Estrella addenda...

[herveus]

My pants are rather bankrupt. If there is something from that last two weeks that you think I really ought not have missed, please nudge me explicitly.

Estrella attendance was down 15% plus or minus. I'm told that Caid seemed particularly thin on the ground. I was hoping to see lferion and Thea of Northbridge, but neither were there. *sigh*

I also noted a disturbing number of people who couldn't be bothered to put on garb. It ain't a bloody Renn Faire people. Walking around in tee shirt and jeans is *not* an attempt at medieval garb. Not close. *grumble*

There were a lot of gaps among the food vendors and in the marketplace. I heard a report that 23 merchants did not show up. One hopes that Deyv takes that into account next year when sorting out who goes where.

Comments

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

ook.
yeah having empty spots sucks. it just looks bad....

[luscious-purple.livejournal.com]

I wonder what the drop in Estrella attendance portends for Pennsic 2009....

Any word on the reason behind the empty spots? Was it simply a bunch of no-shows for financial reasons, or were people P.O.'d at the Estrella Powers That Be, or something else entirely?

And, yeah, there is NO excuse for running around an SCA event in T-shirt and jeans. I'm not sure how you would police that sort of thing at a large event, but someone should make some sort of attempt (formal or informal).

[herveus.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I didn't hear reasons for any particular absence.

I suspect that the drop in attendence reflected a number of concerns, including the economy and "stupid Atenveldt politics".

[lferion]

I was a victim of the economy -- they didn't renew our purchase order until the very end of January, (so I was effectively unemployed), and when they did get us working again they had not moved out the release date of the project, so I was actually work-working for all of Estrella :/

I wish I could have seen you too!

[ziactrice.livejournal.com]

On the last day when I went with you last year, Herveus, I watched down at the front gate as large groups and families came in, paying their fee and gawking at everyone in costume, treating it exactly like a Renn Faire. They rode the buses around making snarky comments, as well, although it was the pair in wanna-be-goth with sliced-down skimpy T-shirts to show their tattoos that really broke the mood for me.

I did notice that the gate didn't seem to have any difficulty taking their money, even when it was manifestly plain these were people just coming in street clothes to play tourist. At least, it didn't seem as if there was any attempt to say 'you're supposed to at least try to fit in' to anyone while I was there...

[herveus.livejournal.com]

I bet this was the case again this year. *bleaugh*

They weren't running buses this year, so they had to walk around. They sell day passes which does encourage the tourist mentality. *sigh*

[luscious-purple.livejournal.com]

I wonder if those day passes are part of the "stupid Atenveldt politics."

I shall keep this issue in mind for the next time somebody raises the issue of "Geez, why doesn't Pennsic have day passes or weekend passes for those who can't afford the whole war?"

On my very first full day at my very first full Pennsic, I was walking down Currie Road when a station wagon pulled up to me. Inside was a middle-aged couple in mundane shorts and no camping (etc.) gear in the back of the car. They asked me how much it would cost for a one-day admission so they could take a look around and see the sights. AARGH!!!!!!!