Talk the Talk

If you want to feel part of the crowd, you may want to start practicing how to talk and act in the proper way. Below I have attached a podcast of me explaining a little bit more about how people at the festival act around each other and others!

Remember the Weather

The weather has always been my biggest enemy when deciding when to attend. Luckily, I have different variations of my costumer depending on the temperature.

The main thing that I depend on for each day, is my cloak. My green cloak is surprisingly warm, and I would not be very comfortable in it during the warmer days compared the the cold ones. So before I leave, I make sure to check the weather and even step outside in my costumer to check if I am comfortable. Luckily my outfit isn't too hot without the cloak so I can enjoy the day without being bothered.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Make sure to keep this in mind when deciding when you would like to attend. There are other things to think about other than just temperature, like the wind or rain. Don't make yourself miserable by being uncomfortable!

Below is my favorite place to check the weather:
Topeka Weather

Thriftshoppers Unite

If you don't mind clothing with a bit of wear and tear, then check out your local thrift shops. They have the widest variety of cheap and unusual clothing. Thanks to most of these shops accepting any donations, the clothing may vary from modern styles, to things your grandma may call old. Since most Renaissance costumes are put together with older looking pieces, this is a great place to look!

I have located a one of the stores that I like to frequent while searching for strange and unusual pieces, and put them on the map below.

          

Below I have added a link to several of my other favorite stores:
Goodwill
Salvation Army

The Options Are Numerous

There are many different events during a festival, and I tried to capture as many of these moments as I could. So I have created a slideshow of all of the pictures I wish to share with you. These show how people dress, how the atmosphere is, and the food as well.

Please feel free to look through some of these pictures that I have shared, and if you have any questions about any of the pictures, please feel free to ask!

Christmas is Coming

Who doesn't love Christmas? I definitely do! If you want some costly pieces for your costume, but don't want to spend on them, here is a helpful tip.

If you don't mind losing a gift or two, mention to your parents or friends that you would like something for your costume. Make sure to specify or you might get something that doesn't exactly go with it.

If you are worried that they may not get the right item, just ask for money for Christmas that will go towards it. You could even take them to the store to show exactly what you want, or send the link of them item.

Have fun searching for more items and prepping for next year!

Renaissance Halloween

Halloween was this weekend, and I thought it be a good time to give some tips on some costume pieces.

A great time to find most of your items are around Halloween. My favorite times to go searching are right afterwards when everything is on sale. This is the best time to find items that would normally be a lot more expensive. You can go beforehand and find more options, but just remember that the items will most likely get cheaper afterwards.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Also, you can use your festival pieces as a costume as well! You don't have to go over the top with it, just simplify the costume, and you are now saving money you can use for other things! Below I will link a few items that Halloween stores have that would work great:
Corsets
Weapons
Makeup

How I Started

I feel as though I should share my first experience at the Renaissance Festival.

The first I went to the festival, I attended with my cousin. The only reason we actually went was because his job gave him two free tickets. While many people had attended the festival as children, I never did, so I had no clue what I would be in for.

Immediately we saw people dressed in crazy outfits, and all these different stores with things that I never knew I actually wanted. We went to so many different stores talking about how we were going to dress up and attend together again next year.

Sadly, my cousin joined the army and moved out to California, so I ended up not buying anything for the next year. I kept telling my mom how much I wished he was still home so we could go together. She ended up surprising me by taking me and buying me my first costume.

Photo Credit to Michelle Abendroth

Since then, she has always come with me when she can, and it has become a chance for me and her to bond over something we both share a passion for.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Let's Get Started

Now that most festivals have ended, its time to start looking towards the future. Just because the festival isn't until next year, that doesn't mean we can't start looking at what we want to do! I like to start planning my costume well in advance so I have plenty of time to look for the pieces and order them online.

If you want cheap pieces that may or may not look like the picture, definitely check out Ebay. This is where I purchased a few key parts of my costume this year.

Photo Credit to Michelle Abendroth

In the picture above you can see that underneath my skirt there is some brown fabric, this is actually a double slit skirt that came in and wasn't at all how the picture showed it. Since it was so cheap, I just positioned the piece so it added just a bit of layering effect. Another piece I got online was the green and black corset. This was much cheaper than going to an expensive online store, however, keep in mind that the quality isn't as good as an expensive corset.

