On Saturday Evening, I wrote of my reactions to the new location of the Southern California Ren Faire. Yesterday, barelyproper‘s friend, six_gun_samurai wrote of his impressions. This morning, whilst looking at the San Gabriel Valley Tribute for the article on Interstate 10 (thanks lifewithmikey), I found another article on the new location of the Ren Faire. This article notes the following:
- Faire organizers would not say how many people attended the event on opening day, but by one estimate about 11,000 people showed up on Saturday. Organizers said the event was not overcrowded and parking was plentiful. In fact, Rikki Kipple, artistic director for the Faire, said attendance was well over projections. Though the Faire saw a few glitches, no major problems slowed the festivities.
- Kipple also noted that performers reported more interaction with the guild members and entertainers (speaking of an educated crowd), that the crowd was very playful and interactive, and as a result, the performers were happier and better.
- The crowd also freely traded with the crafts people. Indications were that the crowd was wealthier, as well as more racially diverse.
I’ll also note that the article had a photo gallery from the Faire.
My opinion has always been that it will be the bottom line that determines whether this new location succeeds. This report from the paper shows that it might be a better location financially. There appear to be some problems regarding camping and layout, but those could be first year problems and could be corrected. Did you attend over the opening weekend? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
