Faire Tidings
@fairetidings.bsky.social
Renaissance Faire Directory and News
Age of Chivalry ends today, Oct. 11, in Las Vegas. What would you tell someone going to their first faire?
Keep the curiosity going beyond the weekend. Learn about Renaissance faires with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Keep the curiosity going beyond the weekend. Learn about Renaissance faires with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Faire Tidings Crier | Brian Colburn | Substack
A Herald's Call to the Faire Folk of the Realm
The weekly newsletter bringing verified news, profiles, and craft from across the US Renaissance faire circuit. Click to read Faire Tidings Crier, by Brian Colburn, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 12, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Age of Chivalry ends today, Oct. 11, in Las Vegas. What would you tell someone going to their first faire?
Keep the curiosity going beyond the weekend. Learn about Renaissance faires with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Keep the curiosity going beyond the weekend. Learn about Renaissance faires with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
The Texas Renaissance Festival opens today in Todd Mission and runs to Nov. 29.
For vendors, today is the first of eight weekends. Texas contracts cover the full run only.
For vendors, today is the first of eight weekends. Texas contracts cover the full run only.
One Booth, Many Rulebooks
Every faire on the circuit writes its own rules for the tent, the paperwork and the calendar. Here is how a vendor who works several of them builds one kit that passes every gate.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
The Texas Renaissance Festival opens today in Todd Mission and runs to Nov. 29.
For vendors, today is the first of eight weekends. Texas contracts cover the full run only.
For vendors, today is the first of eight weekends. Texas contracts cover the full run only.
A little appreciation for the people who build the world behind the costumes.
Age of Chivalry starts today in Las Vegas, Oct. 9 to 11. Keep discovering Renaissance faires through Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry starts today in Las Vegas, Oct. 9 to 11. Keep discovering Renaissance faires through Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Faire Tidings Crier | Brian Colburn | Substack
A Herald's Call to the Faire Folk of the Realm
The weekly newsletter bringing verified news, profiles, and craft from across the US Renaissance faire circuit. Click to read Faire Tidings Crier, by Brian Colburn, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 10, 2026 at 1:31 AM
A little appreciation for the people who build the world behind the costumes.
Age of Chivalry starts today in Las Vegas, Oct. 9 to 11. Keep discovering Renaissance faires through Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry starts today in Las Vegas, Oct. 9 to 11. Keep discovering Renaissance faires through Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Six faires' vendor rules, read together, add up to one standard:
No visible logos.
No bare metal.
No plastic in sight.
Period signage.
Costumed staff.
No visible logos.
No bare metal.
No plastic in sight.
Period signage.
Costumed staff.
One Booth, Many Rulebooks
Every faire on the circuit writes its own rules for the tent, the paperwork and the calendar. Here is how a vendor who works several of them builds one kit that passes every gate.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 9, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Six faires' vendor rules, read together, add up to one standard:
No visible logos.
No bare metal.
No plastic in sight.
Period signage.
Costumed staff.
No visible logos.
No bare metal.
No plastic in sight.
Period signage.
Costumed staff.
Never been to a Renaissance faire? What’s the one thing you’d like to know before going?
Age of Chivalry comes to Las Vegas Oct. 9 to 11. Explore faire culture and lore with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry comes to Las Vegas Oct. 9 to 11. Explore faire culture and lore with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Faire Tidings Crier | Brian Colburn | Substack
A Herald's Call to the Faire Folk of the Realm
The weekly newsletter bringing verified news, profiles, and craft from across the US Renaissance faire circuit. Click to read Faire Tidings Crier, by Brian Colburn, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 9, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Never been to a Renaissance faire? What’s the one thing you’d like to know before going?
