Faire Weather

[Woodland Artisan]

I'm thinking of participating at this faire and was wondering what the weather (especially the temp) tends to be like.  The demonstrations in traditional woodworking that I do are rather physically demanding and I like to get an idea of what to expect before committing to it.

From the few talks I've had with people that have done this faire before, they've said to prepare for warm weather at the beginning weeks and then cool in the later weeks.  But what does "warm" mean?  Upper 80's is on the upper range for me to work all day like I prefer to do.  60's is ideal for working.

[lordwriothsley]

From what I have heard from the few talks that i have had with some of the cast members of this faire warm means more like in the upper 80's and low 90's.

[Zaubon]

But it cools down to lows in the upper 60s low 70s by December!

[Woodland Artisan]

I would only be able to do 2 weekends near the beginning of the faire so it' still going to be quite warm I guess.  Thanks, you two.

[lordwriothsley]

The main thing that you want to remember even as a vendor is to take care of yourself and drink lots of water.I don't think that LARF wants their vendors going down to you know.

[Woodland Artisan]

Very good point.  Keep well hydrated ... and BEFORE you need it (ie you should be drinking today what you'll need for tomorrow).  In a former lifetime, I was an athletic trainer, a sports medicine specialist for those that aren't familiar, in college and several professional teams.  Managing hydration in the athletes was a major part of the gig.  Some athletes would loose 15+ lbs in water weight a day but be required to gain back 80-85% of that before the next day.  The stories I could tell of 300 lbs linemen screaming their heads off as they laid in the back of the pickup trucks (ambulances couldn't/wouldn't handle them) racing to the emergency rooms stiff as boards head-to-toe (literally!) because of the full-body muscle cramps due to low electrolyte/fluid levels.  That wasn't fun ... for anybody.

I'm not sure how much vendoring I'll be doing (if, in fact, I do the event at all).  I'm planning to do much more of a demonstration/historical educational thing since it'll just be myself attending.  I can't manage selling and the demonstrating alone.  My demonstrations/educational programs are far more involved to do all of that myself.

[lordwriothsley]

Keeping hydrated is very important especially in the rennaisance world.Trust me my friend in the now 6 years i've been doing rennaisance faires i've had to learn the hard way of not taking care of myself and not staying hydrated.I could tell you stories of myself either going or almost going down that are not very fun either.

[UrsulaChandler]

I think I can clarify a little as a life long resident of southeast Louisiana.  Usually in the beginning of November, which is when you are talking about coming, we can expect mild weather. By mild I mean highs of lower 70s in the daytime, dropping to 50s at night. 

Late November and early December drop another 10 degrees. We can sometimes have really cold days and some freezing temps at night.

Last year was very unusual and was the hottest year we've had at fair. We didn't get any cold days at all and no frozen nights. The temps remained 70s and 80s for the entire run. The warmest day topped out at 85. Fortunately the days are shorter in November and the peak sun time is very short.  Truthfully the lack of rain was more of a nuisance. We had dust clouds!? on the lanes.

We all drank lots of water and took many breaks. All of our participants who had physically demanding jobs were able to perform with only a little discomfort. Mostly we were just disappointed because we all look forward to wearing our shiny new winter garb and we weren't able to.

It was also very bad candle making weather. No beeswax candle making records were broken last year.

As I said last year was very unusual. I have every expectation that this year we can enjoy our normal pleasantly mild weather. We have lots of shade and the lake in the middle of the grounds keeps the breezes cool.

Ursula Chandler
LRF cast member

[Woodland Artisan]

By mild I mean highs of lower 70s in the daytime, dropping to 50s at night. 

Now THAT I can handle.  That's good working and sleeping weather.   Thanks!

[lordwriothsley]

50's at night sound good to me as do 70's during the day,however with me being a cold weather person i would like it better if it was a little bit colder at night than the 50's.