If you don't want to risk getting cheap clothing, there are plenty of good websites that you can find cool options from! A few are:

Medieval Collectibles
Ravenswood Leather
The Tudor Shoppe

So Many Shows!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

 Every year the shows and performances at the Renaissance festival changes up. Also, there is a large variety of shows for kids and adults to attend. Each show is has a sign outside the stage they will be performing on to announce the times!


The majority of the shows are kid friendly, but be sure to keep an eye out for the ones that are for a mature audience. They may be hilarious, but kids will be slightly mortified to hear some of the things they say!


The variety of shows can go from a hypnotist to gypsies dancing onstage.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Don't forget to check out shows with animals in them. The one in the picture below was focused on different types of birds, and even brought out a bald eagle!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Then there are even shows that get the crowd involved. For example, in the picture below there is a woman teaching many participants the basic steps of belly dancing!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Then there is another show for children that have fairies dancing with the children.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

One of my favorites involves two men attempting to push the other into water!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Keep an eye out for a show you may enjoy!

The End is Here

For my local festival, and most likely for others as well, this weekend is the final weekend to attend the Renaissance Festival. So if you don't have any plans for this weekend, look into hanging out with some friends on the final days of the festival!

Most festivals have something special that they like to do on the last day. Most of the time they have a song and dance at the end of everyday, but on the last day they change it up or the shows are just a slightly different.

Don't forget that next will come around sooner than you think, and you'll be able to attend the festival once again! Comparing the ever changing shows and people who attend is the best part, so start saving up now!

Photo Credit to Jessica Abendroth

All the Gifts

What should I get for my friends and family? Would they even like any of this stuff? These are a few things people think when looking for gifts for family and friends at the Renaissance Festival. Most people that get gifts from the festival, expect them to be unique. So no matter what you get them, they will most likely appreciate it because they know this is the kinds of things you find there.

Here are some of the things you will most likely give away as a gift:

     1) An ankle bracelet would be perfect. Who wouldn't want one, even if it has a slight Renaissance style to it.

     2) A mug. There are many different types of mugs to choose from. Ceramic and wood are the main material options, but form there, the styles are far and wide. They go from shot glass, to the biggest mug you will ever see!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

     3) Food. More specifically, kettle corn. This one of the safest and cheapest options out there. However, not everyone likes popcorn, so be sure to check first.

    4) A waxed rose is also a pretty easy and cheap gift. This was actually what I bought for my sister because she loves roses! Who doesn't love a beautiful waxed rose?

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

     5) Go to a gift shop stand. They usually have T-shirts and other options that anyone would love to have. This would be the safest option you will find when finding 'normal' stuff.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Even if you don't think your friend or family won't like some of the options, just remember that they are part of the experience. Maybe even pull a joke and give someone a stick from the ground. See if they laugh before handing them whatever you get, then they might appreciate it even more!

Harvest Huzzah!

This weekend is Columbus Day, so I have decided to talk a little bit about what my local festival in Bonner Springs is going to be doing!

On Saturday and Sunday, they have many different competitions. A few of them are Hula Hoop Competition, Tattoo Competition, Costume Contest, and Pale Ale Sausage Eating Competition. If you want to view the rest of the events on these days, click on this link: Renaissance Festival Themed Weekends.

On Monday they will be having their Harvest Huzzah! This is a school day, so most of the people going will be college students and up. So if you want to avoid younger children, this is your day!

Be sure to check out if your local Festival has any themed weekends. Some of them have had bring your pet days and more events.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

The festival is almost over for this year, but don't forget to start looking ahead to next year, there's always so much prep work that can go into these events!

The Powerful Rides

No one really processes that the festival does have rides. The first that come to mind are obviously the camel and elephant rides. However, there are a few manual rides that come as quiet the shock to some.

They all have are powered, usually, by young men who have a decent amount of strength. These men start the rides off slowly at first, to help them gain momentum. With each push and pull, the ride slowly picks up speed until the men no longer need to push them to go faster.

Watching them stop the rides is just as amazing. They will usually either crawl up onto them, or hang from the neck of the others. Using their weight and strength, they are able to slow the ride down until they can safely grab it from the ground.

These are some amazingly simple rides, and if you want to watch them, you can check out the video below!

Make sure to check out a few of the rides at your local festival!

