The ORF Blog

May 26, 2020

I think when this began we all felt – perhaps a bit too optimistically -that it would be over relatively soon. We’d miss a paycheck, maybe two, but everything would bounce back. It was just a matter of time and patience. So we began finding other ways to spend our time. We baked bread with […]

April 7, 2020

It’s looking a wee bit rough out there, isn’t it? I debated for a long time about how best to write this blog entry. We’re all going through some tough times right now. Most of the people I know are motivators, preaching the tenants of Keep Calm & Carry On as they livestream teaching their […]

March 31, 2020

The way in which faire can change us is often unexpected. It often feels like a rediscovery of something we forgot was within us. That vague sense of joy and free play we had as children that escapes us as adults comes rushing back and suddenly our imagination is limitless. During cast auditions it is […]

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 […]