This year, I went to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire for the first time! I had a great time. I got to see all of the different food, activities, and shops they had to offer. Since it was my first time attending the fair, I had no idea what I was in for. I probably should’ve researched because I made a few rookie mistakes. To ensure you don’t make the same mistakes I did, I will tell you about my day at the fair and recommend what to do and what not to do.
1. Walk to the fair and wear comfortable shoes
The fair opens at 10 am but my friend and I arrived around noon when everybody arrived. As we were nearing the fair we saw this 2–mile–line traffic entering the fair. Unfortunately, there was no detour to get around the traffic, so my group just walked. It was a great decision to walk to the fair but then we ran into my first mistake of the day; I was wearing my boots which are not good to walk around in all day. About halfway through my time at the fair, my shoes were getting uncomfortable and I was starting to get blisters on the back of my ankles. I recommend wearing comfortable shoes or bringing an extra pair, as well as walking the 20 minutes to the fair and not waiting in an hour of traffic.
2. Bring a good amount of money or bring your own lunch
When my group finally arrived at the fair we met up with our other friends and ate food. I got a poke bowl because I wanted something cold and refreshing since it was hot. The food was delicious but it was a bit pricey. The poke was $23 and compared to my local poke place which usually costs about $14 for a normal-sized bowl, the fair’s poke was expensive. I had only brought $40 which I thought was enough to do a good amount of activities but, I had just spent $23 on food. I only had $17 left. Now, $17 sounds like a lot but the Renaissance Fair being as pricey as it is, $17 was not a lot of money. An easier alternative is just bringing your lunch to maximize your experience at the fair. If you bring your own lunch, you will have more money to spend on activities and shops.
3. Wear clothes that you won’t get too hot in
Part of the Renaissance Fair is dressing up in a cute or extravagant Renaissance-esque outfit. However, sometimes these outfits can get hot and stuffy when you are in the sun all day. I was wearing a good outfit for this weather but one of my friends wore a Joker jumpsuit. About an hour into us being at the fair, they were getting super hot so they had to take their costume off but luckily they had something under the costume. The moral of the story is to wear clothing that you won’t get too hot in because you will be walking around in the sun while at the fair.
4. Bring your own water
Luckily, the Renaissance Fair allows attendees to bring water into the fair. They also have water that you can buy for $6 but I would recommend just bringing your own. If you do bring your own water, I would recommend putting it into a large water bottle that will last you all day. If you bring a tiny water bottle, don’t worry, there are water fountains that you can refill your water with, but the water fountain water looks murky and white. When I went to refill my water at the fair, I noticed that the water looked very odd; It looked like water mixed with milk, which I did not trust to drink. So, if you feel like drinking murky water then you can do that but if you don’t want to get sick then I recommend bringing your own water or buying a $6 water bottle at the fair.
This really makes me wanna go!