There seems to be confusion about what’s going on with the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Is this it’s last year? Is next year? Will prices go up even more?
I spoke to an insider and have the answers.
First of all, no, this is not the last year. One of my clients is a partnership that has very strong connections in the leadership, so not only did I get several tickets to visit, but I also talked to Gregory, the man who is in charge of the partnership, and this is what he said:
The Ren Fest will definitely be there for the 2016 season. The lease on the lad expires after December 31, 2016.
However, the developers are looking at other land, and he said the most likely parcels are within 15 miles of the current one.
Further, the Ren Fest will buy the land, instead of leasing it.
More importantly, he said that should lead to such non-Renaissance luxuries such as running water and electricity. I’m pretty sure the electricity will be for things like ovens and credit card machines.
He told me more interesting things about the Fest itself. He said the shops are actually owned by the merchants. As such, one of the considerations the festival is making is how much to comp people for their shop.
Gregory told me that some shop keepers have been there for over 30 years (it opened in 1971), and see the move as a natural end to a good run.
Naturally, this makes room for ‘new’ and ‘innovative’ Renaissance artisans (quote because it’s the Renaissance, folks. There’s nothing new about it).
He told me that as buildings and shops needed replacement, for the last 5 years or so shops have been build with kind of a detachable fou
ndation.
He assured me that the Renaissance Festival is not going awayanytime soon, so we’ll all be able to go to it and see what we love.