Age of Chivalry comes to Las Vegas Oct. 9 to 11. Explore faire culture and lore with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry comes to Las Vegas Oct. 9 to 11. Explore faire culture and lore with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Of the Vendor's Whole Reckoning, Wherein the Crier Setteth the Booth Fee Beside the Road, the Roof and the Long Winter
A Great Reckoning in a Little Booth
Booth fees are only the first line. Here is how a faire vendor's whole year adds up, and the one number worth knowing before next season.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
October 2, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Of the Vendor's Whole Reckoning, Wherein the Crier Setteth the Booth Fee Beside the Road, the Roof and the Long Winter
What would tempt you into a Renaissance faire: the craft, the characters, or the chance to try something different?
Age of Chivalry is in Las Vegas Oct. 9–11. Get to know the faire world with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry is in Las Vegas Oct. 9–11. Get to know the faire world with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Faire Tidings Crier | Brian Colburn | Substack
A Herald's Call to the Faire Folk of the Realm
The weekly newsletter bringing verified news, profiles, and craft from across the US Renaissance faire circuit. Click to read Faire Tidings Crier, by Brian Colburn, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 29, 2026 at 10:31 PM
What would tempt you into a Renaissance faire: the craft, the characters, or the chance to try something different?
Age of Chivalry is in Las Vegas Oct. 9–11. Get to know the faire world with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
Age of Chivalry is in Las Vegas Oct. 9–11. Get to know the faire world with Faire Tidings Crier.
Subscribe FREE:
The first cost of a faire booth is not money. It is getting chosen.
Maryland's jury weighs quality, what the show already carries, the vendor's reputation, and the odds of success.
Maryland's jury weighs quality, what the show already carries, the vendor's reputation, and the odds of success.
The Other Side of the Counter
The Crier turns to the vendors: how a booth gets through the gate, what it costs to stand one up, and how to price so the season pays.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 26, 2026 at 5:02 PM
The first cost of a faire booth is not money. It is getting chosen.
Maryland's jury weighs quality, what the show already carries, the vendor's reputation, and the odds of success.
Maryland's jury weighs quality, what the show already carries, the vendor's reputation, and the odds of success.
Four ways faires charge vendors:
By the season (Maryland, $900 full run)
By the day (Georgia, $120 to $200)
By the weekend (Arkansas, from $200)
By the take (10% to 20% for services)
By the season (Maryland, $900 full run)
By the day (Georgia, $120 to $200)
By the weekend (Arkansas, from $200)
By the take (10% to 20% for services)
The Other Side of the Counter
The Crier turns to the vendors: how a booth gets through the gate, what it costs to stand one up, and how to price so the season pays.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 25, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Four ways faires charge vendors:
By the season (Maryland, $900 full run)
By the day (Georgia, $120 to $200)
By the weekend (Arkansas, from $200)
By the take (10% to 20% for services)
By the season (Maryland, $900 full run)
By the day (Georgia, $120 to $200)
By the weekend (Arkansas, from $200)
By the take (10% to 20% for services)
Our faire directory held 84 listings in May. It holds 118 now, across 47 states.
Still no listing in Delaware, South Dakota or Wyoming. Two of those have candidates in our verification queue.
Nothing gets listed until it checks out.
Still no listing in Delaware, South Dakota or Wyoming. Two of those have candidates in our verification queue.
Nothing gets listed until it checks out.
September 19, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Our faire directory held 84 listings in May. It holds 118 now, across 47 states.
Still no listing in Delaware, South Dakota or Wyoming. Two of those have candidates in our verification queue.
Nothing gets listed until it checks out.
Still no listing in Delaware, South Dakota or Wyoming. Two of those have candidates in our verification queue.
Nothing gets listed until it checks out.
A research tool once served us a full, convincing faire web page. The live page was dead. Nothing from it went to print.
That, and eight more near-misses, in our halfway ledger.
That, and eight more near-misses, in our halfway ledger.
The Halfway Ledger
Eighteen issues in: where we've been, what we caught, and where the road goes next.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 3:02 AM
A research tool once served us a full, convincing faire web page. The live page was dead. Nothing from it went to print.
That, and eight more near-misses, in our halfway ledger.
That, and eight more near-misses, in our halfway ledger.
As You Like It, act 5 scene 3. Two pages come upon Touchstone on a path.
