The ORF Blog

March 24, 2020

Amid all the beloved cliche’s of television and movies is that of the Ren Faire Episode. I have a sincere fondness for this trope, even if it mostly exists as a backdrop for the characters to explore facets of their personality, their inter-group relationships, and the fun of dressing in tights and flouncy dresses. But […]

March 17, 2020

Green has always been a hopeful color. Green is a sign of life, a sign of returning abundance and change. The sharp clarity of a fresh bud rising from a barren branch. The scent of grass rising up from the wet earth and shuddering in the breeze. Green is about life. It’s about renewal. It […]

March 10, 2020

In an era of plastic and cardboard, the simple yet labor-intensive charm of woodwork is often overlooked. It’s even hard to find anything that has been made by a true craftsman anymore unless you have the finances and time available to commission it yourself. Much of the old woodworking is considered antique. In Ohio, there […]

March 3, 2020

When you look out across the bustling Upson Downs of the Ohio Renaissance Festival you come to realize all the different little communities that flourish here within the village of Willy-Nilly. From the ORFans to the Vikings, you come to know each of them over time and discover why playtrons choose to join a particular […]

February 25, 2020

Our view of the world is, perhaps not surprisingly, quite Eurocentric. As Americans, we feel much of our history stems from our beginnings as an English colony. This has shaped a great deal of our perceptions; from culture to politics, social normalcy, and even our food. But as America continues to grow and develop, we […]

February 18, 2020

In his book “Guerrilla Theater For Faires and Festival,” J. Paul Moore refers to the improvisational performance required of the cast members for many ren faires as a “nebulous energy which is transmuted into an experience for the audience to view or more often than not, participate in for themselves.” The theater is communication. Communication […]

February 14, 2020

People don’t seem to like Valentine’s Day very much. I get it. In fact, it makes a lot of sense. We’re attached to an ideal version of how love happens. You meet someone and they smile and you smile, kismet happens and boom, soulmates. Even the most jaded and self-aware among us still holds out […]

February 11, 2020

Every year after The Ohio Renaissance Festival finishes its run, the boothies and stage acts move on to their next festival. Those of us in cast and crew, however, snuggle up in our houses to wait out the unpredictable Ohio winter for the next three or four months. We decompress from the season, take in […]

February 4, 2020

There is a rapt fascination with the art of the glassblower. From the precision work of the man sitting in front a blow torch as he crafts the smallest detail of a dragon’s wing to the powerful forge of an artist as he draws molten glass from the fire and carefully rolls it into shape. […]

January 28, 2020

In previous blogs we talk a great deal about how easy it is to become a part of the ren faire community. From cast members to crew, playtrons to boothies, it feels like there are plenty of ways for people to become a part of our ever-expanding family. That being said, sometimes it can take […]