Ren Fair Camping

I thought it would make a fun post to tell y'all the differences between regular camping and camping at a ren fair.

The first thing you notice when you drive into the campgrounds at a ren fair is the number of people in kilts and/or pirate hats who are setting up their campsite. Of course somewhere off in the distance you can hear bagpipe music being played loudly.

For regular camping you look for a nice quiet spot. Not so at a ren fair... you judge how close to the common bonfire/gathering area you will be. You get your camp set up, have a beverage and then head out on "walk-about". It's like going for a walk to see if you know anyone, greet your neighbors or just people watch.

In the ren campground you try to arrange your campfire in the middle of the tents and trailer area and then park your vehicles on the outside to try to prevent people from wandering through your camp. But this still doesn't work... we have many people walk (or stumble) through. We don't really mind though... we just say hello and chat for a while anyway... unless they're very drunk and just need to move on.

One must always be on the lookout for "drunk traps" when you're on walk-about at a ren fair campground. A drunk trap is the ropes or strings used on a tent to secure it to the ground or a nearby tree. When I'm with my crew on walk-about (and as we sometimes stumble through someones camp) the leader always tells those behind them when we find a drunk trap.

When you're camping at a ren fair you only need to bring food for Friday night and Sunday morning. The rest of your meals you can buy in the fair. You do need drunk food (snacks) to absorb too much alcohol sometimes.

When night falls it's time to head over to the bonfire. There are always drummers and fire spinners. There are lots of women dressed as belly dancers and shirtless guys dancing around to the beats of the djembres (African drums - see link above) round the fire. They have started putting up a tent near the bonfire where they play dance music. We call it the "rave tent". Of course we always go rave for a while...

Saturday morning everyone gets in costume and heads to the main gate. We drag ourselves back to camp by nightfall and rest a spell before we go back to the bonfire which is always more lively after a day of fair and drinking. We usually change into regular clothes... though a lot of people don't.

Sunday morning we pack up camp. Some head back into the fair for another day, others head home.

This is me at a bonfire several years ago... LOL. I always have a great time!