY to attend for the second-time ever, what is largely considered to be one of the North-east’s best Renaissance Festivals.
We purchased our tickets the night before and planned to arrive shortly after opening, around 10:30 am, but the poorly designed fair entrance had other plans for us. When we were about 2.5 miles from the parking entrance we hit a wall of stopped traffic. We sat for over an hour in line with other would-be-fair-goers on a median-divided state highway with very few opportunities to turn around, and really no other way in or out. When we hit the traffic, the fair had just sold out for the day, so many of the people sitting in traffic with us likely did not have tickets and were waiting for nothing.
The parking lot itself was nice enough; a large field that seemed well drained and free of rocks despite being surrounded on 2 sides by marshland. No one got stuck in the mud and that’s more than we can say for other events. The walk to the fair itself from the car was a quarter-mile or a crowded shuttle-ride. We walked the forest pathway.
As expected it was crowded inside. The permanent fair grounds has themed buildings and vendor booths lining narrow streets. The grounds were well-kept but there wasn’t enough space for the long lines and soon the streets and picnic area were clogged with people waiting rather than moving.
Jake got his hair done at one of two hair-braiders, and then we did a little shopping. For shows we saw Aaron bonk break a world record at whip-juggling, a Eurasian goshawk brushed Jake’s head as it flew by at the aviary show, and a ventriloquist told flat jokes with a skeleton puppet. The former two shows were very good. The birds always delight and if you do brave this fair yourself, I highly recommend checking out Sky Kings Falconry.
There wasn’t much time to see any more entertainment because it took so long to get lunch! There were a few dancers that we missed which I would have liked to have seen. We split up to wait in two different food lines for easily an hour. The food was pricey but there was decent variety and it was actually very good food. Usually a blooming onion is too greasy to enjoy, but the NY ren fair served up a crispy onion that was not over-fried.
There was of course, no place to sit for lunch since the picnic areas were over-crowded, so we sat in the grass and flinched as people stepped around us. The food was good, but I can’t say the dining experience was relaxing.
We didn’t purchase anything at the fair to take home other than Jake’s hairstyle, but the vendors were pretty good. There was a wide range of products, mostly well-made, and mostly expensive for anything extraordinary. Of course you get what you pay for when it comes to bespoke or one-of-a-kind leather. If you’re ready to shell out hundreds if not thousands for custom boots, fur, and armor, this isn’t a bad fair to check. However for staple pieces like a decent structured bodice, the hole that Moresca left since leaving the fair is noticeable.
So what did we wear? Jake had a new shirt from the thrift store in orange and blue stripes which he paired over his viking undershirt and ottoman pants. He received compliments on his Armstreet boots from the woman that was selling boots. I made his undershirt, jerkin, and pants, as well as the water-bottle pouch he’s carrying. The sword is from Sabersmith.
I wore my newly finished 14th century-inspired fancy hat-bonnet-veil-cap! Which I wrote about last week.
It matches my shiny green overskirt. I made my skirts, hats and pouches while the bodice is from Crimson Leather, and I wear it all the time. The shirt is from TJMaxx!
While we were waiting in line again to exit the parking lot at the end of the day, Jake and I decided that this probably isn’t a fair that we need to return to. If I knew for a fact that it wasn’t going to be crowded, I would consider it, but overall it has grown too big for its britches, as Jake put it.
We still had a lot of fun, but there was a way too much waiting and time wasted in ratio to the fun available.