FIRST PAGE: "Well met, honest gentleman."
TOUCHSTONE: "By my troth, well met. Come, sit, sit, and a song."
SECOND PAGE: "We are for you. Sit i' th' middle."
Four lines. Strangers greet, sit, sing, and somebody makes room.
FIRST PAGE: "Well met, honest gentleman."
TOUCHSTONE: "By my troth, well met. Come, sit, sit, and a song."
SECOND PAGE: "We are for you. Sit i' th' middle."
Four lines. Strangers greet, sit, sing, and somebody makes room.
September 12, 2026 at 5:03 PM
As You Like It, act 5 scene 3. Two pages come upon Touchstone on a path.
FIRST PAGE: "Well met, honest gentleman."
TOUCHSTONE: "By my troth, well met. Come, sit, sit, and a song."
SECOND PAGE: "We are for you. Sit i' th' middle."
Four lines. Strangers greet, sit, sing, and somebody makes room.
FIRST PAGE: "Well met, honest gentleman."
TOUCHSTONE: "By my troth, well met. Come, sit, sit, and a song."
SECOND PAGE: "We are for you. Sit i' th' middle."
Four lines. Strangers greet, sit, sing, and somebody makes room.
Ohio Renaissance Festival's closest thing to a costume rule:
"you are free to dress however will make your festival day fun for you!"
Nine faires' rulebooks compared in this week's Crier.
"you are free to dress however will make your festival day fun for you!"
Nine faires' rulebooks compared in this week's Crier.
The Welcome and the Gate
The faire as identity space, from 1963 to this week's rulebooks.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 11, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Ohio Renaissance Festival's closest thing to a costume rule:
"you are free to dress however will make your festival day fun for you!"
Nine faires' rulebooks compared in this week's Crier.
"you are free to dress however will make your festival day fun for you!"
Nine faires' rulebooks compared in this week's Crier.
From Henry IV Part 1, act 2 scene 1, a carrier complaining about an inn at dawn:
"This house is turned upside down since Robin ostler died."
Ten words, and you know exactly what was lost. A permanent faire grounds works the same way. The road moves. The house stays.
"This house is turned upside down since Robin ostler died."
Ten words, and you know exactly what was lost. A permanent faire grounds works the same way. The road moves. The house stays.
September 5, 2026 at 5:01 PM
From Henry IV Part 1, act 2 scene 1, a carrier complaining about an inn at dawn:
"This house is turned upside down since Robin ostler died."
Ten words, and you know exactly what was lost. A permanent faire grounds works the same way. The road moves. The house stays.
"This house is turned upside down since Robin ostler died."
Ten words, and you know exactly what was lost. A permanent faire grounds works the same way. The road moves. The house stays.
The Texas Renaissance Festival campground publishes two sets of phone hours: season, and "During Off Season," Mon to Fri, 8 to 5.
Someone answers the phone at a faire in June.
Someone answers the phone at a faire in June.
The Village That Keeps Its Address
Who owns the shops at a permanent faire grounds, and who answers the phone there in June.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
September 4, 2026 at 3:02 AM
The Texas Renaissance Festival campground publishes two sets of phone hours: season, and "During Off Season," Mon to Fri, 8 to 5.
Someone answers the phone at a faire in June.
Someone answers the phone at a faire in June.
Three milestone seasons in one autumn: Maryland's 50th (August 29 to October 25), Minnesota's 55th, Michigan's 47th.
The Faire Year, Month by Month
Florida in February. Bristol in July. Maryland in the fall. Here is the road map.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
August 29, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Three milestone seasons in one autumn: Maryland's 50th (August 29 to October 25), Minnesota's 55th, Michigan's 47th.
Arizona opens February 6, 2027. Florida opens February 6, 2027. Two thousand miles apart, same Saturday, because February is the good weather in both places.
The faire year, month by month:
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-faire-year?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
The faire year, month by month:
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-faire-year?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
August 28, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Arizona opens February 6, 2027. Florida opens February 6, 2027. Two thousand miles apart, same Saturday, because February is the good weather in both places.
