Pictures: http://www.renaissancefaire.net/Lake-Elsinore.htm

I wanted to attend the new Lake Elsinore Faire (known as the "California Renaissance Farie") at least once this year. This is a brand new faire and I've been excited about it for months. As people attended, the reports that I'd heard were good: small, yet intimate and good natured.

I had scheduled my trip for the 30th of September, a Saturday. As it happened, this was the last weekend of the faire, although originally it extended a few weeks further.

Heather was going to accompany me to the faire; we were intending on car pooling. However, life intruded and I had to tough it out on my own.

I left early Saturday morning. I suspected this faire had an opening show, and usually these begin just before the scheduled start time. Since the faire was supposed to open at 10am, I figured getting there between 9am and 9:30am would be perfect.

There was no traffic at all, and I arrived at Lake Elsinore arond 8:45am. I took the directions indicated by MapQuest and drove until I figured I had passed the faire. I stopped at a little store, asked for directions (yes, I know I am a guy, but I ask for directions all of the time) and found I had indeed gone by the site. Sigh. I drove back three miles and saw a teeny, tiny sign, parked, ran into a couple of friends and talked for a while. As it turned out, I was in the wrong parking lot (for participants I think), but no one complained. (The patron parking lot is about five miles down the road and the patrons were bused in).

I chatted with friends until the opening show began, and looked around. The faire gounds themselves were located down a hill from the parking lot (a very streep hill). I could see inside (there was no gate, just some rope) and I saw a huge number of trees, some buildings and a stage.

All in all, it appeared to be a very quaint, shaded, nice spot for a faire. A little dusty (well, a lot dusty) but very well situated. I liked the location.

The opening show consisted of some music by Nightwatch (I love listening to these guys, they are very good), followed by a ten or fifteen minute show. It set up the characters and was actually nicely done. I got lots of pictures.

The show was over and it was time to see the faire. There were two stages, an area for jousting, the court, and a circular path lined with shops, boothes and food stalls.

I watched Irish dancing, very well done, the Lord Mayers show, the Bawdy Juggler and the Queens show. I missed tthe battle reenactment.

Unfortunately, the Merry Wives of Windsor were not in attendance, something about recording a CD, Marlowe's Shadow and Sound and Fury were not there, and the joust had been canceled.

The food was good, the entertainment was excellent, and the Bawdy Juggler was funny as always.

I ran into a lot of people that I know from various faires, including Souther, San Luis Obispo and Escondido. I did get a lot of pictures, 1742 of them, and had several nice conversations with friends.

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good, very small faire. All of the participants were friendly, they performed well, and they were more than willing to play. It was definitely worth the trip and the time.

I'd like to see what Laura does with this faire next year. Personally, I think this has potential and could turn into a very nice venue for fun.