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Hey, Hat Guy - you suck.
Sep. 30th, 2003 04:27 amOn Saturday, I went to King Richard's Faire for the first time in something between 7 and 11 years. I really don't remember when I last went. For those of you unfamiliar with it, "King Richard's Faire is a vivid recreation of a 16th century English marketplace at festival time." At least, that's what the web site says. It sort of draws on some fantasy elements, and also doesn't take itself very seriously, so it's not exactly "authentic."
Anyway, I hadn't been for several years. I'd sort of lost interest in it, for although the theme and overall story changes every year, many things are the same year after year. Also, I think it's ludicrously expensive. Admission this year was $22, but it's hard to attend without spending additional money as well. Visitors are not allowed to bring in food, or leave and be readmitted, so one has to buy food inside the Faire or starve. Visitors also have to buy food tickets in bricks of $5 for 10 tickets, and the individual food vendors accept only the tickets. Typically, this means one ends up having spent money on tickets that become useless, since it's tricky to get a meal in exact multiples of 10 tickets. Mind you, this is in addition to the food being expensive in the first place.
Part of the attraction of going is that vendors sell all kinds of stuff like period/fantasty clothes, costumes, swords, jewelry, little shoulder-riding puppet-like critters, knicknacks, and so on. If one doesn't buy anything from any of them, one has sort of missed part of the reason for going. Other parts of the Faire are free, of course, since there are various performances and whatnot...except that the performers typically ask for donations at the end. Some of them are clearly good enough to deserve it, too, but it can be a strain on one's finances to pay them on top of paying for everything that requires payment. Some other attractions in the Faire carry an additional fee, after all. It leaves me with the unfortunate sensation that they're trying to squeeze every possible cent that they can from everyone who walks through the gate. I'm sure that other, similar attractions also want to get as much money from each visitor that they can, but at KRF they aren't terribly subtle about it.
Anyway, I thought it might be fun to go again and see how it had changed, see if it was more fun than I remembered, etc. We were there before it opened, so we got to see the start of the storyline and such. There's always some kind of theme/story for each year. Some of performances directly advance this plot, and it dictates some of the stuff the major characters might talk about if one meets them while walking around. Anyway, the intro was entertaining, so it seemed that we were off to a good start.
We had been inside for a matter of minutes before we happened to walk by a vendor who informed me that I should buy a hat from him. I was told that I needed this hat to cover my "hideous hair." Well, perhaps the word wasn't "hideous," but it was something like that. I don't recall exactly. Now, I understand that there's some good-natured mocking back and forth much of the time at KRF, but I thought this was a little more insulting than it really needed to be, and certainly a terrible sales tactic. Nevertheless, I was willing to write it off and move on. Then, however, he tried to convince![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kaiwoklaw to purchase a different type of garment with a comment/insult that I felt was completely inappropriate and extremely offensive. I can't imagine what he was thinking. We moved on without saying much in reply. I was too stunned and upset to think of anything to say.
After this, we watched a couple of performances that were entertaining and distracting, and had some fun. But after each one, and indeed throughout the rest of the day, I was continuously reminded of what he had said to us during our first few minutes at the Faire, and it pretty much spoiled the entire trip.
Once we were out on the road and headed home, we began to wish that we had gone back to tell him that he'd ruined our day, or to perhaps complain to someone in charge about him. It's too late for that, of course. The only thing I can do now is promise myself never to set foot in the Faire again, and wish lousy business on the hat guy. You suck, hat guy.
Anyway, I hadn't been for several years. I'd sort of lost interest in it, for although the theme and overall story changes every year, many things are the same year after year. Also, I think it's ludicrously expensive. Admission this year was $22, but it's hard to attend without spending additional money as well. Visitors are not allowed to bring in food, or leave and be readmitted, so one has to buy food inside the Faire or starve. Visitors also have to buy food tickets in bricks of $5 for 10 tickets, and the individual food vendors accept only the tickets. Typically, this means one ends up having spent money on tickets that become useless, since it's tricky to get a meal in exact multiples of 10 tickets. Mind you, this is in addition to the food being expensive in the first place.
Part of the attraction of going is that vendors sell all kinds of stuff like period/fantasty clothes, costumes, swords, jewelry, little shoulder-riding puppet-like critters, knicknacks, and so on. If one doesn't buy anything from any of them, one has sort of missed part of the reason for going. Other parts of the Faire are free, of course, since there are various performances and whatnot...except that the performers typically ask for donations at the end. Some of them are clearly good enough to deserve it, too, but it can be a strain on one's finances to pay them on top of paying for everything that requires payment. Some other attractions in the Faire carry an additional fee, after all. It leaves me with the unfortunate sensation that they're trying to squeeze every possible cent that they can from everyone who walks through the gate. I'm sure that other, similar attractions also want to get as much money from each visitor that they can, but at KRF they aren't terribly subtle about it.
Anyway, I thought it might be fun to go again and see how it had changed, see if it was more fun than I remembered, etc. We were there before it opened, so we got to see the start of the storyline and such. There's always some kind of theme/story for each year. Some of performances directly advance this plot, and it dictates some of the stuff the major characters might talk about if one meets them while walking around. Anyway, the intro was entertaining, so it seemed that we were off to a good start.
We had been inside for a matter of minutes before we happened to walk by a vendor who informed me that I should buy a hat from him. I was told that I needed this hat to cover my "hideous hair." Well, perhaps the word wasn't "hideous," but it was something like that. I don't recall exactly. Now, I understand that there's some good-natured mocking back and forth much of the time at KRF, but I thought this was a little more insulting than it really needed to be, and certainly a terrible sales tactic. Nevertheless, I was willing to write it off and move on. Then, however, he tried to convince
kaiwoklaw to purchase a different type of garment with a comment/insult that I felt was completely inappropriate and extremely offensive. I can't imagine what he was thinking. We moved on without saying much in reply. I was too stunned and upset to think of anything to say. After this, we watched a couple of performances that were entertaining and distracting, and had some fun. But after each one, and indeed throughout the rest of the day, I was continuously reminded of what he had said to us during our first few minutes at the Faire, and it pretty much spoiled the entire trip.
Once we were out on the road and headed home, we began to wish that we had gone back to tell him that he'd ruined our day, or to perhaps complain to someone in charge about him. It's too late for that, of course. The only thing I can do now is promise myself never to set foot in the Faire again, and wish lousy business on the hat guy. You suck, hat guy.