The faire year, month by month:
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-faire-year?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
The faire year, month by month:
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-faire-year?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
Montana Folk: Bozeman Renaissance Festival runs today and tomorrow, Gallatin County Fairgrounds. Taking a camera? This week's Crier has the one photo rule that works at every gate.
The Art of the Faire Photo
Consent first. Composition second. Timing always.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
August 22, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Montana Folk: Bozeman Renaissance Festival runs today and tomorrow, Gallatin County Fairgrounds. Taking a camera? This week's Crier has the one photo rule that works at every gate.
We read the photography policies at four faires this week and no two matched. Tripods, drones, filming shows, likeness rights: all different. One rule works everywhere. Tonight's Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/four-gates-four-rulebooks?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/four-gates-four-rulebooks?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
August 21, 2026 at 3:01 AM
We read the photography policies at four faires this week and no two matched. Tripods, drones, filming shows, likeness rights: all different. One rule works everywhere. Tonight's Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/four-gates-four-rulebooks?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/four-gates-four-rulebooks?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
Pacific Northwest Folk: the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Snohomish runs through Aug 16. The Seattle Times made the trip and praised the craftsmanship. One weekend left.
Hidden Gems: 5 Lesser-Known Faires Worth Visiting
Bozeman to Janesville, the lesser-known faires worth the drive
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
August 15, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Pacific Northwest Folk: the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Snohomish runs through Aug 16. The Seattle Times made the trip and praised the craftsmanship. One weekend left.
Five faires most readers have never heard of, each verified and worth the drive: Bozeman to Janesville. Today's Faire Tidings Crier is the hidden-gems issue.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/five-hidden-gems-off-the-royal-tier?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/five-hidden-gems-off-the-royal-tier?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
August 13, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Five faires most readers have never heard of, each verified and worth the drive: Bozeman to Janesville. Today's Faire Tidings Crier is the hidden-gems issue.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/five-hidden-gems-off-the-royal-tier?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/five-hidden-gems-off-the-royal-tier?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
At the faire this weekend? Ten minutes of homework changes the day: learn when your faire was founded, by whom, and what the site was before. From this week's Faire Tidings Crier.
The History That Built the Modern Faire
How a teacher's 1963 project became a national movement
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
August 8, 2026 at 7:02 PM
At the faire this weekend? Ten minutes of homework changes the day: learn when your faire was founded, by whom, and what the site was before. From this week's Faire Tidings Crier.
The first Renaissance faire: May 1963, North Hollywood, a teacher's backyard project turned radio fundraiser. The verified origin story of the whole circuit is in today's Faire Tidings Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-history-that-built-the-modern?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-history-that-built-the-modern?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
August 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM
The first Renaissance faire: May 1963, North Hollywood, a teacher's backyard project turned radio fundraiser. The verified origin story of the whole circuit is in today's Faire Tidings Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-history-that-built-the-modern?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/the-history-that-built-the-modern?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
At the faire this weekend? Watch what the regulars wear closest to the skin: linen. It breathes, it washes, and it works under every class of costume. From this week's Faire Tidings Crier.
Building Your Costume Over Time: A 5-Year Plan
The veteran approach: invest in a base layer first. Add accessories as you go. Skip the all-at-once mistake.
fairetidingscrier.substack.com
August 1, 2026 at 7:02 PM
At the faire this weekend? Watch what the regulars wear closest to the skin: linen. It breathes, it washes, and it works under every class of costume. From this week's Faire Tidings Crier.
Base layer first. Accessories as you go. The statement piece when you have earned it. The five-year costume plan is in today's Faire Tidings Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/building-your-costume-over-time-a?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/building-your-costume-over-time-a?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
July 30, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Base layer first. Accessories as you go. The statement piece when you have earned it. The five-year costume plan is in today's Faire Tidings Crier.
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/building-your-costume-over-time-a?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier
https://fairetidingscrier.substack.com/p/building-your-costume-over-time-a?utm_source=faire-tidings-crier