All weekend merchants and artisans readied their booths.  The acting company were busy preparing for lane and stage performances.  By the way, did you know there are no scripts to be memorized, but rather Robin, Little John and rest must create their own character nuances and live the part?  Critique them when you encounter them at Faire.  We think you will feel and sense the difference.

Patrons were clearing their camp grounds.  We have more clans this year than ever before.  We love our patrons.  We pay them homage for what they bring to the making of Sherwood Forest Faire.

The flock of fairies are donned in pixie dust and wings and are of every color under the heavens.  They fill the magic of our forest and are respected and loved deeply.

But I am always drawn to the children.  They are the future of Sherwood.  And so, I share with you this story from a mom who attended last year:

For our son Donovan’s 13th birthday, he wanted to attend a renaissance faire.  We attend TRF and Scarborough every year and have since before the kids were born.  Ren Faires are a part of everyday life around our house.  And of course we dress up. 

His birthday being in March always prevented us from celebrating his birthday at the faire.  He (and us too) were so very excited when we heard about Sherwood Forest Faire.  I contacted the staff at the faire to see what we could do to celebrate his birthday, but never did I expect the events of the day.  We have had parties at the other faires before; we were married at Scarborough.  Anything special you usually have to provide for yourself.  I was contacted back by Denise, the Group Sales Manager, because they wanted to make sure that Donovan’s birthday was indeed a day to remember and they provided just that ten-fold. 

After much communicating back and forth, the day finally arrived.  We got to the faire and before we even got all the way to the gates we heard cries about Lord Donovan and his party arriving from afar.  We were then met outside the gates by Robin Hood and Maid Marian, who invited us to a show and invited Donovan to sit in the Royal box at the joust (which is real by the way and truly astonishing).  We went to the show and Donovan was included which led to an invitation to another show later in the day. 

While the kids played at the many wonderful games, I slipped off and purchased a sword which I handed off to the Entertainment Director (who was just as amazingly helpful as everyone else).  At the joust Donovan was presented with a gold coin minted there at the faire.  We were then invited to attend Robin and Marian’s wedding and Donovan was asked to be one of the Honor Guard at the wedding.  He was so very excited by this point he could hardly contain himself. 

We got to the wedding and Donovan stood tall and proud next to the other Honor Guard, proudly displaying his wooden sword.  Then, right as the wedding was over, King Richard announced that there was a young man who was brave and worthy of knighthood.  Donovan did not realize they were talking about him, when they called his name he looked so astonished.  He timidly walked up to he dais (and he never does anything timidly) knelt in front of the King, who then gave the most amazing speech and knighted Donovan and then presented him with the sword.  Donovan was on cloud nine for the rest of the weekend.  He says that it was the most amazing birthday ever and that he never wants to celebrate anywhere else. 

We are going back again this year, now to celebrate the 14th birthday of Sir Donovan.  I have never seen such attention to detail or concern with customer satisfaction as we saw at Sherwood Forest Faire.  It is the best Renaissance Faire in Texas!

-Katt G.

And so, this is the essence, the very spirit of Sherwood.  We ask that you join us this season for what we expect to be a splendid faire.  We bring you our very best and ask that you bring us your presence to share in the experiment of community.  This is much more than a business to us—it is our soul and our spirit and our aspirations.

Blessings,
Rengypsy

The Crier has its own mailing list separate from our general list. If you’d like to be notified when new issues are published, use the “Join Our Mailing List” link at the bottom of the page and select the checkbox for The Sherwood Crier.

Download here: The Sherwood Crier – Jan 2012

The Crier has its own mailing list separate from our general list. If you’d like to be notified when new issues are published, use the “Join Our Mailing List” link at the bottom of the page and select the checkbox for The Sherwood Crier.

Download here: The Sherwood Crier – Dec 2011

Weekend schedule

Friday

4pm – Campground gates open – come one, come all to set up your campsites!

Saturday

10am-2pm – Volunteer opportunities (picking up limbs, removing stumps, leveling pathways, painting, planting, etc)
5pm onward - Pot Luck Dinner & Gathering. Please bring a covered dish to share! The Faire will provide water, soda and a limited amount of beer (you may wish to BYOB in case that runs out).  We will enjoy each other’s company well into the wee hours.  During and after dinner, there will be music, drumming, perhaps a stage performance or two.  Bring your musical instruments!

Sunday

Site closes at 2pm

Our Volunteer Work Day & Gathering events typically see dozens to hundreds of people coming out to help weed, garden, remove dead trees, plant grass, etc. Clans are allowed to work on their own campsites on these days and many vendors work on their own booths. We all get together in the evening for a pot-luck dinner, with entertainment provided by our own entertainers or new acts who wish to audition, and beverages are provided by the Faire.  All are welcome, and there is no charge for these events.

The Crier has its own mailing list separate from our general list. If you’d like to be notified when new issues are published, use the “Join Our Mailing List” link at the bottom of the page and select the checkbox for The Sherwood Crier.

Download here: The Sherwood Crier – Nov 2011

The Crier has its own mailing list separate from our general list. If you’d like to be notified when new issues are published, use the “Join Our Mailing List” link at the bottom of the page and select the checkbox for The Sherwood Crier.

Download here: The Sherwood Crier – Oct 2011

Weekend schedule

Friday

4pm – Campground gates open – come one, come all to set up your campsites!

Saturday

10am-2pm – Volunteer opportunities (picking up limbs, removing stumps, leveling pathways, painting, planting, etc)
1pm – 4pm – Job Fair.  Come meet our staff and our vendors who are hiring booth workers for the upcoming season, and see if you can find the perfect job!  Meet at the Greenwoode Theatre.
5pm-7pm – A contingent of Sherwood folks will be zooming over to the Elgin Lighted Christmas Parade.  Let’s wow them with our numbers! All are welcome, but full garb (head to toe) is required in order to participate.  Contact zane@sherwoodforestfaire.com for more information.
7pm onward - Pot Luck Dinner & Gathering. Please bring a covered dish to share! The Faire will provide water, soda and a limited amount of beer (you may wish to BYOB in case that runs out).  We will enjoy each other’s company well into the wee hours.  During and after dinner, there will be music, drumming, perhaps a stage performance or two.  Bring your musical instruments!

Sunday

Site closes at 2pm

You can RSVP on Facebook or by replying to this post.

Our Volunteer Work Day & Gathering events typically see dozens to hundreds of people coming out to help weed, garden, remove dead trees, plant grass, etc. Clans are allowed to work on their own campsites on these days and many vendors work on their own booths. We all get together in the evening for a pot-luck dinner, with entertainment provided by our own entertainers or new acts who wish to audition, and beverages are provided by the Faire.  All are welcome, and there is no charge for these events.

If you would like to provide feedback, submit content or just say hello, you can reach Beata at sherwoodcrier@sherwoodforestfaire.com.

The Crier has its own mailing list separate from our general list.  If you’d like to be notified when new issues are published, use the “Join Our Mailing List” link at the top of the page and select the checkbox for The Sherwood Crier.

Click to download (large file – may take a moment)

The Sherwood Crier – September  2011