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So I went to the Renaissance Fair <\/a>(or \u201cFaire\u201d) in Bristol, Wisconsin, on Saturday, just my youngest son (10 years old) and I as the big boys (my husband included) are all away right now. \u00a0We had a really nice time \u2014 we didn\u2019t do any of the carnival games or buy any of the merchandise, but mostly people-watched and watched the performances \u2014 a comedic sword-fighting show, a jousting tournament, a couple (again, comedic) demonstrations of weaponry, the Queen\u2019s Arrival, a \u201cpirate cookery\u201d performance for children, and some others. \u00a0This morning, he asked, \u201cCan we go again today?\u201d<\/p>\n And here are my observations:<\/p>\n Number 1: \u00a0The clothes!<\/p>\n Really, the people watching was just as interesting as watching the official performances. \u00a0Sometimes it wasn\u2019t entirely clear who the visitors were, and who were performers, between shows or mixing with the crowds. \u00a0Some men attempted a serious Elizabethan look, others wore kilts or leather, or dressed as monks or vikings. \u00a0There was a priest who may have been a real priest, or may have simply been in costume. \u00a0Women had a wide, wide range of clothing, from leather, as well, to simple long skirts, to fantasy-type outfits, with elf ears or butterfly wings, but the predominant choice was the corset, with boobs pushed way, way up, and the under-corset blouse positioned to reveal as much as possible.<\/p>\n And, of the more elaborate costumes, I wondered:\u00a0\u00a0do they wear these outfits annually? \u00a0Go to more than one Renaissance\/Medieval festival? \u00a0Come to this one multiple times? \u00a0Do they wear this at parties or gather with friends? \u00a0When they go out on the town? \u00a0Or is this sort of the equivalent of Oktoberfest \u2014 that is, in the way that it has become tradition for the young men and especially women to buy a Tracht outfit (lederhosen or dirndl) to wear to the Wies\u2019n, even if (so far as I can tell) it sits in the closet the rest of the year.<\/p>\n Now, that being said, the images below are not chock-full of corsets, because, ultimately, that wasn\u2019t as interesting to take pictures of.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n 2. \u00a0The people!<\/p>\n Yeah, the White People!<\/p>\n This was very striking. \u00a0The fair was very, very white. \u00a0Yes, you\u2019d reasonably expect disproportionately few racial minorities at an event that costs what this does (though it\u2019s not that<\/em> high-priced, and for opening weekend the prices were reduced \u2014 a discount for adults and free for kids) and has no mass transit access. \u00a0 But it seemed to me that almost the only black attendees I saw were halves of interracial couples, or their children. \u00a0There were actually more black employees than attendees, from what I could tell. \u00a0Of Asians, there were more, but still\u00a0few, except for one group which seemed to be an immigrant or expat or tourist family from Japan. \u00a0There were a couple Muslim women, that is, hijab-wearing. \u00a0Hispanics? \u00a0Didn\u2019t particularly notice.<\/p>\n But was this an indicator that this particular sub-culture of \u201cRenaissance Faire-goers\u201d (which comprises both \u201chey, that\u2019d be something fun to do this weekend\u201d and highlight-of-the-year types) is simply of no interest to anyone outside the \u201cwhite majority culture\u201d and that blacks and other minorities, even when living in middle-class, majority-white neighborhoods, steer clear?<\/p>\n Which would be unfortunate.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n 3. \u00a0The economics!<\/p>\n The Renaissance Faire is owned by the Renaissance Entertainment Corporation<\/a>, which also runs fairs in three other locations. It\u2019s not a non-profit group, but not everyone \u201cworking\u201d at the fair is a paid employee. \u00a0According to their website<\/a>, they \u201chire\u201d a mix of paid and volunteer \u201cworkers.\u201d<\/p>\n Strictly speaking, from what I understand, it\u2019s not legal to do so; if you work at a for-profit group, you are required to be paid or you\u2019re violating wage laws. \u00a0(There was a case not long ago, which I don\u2019t have a link to, in which a company that specialized in putting on rummage sales, \u201cpaid\u201d helpers in the form of discounts on merchandise, and was judged to have run afoul of this law.)<\/p>\n So\u00a0is what these \u201cvolunteers\u201d are doing \u201cwork\u201d? \u00a0Is it perhaps, \u201cwe\u2019ll give you the opportunity to engage in the performing arts on our property\u201d? \u00a0I don\u2019t know \u2014 on the one hand, it seems like many of the tests that can be performed to identify independent contractors would also apply here, and I\u2019m assuming that these \u201cvolunteers\u201d need to follow the schedule set out by the fair\/company, and play the roles assigned to them by the company, to the satisfaction of the company management. \u00a0On the other hand, also according to the website, the company provides valuable services to the performers, in the form of the \u201cBristol Academy of Performance Arts\u201d, which is an extended form of training, though it seems to be training in Renaissance Fair performing, not performing in general.<\/p>\n And imagine if the Fair were required to, in fact, pay everyone minimum wage, either as it stands now ($7.25 in Wisconsin) or at the hoped-for $15 per hour. \u00a0It wouldn\u2019t be sustainable. \u00a0There are scads and scads of performers there.<\/p>\n That does suggest that fair wage laws are murky and less than clear-cut, as is the line between for-profit and non-profit. \u00a0Perhaps this is acknowledged by the Department of Labor and there\u2019s an \u201cofficial\u201d loophole, or perhaps there\u2019s general acknowledgement that enforcing the laws as written would be destructive.<\/p>\n So there you have it. \u00a0As always, readers, if you have been to such a fair, or something similar, what can you share?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n All images my own, posted with the permission of the Bristol Renaissance Faire.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So I went to the Renaissance Fair (or \u201cFaire\u201d) in Bristol, Wisconsin, on Saturday, just my youngest son (10 years old) and I as the big boys (my husband included) are all away right now. \u00a0We had a really nice time \u2014 we didn\u2019t do any of the carnival games or buy any of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":6915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[634,58,48,681],"class_list":["post-6906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-culture","tag-family","tag-minimum-wage","tag-renaissance-fair"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"IMG_2193\"](\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/files\/2017\/07\/IMG_2193-1024x768.jpg\")
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