A Passionate Post About Oklahoma's Only OPEN Medfaire This Year
Craigmeister • September 6, 2020
Here's a letter I was asked to post about the only Medieval Faire that WILL HAPPEN in Oklahoma in 2020. It's filled with the heart and soul that many of us feel about this frustrating year. Won't you patrons, performers and vendors join us in Glenpool the first weekend of November, even if for just this one time? It could be epic!
Hi - my name is Tina Nettles, and I have a friend who runs a Medieval Faire in Glenpool (formerly Kiefer) every year. I’m not in any way a legal representative of the King’s Medieval Faire nor am I employed by them. I’m just a friend of the owner / manager of it. But I wanted to reach out to you and all the other canceled faires and events from 2020 to suggest an idea.
I don’t want to step on toes. I don’t want to try to steal YOUR acts, vendors, or employees away from YOUR FAIRES and FESTIVALS I’m not in any way an official contact. Please understand this.
During the summer, the Tulsa City County Library couldn’t hold its usual in-person summer reading program events for kids. So I volunteered late this spring to produce 26 short videos and interviews with ren-faire / med-faire musicians, artisans, and other entertainers for the library to release each week on their website, so kids would still have fun and entertaining things to look forward to all summer, attending a “virtual” faire.
Do you know what I found out during that time? These faire entertainers and craftsmen are HURTING this year. I’m guessing that you are too. Sales are WAY down while there are no live, in-person events, and without the energy that comes from meeting patrons face to face at faires.
Ancient arts aren’t being practiced, as the practicers of these arts are working mundane jobs instead. Everyone’s a little sad, not to get to see old friends every month or two on the faire circuit. Everyone’s a little worried about what the future looks like for festivals of all sorts.
So I have a little bit of good news. As of right now, my friend says that Glenpool has not canceled the King’s Medieval Faire, the first weekend in November. To my knowledge it’s the only medieval / renaissance faire to go on as planned in Northeast Oklahoma, in the entirety of 2020. She’s still accepting applications from vendors, people eager to get out of their houses, garb-up, and have a faire.
I know there’s nothing in the budget right now to pay for a bunch of extra acts, but I suspect that if you are a comedy act, a musical act, a jousting act, swordsmen, pirates, bellydancers, vikings, fairies, mermaids, falconers, harpists, dancers… or any kind of renaissance performer whatsoever, and you wanted to get on the schedule for November, to just dust of your garb, to bring an instrument, sell some beautiful things you make, you’d be welcome.
This could be historic. The ONLY medieval / renaissance faire in all of 2020 in this area. The ONLY one. Even if you wanted to just come as a patron, you are welcome. Please, let’s get together and just enjoy doing what we do.
If you are interested in renting a booth, or getting an unpaid slot on the entertainment calendar, please visit King’s Medieval Faire on facebook, and message her.
Guys, this is as much to cheer her up as you. This has been a rough year all the way around for every one of us. And our patrons. And YOUR patrons. We all deserve something good, safely distanced, but really really good, to show for 2020.
Remember, after the plague comes the Renaissance!
Also of note, Glenpool is allowing her to have a Christmas Market for makers, every weekend from mid-November in the same location (Black Gold Park right on highway 75 in Glenpool) until close to Christmas. If you sell something wonderful and would like to be a part, even if it’s just for this year, get your name on the calendar for this opportunity. 2020 doesn’t have to be a total loss for any of us. We’ll get through this together. It’s been said a million times, but it’s true. Let’s not let all of 2020 be stolen from us. It’s time for a little joy and revelry, don’t you think?
-Tina Nettles
patron
Who would like to meet in a park in the Tulsa Metro like Bixby's Haikey Creek Park (pictured) to discuss Renfaire experiences or ideas for bringing a Renfaire back to Tulsa? Vendors: Want to bounce ideas off of someone about what kind of things to sell? Performers: Have a new song or part of an act you want to try out? Patrons: Anything you want to see at Renfaires that could be brought to their attention? If any of these things appeal to you, send an e-mail to craig@meistersrealm.com or a message on the Book of Faces to Meisters Realm. Let me know what part of town you would like to meet at & what time on Saturday, October 17th. The sooner the response, the more time I would have to see if I can reserve a shelter. If we can have a successful get-together, we can look at doing these routinely. Huzzah!
If you seek 1 more Celtic event in Oklahoma, visit Stillwater on Saturday, September 26th. The "Halfway To Saint Paddy's Day Celtic Fest" will have music, Highland Games, sheep herding & more. https://www.block34live.com/halfway-st-paddys
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Tune in to Renfest Info And Fun Podcast 2026 25 for a musical journey to places one would hear of at a Renfest. This would be a great way to spend an hour during a roadtrip this Labor Day Weekend or any other time as well. I hope you enjoy it. You can find this podcast on Podbean, Amazon, Player FM, iHeart, Apple and/or Podchaser.
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Need a Renfaire fix in the Air Conditioning this weekend? You can visit Joplin's Jomocon to visit with members of Vinita, Oklahoma's Queensferry Renaissance Festival and Joplin, Missouri's Silver Sage Renaissance Festival. Those are a couple of premiere spring events in the region. Huzzah! https://www.facebook.com/jomoconcommittee
For your viewing pleasure, Meister's Realm Public Service Announcement # 11 is now available. Want an alternative to experiencing a Ren or Scotfest in the searing heat or bone-chilling cold? Visiting such an event from the past is the next best thing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3qjjzHFQq0
Good day! Would you like to buy fireworks & support a local Renfest at the same time? You can go just west of Sand Springs (& Tulsa) to do just that. You can probably see some familiar faces at the same time. Help the Queensferry Renaissance Festival build up funds to bring excellent acts, maintain their grounds & pay for annual administrative items by buying things that go "BOOM" in the night (& day). Huzzah! https://www.facebook.com/events/1328177275961614?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22home%22%7D%2C%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D%5D%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D
Tune in as I re-live my visits inside the gates in Oklahoma's Renfaire offerings this past spring. I also provide a few hints on how to improve Renfaires and give some hints as to what will is forthcoming from Meister's Realm this summer. What is "Sew Unusually Knotted". It is all spelled out in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhyyMKoQ3BY
Good day! Here are 2 of my new Public Service Announcements. I do hope that you enjoy them and can put the information to enjoyable use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZM5jCOjnBc&list=PL7U5kfgxZIn58vjFlsRHsaDMUOxau1zUJ&index=9 ~ PSA # 9: How to find specific info and photos of Missouri & Oklahoma Renfaires. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJRzpENMmg ~ PSA # 10: Where to find quality archery equipment to join the amazing world of archery.