I promised just about anyone we saw that I'd come up with a commemorative T Shirt design for the opening weekend heat. . . thus I keep my word.

The front pocket has a thermometer and the words "I Survived One Hundred and Five" and the back has our group photo with the words "A Heat Index of 105 Matters Not To Us!" and below the photo is a quick poem: "Despite The Humidity, We Proved To Be The Right Stuff. We Sweated our Renaissance and Medieval Butts Off!"

There are both Men's & Women's Ts for $15.99 at our FoMDRF.org Cafe Press site.

Front:


Back:

Our Site for 2007 stuff:
http://www.cafepress.com/blackfoxdesign/3557029

Advertising. That's why folks from VA to NY know PARF more than MDRF.


PARF is all over billboards, some even in MD if you head out to Carroll County. They had one outside of Westminster on 97N to PA and another just outside of Littlestown, PA on the same road.

PARF is all over the papers, TV, Radio, and I've even seen their ad on Comcast in DELAWARE!

MDRF keeps all their advertising local. . . and if you think about it. ..they can barely handle the Huge crowd weekends. . . look at the one-lane road outside of MDRF that you have to be stuck on for miles and then compare it to the 3-lane expanded toll booth at PARF that you can walk to from the gate!

Face facts. MDRF doesn't have to advertise. By word of mouth from sites like ours ( http://www.friendsofmdrf.org ), they fill the site, the parking lot, and the roads outside with over 120,000 visitors a year. . . at best, PARF sees 80,000.

PARF advertises because they have to. MDRF advertises because they want to.

HEY-uge difference!

But in conversation, what people see on TV is PARF. What people hear from their friend who'se been to both festivals is that MDRF is BETTER.

Don't get me wrong. . . PARF has a LOT of stuff over MDRF. . . easy walk on the asphalt (which really isn't hotter than dirt and stone in direct heat, if anything it dissipates heat better. . . . which is why it's on roadways instead of concrete) and the landscaping and $$ thrown into PARF is REALLY seen/scene (i.e. huge castle walls about the place, incredible flower AND vegetable planting, not to mention the very, very expanded Swashbuckler Pub).

However, the admission and beer are much more expensive. . .BUT on the same note, there isn't really a "drunk" problem (because one can't afford to get drunk) and the lowlife riffraff are kept away by the higher admission price. There are pros and cons to each way of presenting a festival.

MDRF better knock my socks off this season because PARF has added tons of stuff that appeals to festival veterans (i.e. flush toilets everywhere, more beer-buying spots, hot beer wenches, bright pagentry, landscaping and architecture . . . and shade. . . . improvements).

For $40 more at PARF than MDRF, I can get a Queen's Pass and get special up-close, reserved parking. . . a lunch with the Queen. . . a pre-season visit and afternoon with the cast. . . and full-season's admission. The beer is only $1 more each than MDRF, and found in the new comfortable shade to chat with friends if that's my thing. . . shows are equal in value. . . some of the entertainers of MDRF entertain at PARF as well. . . and some you've never seen before.

I'll always love MDRF. . . but PARF is DEFINATELY giving them a run for the $$. . .





. . . I'm just sayin'. . . . . . . . . .

MDRF.  The first Renaissance Festival I ever attended. . . I attended faires mind ye. . .but MDRFestival is named the way it is because it's a FESTIVAL.  It's a place where people dress in somewhat Tudor style (I say that only because Sir Black Fox is 12th Century and Pyrates Royale are very GAOP) . . . but it's all there.
The festival is called that, in my OPINION, is that it's like Mardi Gras. . . it's a celebration of 19 days of revelry (i.e. the name Revel Grove) and I think, in my OPINION that fair has a different meaning. . . it's a local thing for just locals. . . look at fairs. . .  firemen's carnivals, 4H fairs, pumpkin' chunkin' (another post to come) and others. . .they're just faires. . . . just a weekend of fun and that's it.  FESTIVALS last for months.

OK. . . I understand that I'm splitting hairs. . . but I'm also defending what MDRF is all about. . .  that it's a FESTIVAl and not just some fair.  You have to admit, there's a LOT that goes on at MDRF that doesn't at other Renaissance Fairs.  Themes are something Festivals have. . .  fairs often just have the same thing over and over. . . . Festivals can change from week to week.  

