23 Sep
Just Some Pics From the Fair
Posted on 2010 under Homeschooling, Renaissance Fairs | No Comment
Archives for Renaissance Fairs category
I don’t know what the attendance was for the 2010 Santa Fe Renaissance Fair, but I know that my “booth” had a constant flow of people coming through. Of course, my “booth” was a little different then most, as it was a 20 foot diameter yurt (or a “ger” if your from Mongolia). Last year’s attendance was around 5,000 – I am guessing that this year’s was even higher.
We had numerous homeschool families stop by to visit, which gave us the chance to explain who we are and what services we provide. We also discussed our future goals and aspirations, including the development of a Medieval living history museum (very similar in concept to the El Rancho de los Golondrinas museum where the fair was held. We had alot of positive feed back, and the activities we had provided for the kids gave everyone a chance to experience a little of Medieval life.
We also met alot of kindred spirits. I am hoping to join up with a pottery maker out of Los Lunas, a “zoo” in Edgewood, and bowmaker from Albuquerque. And of course, we met alot of people who were just wanting to see the inside of a yurt! I will post pics as soon as I get them downloaded. There were several others taking photos, so I will either have them posted here, or I will provide a link.
Well, I can’t believe the summer has gone by so fast . . . and now we’re only a few days away from September and the Santa Fe Renaissance Fair. The “fair” will be held September 18 – 19. Here is the link for their website – Santa Fe Renaissance Fair. 
We will be locate in the SCA village – just look for the yurt, that large round tent with the red door. There will be signs posted: “Medieval Living – Resources for Homeschool Families” or something to that effect. Just come on in and see what we have. This is a good opportunity for homeschool families and co-ops to visit and find out more about our services. We are looking forward to meeting everyone and talking about the future of Medieval Living and what we are hoping to accomplish.
We’re looking forward to this fall – cooler weather and maybe a return to well-attended class and events. In particular, we’re excited about the Santa Fe Renaissance Fair in September and the Farmington Renaissance Fair in October. Both events will be at no cost to Medieval Living, as we are only interested in educating others about Medieval life as well as advertising our free services to the homeschool families in New Mexico.
I had hoped to have some additional classes in July, but my calendar keeps filling up with “other” activities – unfortunately, in order to have funds to support our fall activities schedule, I’ve had to take on additional paid work . . . which in turn takes away from my available time during the summer. I am really hoping that by this time next year, we will have located some major fund sources so that we can focus entirely on Medieavl Living. That includes salaries ( 3 full time and one part time) as well as a classroom and activity center (temporary, until the day we acquire land and begin constructing the musuem/village).
OH BY THE WAY . . . if any of the local folks happen to shop regularly at Albertson’s Market grocery stores, please contact me to receive an Albertson’s Community Partners card. Every time you shop at Albertsons, you show them the card (they will scan it) and then 1 percent of your purchase price will be donated to Medieval Living. There is no cost for you, you do not have to sign-up for anything, and Medieval Living is supported through your patronage of Albertsons Market. Just drop me an email or post a comment on the “Contact” page and I will send you a scan card. The ones I have now are temporary – within the month I should receive the little tags that you can put on your key ring. Thank you for your support!!!
We don’t have July and August planned out yet, but we do have an activity for Septermber! The Santa Fe Renaissance Fair will run September 18 and 19 at the El Rancho de las Golondrinas living history museum in Santa Fe. We have just made arrangements to have a booth at the fair. Activities will include many of the things we are doing already, such as playing the pennywhistle, nine men morris and so on . . . but we hope to add many more fun activities for everyone to enjoy.
This will also give us more visibility in the Santa Fe community, letting those homeschool families know who we are and what we can offer them. We really haven’t made any contacts with homeschoolers in Santa Fe, so this will be an excellent opportunity.
Another very exciting aspect of this is that we will be working in concert with El Rancho de las Golondrinas, which is a Spanish-colonial era living history museum. Since one of our long term goals is the establishment of our own living history museum, being at this event will give us opportunity to visit with the staff at El Rancho de las Golondrinas and to gain some insight into operating a living history museum. I can also see the chance for some collaboration between Medieval Living and El Rancho de las Golondrinas, both in the development of our own program, but also in providing additional resources for their program . . . one of those proverbial win-win situations.
Oh . . . and if you have never been to a Renaissance fair, this would be a really nice first event. In particular, Santa Fe’s very own Clan Tynker will be performing throughout the day – juggling, music and more. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of knowing this wonderful family, as they are frequent attendees at Society for Creative Anachronism events. Visit the Santa Fe Renaissance Fair’s website to learn more.
And if you act now . . . I sound like one of those pitch men on those cheesy television commercials . . . there is a poster contest for the fair . . . here is the link for that as well. Hmmm, Septermber is looking like a great month already!!!
