Near Canton
ravens-loft-faire.tripod.com/

I was out scouting new ren faire tribes to become a part of and I noticed Raven’s Loft was mentioned here. I kinda feel obligated to shed light on why the 2007 year went off so poorly. Give an insider’s perspective…if you will.

My name is Gypsy Fyre. I’ve been a rennie since my mom had to lace her bodice over a pregnant belly. I hoop dance, belly dance, spin fire, make chainmail, own a skill toy organization called Creative Motion, enjoy all kinds of other unique and obscure hobbies. Anyway—I’ve got my hippy credentials, promise. I met the people behind the faire helped out with Raven’s Loft this past year. I played a minimal part—but I went out for work weekends and did the best I could to fill in where I was needed.

At the time, saying I was skeptical about the faire would be an understatement of epic proportions. Since then—I’ve gotten to know the people behind this event, have come to call them family…and have gained an entirely new view of things. With knowledge comes perspective.

2007 was Raven’s Loft’s Second year to run (it had it’s first trial run two years ago 2005) and, both years, it had a lot of things working against it. One of the main things that hindered it was the shortage of help it received in getting off the ground. A lot of people SAID they wanted to help and be a part of this budding fair, but no one ever seemed to follow through. No one seemed to ever show up AND WORK on the weekends scheduled to tend the grounds or work on cast. There was a particular fire group (I’ll avoid mentioning their name) that was supposed to play a pivotal role in the fair’s preparation, story line and entertainment—they dropped the ball in all three categories. Over ¾ of the vendors signed up to work this fair did not show and gave no notice. Three food vendors double booked themselves at other locations. Rumors wreaked it’s own havoc over the success of RL. The fire group “Cast” spent the majority of their time in the woods instead of interacting with patrons. It was a disaster. I can’t lie. There were so many forces working against this faire it was ridiculous—so many people let it down, resulting in unfinished grounds, less than adequate entertainment and an overwhelming lack of vendors. However, as I get to know the people behind this faire I’m learning their resolve. This faire is their life—and they are devoted to making it bigger and better each year. Building any kind of event, especially a renaissance faire takes a lot of time and money. A GREAT renaissance faire grows and evolves like a life.

2008’s Faire has a LOT more potential. There is a LOT of progress happening EVERY week on the grounds, there are a lot of new and improved ideas and plans for this years story and a new approach to acquiring vendors is being used. Last year things were less than ideal, but I hope that everyone that can will continue to take part and watch Raven’s Loft grow and change over the years.

I hadn’t intended to insert a shameless plug—but I figure since I’m here I’ll at least mention it. I encourage anyone that wants to be a part of a renaissance faire FAMILY to take part in the “behind the scenes” and help make this faire a possibility. Just message me and I can get you all the information you could stand. We’re currently scouting for vendors, entertainment, and cast. We have work weekends at the faire grounds in Emory every month. Honestly—if you’re the slightest bit curious, check it out. It’s one of the most rewarding projects I’ve been a part of in a LONG time.

Merry Meet!

*Hope Love and Firelight*
~Gypsy Fyre