Who Doesn't Love Food?

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

I have decided to broach the delicious topic of: FOOD.


Everyone loves food, and if you say you don't, you're probably lying. It's definitely a love/hate relationship, why is all the unhealthy food the best? Of course the Renaissance Festival is no exception.


Most people know the classic turkey leg. They are huge and surprisingly delicious, and completely worth every penny you pay for them. If you aren't known for eating a lot of food, definitely consider sharing this treat with a friend!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

My personal favorite would be the bread bowl! When I first went to the festival their weren't as many options, but they have recently added a large variety of choices. A few are: Mac n' Cheese, pasta salad, and artichoke cheese dip. There are many more options, but I'll let you discover this yourself.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Each festival has it's own variety of foods. My favorite dessert from my local festival, would have to be apple dumplings. They are super messy, but definitely worth it!

Make sure to walk around all the different food stalls to check them all out. You wouldn't want to buy one item, only to discover that there is another you would've wanted more.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

 No matter what you get, it will definitely be amazing!

The Hassle Before the Fun

This is for those of you who are planning to dress up or do fun makeup. You have to make sure you have all the items you plan to use beforehand. No one wants to wake up the day before and suddenly realize that you don't have that one piece of makeup you thought you did, or a piece of your costume is broken and now you don't have time to fix it. So be sure to give yourself time!

My family likes to go through our stuff the day before, or on a day that we have nothing going on. First we decide what look we are going for. This year I wanted to try something different than I used to do. So we made sure to Pinterest different ideas for makeup and hair. Since costume pieces are expensive, we decided to try and reuse as much of my old costume as possible. What we came up with was a mixture of new and old pieces.

Photo Credit to Michelle Abendroth

Photo Credit to Jessica Abendroth

 
As you can see in the picture, the majority is actually my old outfit. All I did was shift some pieces around and put a corset on it. Not only that, but my hair and makeup definitely gave the entire look something completely different. This was only accomplished because I looked over what I had beforehand.

We spent the entire day finding make up and pieces to add to my hair. Since we looked at what we had, we were more prepared in the morning than we could've been.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

The night before, we like to lay everything out so we know where it is in the morning. This makes the beforehand hassle easier to deal with. Below is a video that I created to explain how my mornings look just a little better:

What about the Money?

Many people aren't prepared for the large variety of shops when they enter the Renaissance Festival. There is something there for everyone. Even if you don't want any actual items, the food is just as tempting. You won't even notice it at first, then suddenly, that $20 is no longer in your purse. So let me help you keep your budget on point. 

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

1) Gas. Make sure you included this into your budget. Depending on how far you are from the Festival, you may spend a little more, or less, on gas to get there. Take this into account when looking at your budget.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

 2) Food. Who doesn't love food? Especially Renaissance food! That large turkey leg or that delicious bread bowl, mmmmm. Then, you definitely will need a drink to accompany your chosen food option. Snacks between meals is also expected, like kettle corn or some type of dessert. Set aside some money just to try all these options! Turkey legs at my local Festival are usually priced around $7, which may seem like a lot, but this treat is worth the price

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

3)  Shopping. Souvenirs? Just for you? Maybe something just for the day! Whichever it is, plan ahead to save money. If you don't do this you will spend more than you expect! My first time, I spent over a $100 before lunch, and I didn't even drive or pay for the ticket!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

  
4) Tickets. Look through the prices before you go. There is a website where you can purchase tickets before you go. They are usually slightly cheaper if you do this, so look into it! Also, there are some weekends that they have discounts for certain people, like students or soldiers.
  
5) Parking. My local Festival has free parking, but not all do. So keep this factor in mind as well!

Do not panic! This all sounds like it would be expensive, but take into consideration how many times you are planning to attend.There are season tickets if you plan to go enough times that normal tickets would outweigh the price.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Plan your budget and most of all, have fun! It's not just about the money, the scenery and people are amazing as well as all the shows! Don't let the cost scare you off, use it to learn more about budgeting!

Let's Talk Hair

So many options for people who are going to dress up. Hair color, wigs, ornamental pieces, and also peacock feathers…

I have organized a small list of techniques people use to style their hair below:

1)    All Natural.

Hey, your hair might be perfect for your character! Long blonde, curly brunette, short red, frizzy, straight. All these different types can work for any costume; you just have to be confident with it.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

This picture shows how I used to do my hair at one point. This was just my natural hair curled and pinned back to show innocence.