OK. . . I defend my FESTIVAL to the hilt. . . . not because of the name but what it means to me.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I met some of my wife's family for the first time.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I saw an old HS friend, Tom Crowl, perform.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I saw my "girlfriend" from a distance and fell in love with just the sight of her.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is the only place I cried after 9-11-01.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where a kingly actor named Bill who gave me a handshake, then a hug and whispered in my ear "I love Danny Kaye references."  He had me at "Danny"

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I complimented the new King Henry "Fred" on the original Friends of MDRF . org website . . .  who thanked me in several emails.  He offered to help me propose to Cynthia, which we accomplished in 2003.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where King Henry VIII knighted me, then stood as my best man in front of friends and family who now understood what The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL means to me.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is where I met some folks who've become the best friends of my life. . .  Kevin "Amras" Arrington, Greg "Scotsman" Moore, Michelle "Capt. Chelle" Campbell, Angi "Magpie/Mistress Fetch" Bynum, and the one woman who I adore almost as much as my wife (I said ALMOST) Meredith "Mistress Pepper" Eriksen (I'm still not sure I spelled that right).  I'd love to count Fred and Brad among these folks but it works against them in public for some reason.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL is also where I discovered the SDW when they stalked me and grabbed my ass without any provoking. . .  and Kendell & Tigerlilly (who I adore). . .then you have the sisters Annabelle and (hubba-hubba) Bella. . . .

But most of all. . .  I fell in love, at The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL, with The O'Danny Girls. . .in all their incarnations. . . . you'll always find me in the crowd or sometimes selling their CDs. . . the ladies are beautiful, tawdry, saucy, and hysterical.  If you want to see the best musical act at The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL, go see the O'Danny Girls.

So there I am. . . I started Friends of The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL in 2002 on a Yahoo board.  In 2004 I set up a website at my own design site: www.blackfoxdesigns.com . . . . then on its own on 2005 at www.friendsofmdrf.org.

Since then, a copycat site of former members set up and they have their own group of "fans" but it's not the same (again, it's just word choice).  Friends is what MDRF tends to appeal to.  Folks that attend MDRF understand that friends goes so much deeper than just being a "fan" of the FESTIVAL.  Being a fan means you're outside looking in. . .  being a friend means you're part of the entire scene.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL gives back to its patrons in the form of very cooooool ID cards that give you a FREE souvenier (the card itself) and it sets you apart from everyone who's just a "Fan" of the Festival. . . if you buy a Fairever Pass. . .you're a FRIEND.. . . .  not some silly fan.

The Maryland Renaissance FESTIVAL Rocks. . . and with all the new changes (like the demise of the "tonight-show-formatted PubSing"). . .  and the chance to catch new acts, new entertainment at a totally new festival. . .  it will be THE MDRF SEASON to catch.

Remember. . .it's FESTIVAL not faire.. . . . because it's festive. . .not just fair.

THE PINS ARE IN! I've scanned of the actual pin to let you all gander at them. . .they're wonderful, all metal-enamel-coated and gorgeous! The have the basic pin-back, but I also had them punch a hole in the top so if you wanted to clip off the pinback you can also string it as a pendant. . or a holiday ornament! (yes, they're THAT nice!). Each has it's own pin-condom.

 

On Friday, August 3, 2007 The Piratez Tavern in Silver Spring, MD will be hosting the One Year Anniversary party for The Pyrates Way magazine.  From 730-9 will be for staffmembers only but at 9pm the patio will be open for everyone to join in on the party!

The first 100 in the door will get FREE issues of the inaugural Pyrates Way magazine and bring a Sharpee™ because you can have the copy signed by editors, the publisher, wenches of the quarter and even the cover model!  You'll also have the chance to purchase the most recent Summer Issue and the opportunity to subscribe!

Piratz Tavern will have a drink special, we're sure, but come on out and party with The Pyrates Way!!

Piratz Tavern
8402 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301 588-9001
quartermaster@piratztavern.com
http://www.piratztavern.com/