2)    Wigs.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

I know plenty of people don’t feel confident using their hair, or just don’t want to mess with it. This is where a wig can be handy! My grandma has super short blonde hair, so she purchased a long blonde wig for her Viking costume. So why can’t you buy a short purple wig, or a long, curly wig?

3)    Extensions.

These have multiple uses, making your hair thicker as well as longer. I use these pieces to help my hair have more body and represent my character’s personality better. You can also spray some of these pieces with hair color if you wish for a multitude of colors, I know I enjoy this look in my hair personally.

4)    Hair Color

Renaissance is usually close to Halloween, so it is easy to find hair spray to color your hair. This is only temporary and washes out easily afterwards. You can use this to help make your character have an even more vivid personality, if this is what your looking for.

5)    Ornaments.

What are you trying to become? How does your costume show this? Ornamental pieces in your hair are great ways to do this. One lady actually accented her costume by making a huge headpiece out of peacock feathers. Crowns, leaves, feathers, metal bits, or other such pieces are great to express yourself even more.

Photo Credit to Jessica Abendroth

Photo Credit to Jessica Abendroth

In the pictures shown, I have had someone help place different items throughout my hair. You can even see a bird’s nest to help show that I am a friend to nature. If you look hard enough you can also see green and red peeking out from the bottom. Or you may even notice that the majority of this hair is made up of a multitude of extensions.

Have fun with this process, I find that using your hair in the right way can make or break a costume.

I Can't Do Makeup

If you want to dress up and go all out, then why shouldn't you also do makeup? It is expected that not everyone is a makeup gurus. I completely understand your problem, so here are a few tips on whhat to do: 

    1)   Practice.

Everyone says to just practice as much as you can until you can get it, but most don't actually do this. Pull a picture up of roughly what you're looking for. You do not need to stick exactly to this picture every time! For those of us who aren't makeup gurus, we shouldn't expect our makeup to be the same every single time.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

    2)  Help!

It is not a bad thing to ask for help from someone else. I, personally, ask my mom to help with mine every time. However, if you have a friend who would like to help you that would work great. Sometime its easier for someone else who can't do makeup, to do it on someone else. Practice on each other!

 Video Credit to Samantha Abendroth

      3)  You're a Natural!

If you are amazing at makeup, then this is for you! Makeup gurus should attempt to be helpful if your friends need some help. Encourage them to keep practicing, but don't refuse to help if they are actually trying. everyone wants your skills! So please be generous and share your talent with the world!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Remember that no one actually knows when you mess up your makeup. The mistakes you see are most likely unnoticeable to others, especially since each person at the festival has a unique makeup style!

Have fun and remember to look towards the completed picture!

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Should I Go All Out?

Many people question if it would really be fun to go all out. That is truly up to your comfort level, but I am going to say a few things about it first.

Dressing up isn’t just for you, it’s for also for everyone else there. All these people enjoy looking at the different atmosphere that the Renaissance Festival brings with it. When you dress up, you are deciding to become a part of this atmosphere, meaning people will stare.

People will approach you for pictures, which means you might want to have an understanding of your character.

Some decide to go with the serious pictures. They will take all pictures with a straight face, and then move on. Others will look gruffer, or violent. Holding weapons and donning a look of toughness during photo ops.

Photo Credit to Samantha Abendroth

Then there are people like me. We want to seem friendly and whimsical. I enjoy the chance to talk with small children when they walk past just to see how happy they are. A family even told me that I had just made their daughters day. She had come just to meet an elf, so I was overjoyed to take a picture, and introduce her to the bird in my hair named Tweety.

One side note; when you stop for food or drinks on the way home or there, be prepared for people to give you weird looks.

Don’t feel awkward, own your creativity and confidence to do this!

Hello! My name is Sammi and I have created this blog to give anyone who has questions about the Renaissance Festival, a chance to get them answered!

I started going to the festival about four years ago, and couldn't stop going back. Since then I have created an outfit, forced friends along, and learned to keep a budget. These are a few things I will be happy to share with you! There will also be a few stories along the way to share some events that go on over the course of the festival.

Photo by Samantha Abendroth

Don't be shy and join me in our wonderful medieval times adventure!