Archive for July 15th, 2008

It’s been about a month and a half since things all came raining down on my head on the personal front, and left quite a mess in its wake. For all those who have been supportive throughout, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for having come out of the woodwork. It’s been a very eye-opening experience for me, to say the least.

I know there’s a very long road ahead to continue working on the elements of this whole mess which I was responsible for having handled so poorly. It was my own fault for not having taken care of things which meant most to me (a tendency which spans across far more than just my personal life), as well as for not having simply stood up for what I believed in when I should have, rather than waiting so long. I am angry at the surrounding issues/aspects which influenced how I acted (like faire, guild, etc.), but in the end it was my own choice to let myself be influenced and to go about things as a status quo.

I lost more than just a person who was very importaint to me, it rocked my world in a way that perhaps it’s needed for a long time (read: years). I know I’d wanted to make the changes, it’d just taken this long for me to get off my ass and choose to execute on them. Well, yes, it all blew up in my face, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not still a good time to continue to take that path. I know where the other one leads, and I’ve been through that quite enough, thankyouverymuch.

When I’d made the choice to change my focus, then everything went boom, it had the odd side effect of really all but extinguishing my passion/drive for the things in my life which had long been the staples of my ambitions (world conquest of faires, or at least a good number of them), work, and generally my characteristic never ending parade of new ideas/projects. I’m slowly getting back into the groove, and while I’m still not totally jazzed and thrilled about getting back into the saddle of that horse which has taken me across so many years of achievement (I do still have a certain resentment that I’d let my work/hobbies take up so much of my time that I neglected people in my life, but it was my not having dealt with that and better managed my time, not the faire’s), I am getting there. SLO faire this upcoming weekend will be a good first test.

I really wish I didn’t have three faires to manage in the next month, but on the other hand, perhaps it’s just the thing to try to finish my distraction from other thoughts back to the tasks at hand. I know durelle and perry and marti have been giving their all in covering for my absense, as my coworkers have at the office, but if I don’t get back into that saddle now, I fear that I never will, and worse, will lose more than just a faire or two.

As for Her, well, I wish her all the best, that still goes without saying. I’d always said I’d support her, if I didn’t, what kind of best friend was I to begin with. Perhaps something may still come one day, but it won’t be tomorrow, or next week. But for now, I’ll work on what I can (myself, and my projects), and see what I can make of myself there. Then I’ll deal the rest if and when the time should come.

I suppose over the next week I’ll start posting and get back into the vaccum of time that are the various mailing lists, project lists, and such that all inevtiably make up the pulse of the west coast faire circuit. Perhaps I should drop a note over to that group that’s looking at putting on the steampunk faire and see if they could use another hand. That might be a cool new avenue to look towards – and besides, I think I could use a few faires where I’m just middle mgmt while I get my bearings. I think I’ll hold to next year before I collect any other RenFaires or new venues.

There will be no sword-fighting, gypsy-dancing or wandering minstrels in Belfair this summer: Ron Cleveland’s dream of bringing his renaissance festival to North Mason county came to a halt Monday.

Cleveland planned to hold his Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire on a 206-acre property off Old Belfair Highway. On Monday, the state Department of Natural Resources affirmed a notice of compliance it issued earlier stating that Cleveland needed a zoning conversion to clear portions of the forested land.

Mason County has issued a moratorium on developing the property because the state’s notice prevents the county from issuing and permits or licenses.

Because it will take months for Cleveland to get a zoning conversion, the fair is off for this year — and maybe forever. Not being able to hold the festival will cost him about $250,000 out-of-pocket, he said.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Cleveland said. “This is putting me out millions. This may very well destroy me and most of the vendors.”

Cleveland said he will try to refund the vendor’s fees and presold tickets, but he’s not sure if he has the financial means to do it right now.

The festival was held in Purdy for nine years, but that site had become too small for the approximately 80,000 attendees. So Cleveland signed a four-year lease and purchase option on the Pope Resources-owned property on Bear Creek-Dewatto Road.

The festival was scheduled for three weekends next month: Aug. 2-3, 9-10, and 16-17.

In previous years, the fair has drawn thousands of people from outside the state. Cleveland estimated the festival would bring more than $5 million to the community. In addition, Cleveland planned to hold other events throughout the year, including a Shakespeare Festival, a Dickens Festival and Civil War re-enactments. These events, many lasting for multiple days, could have brought as much as $45 million to $50 million to the area, he said.

North Mason Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Frank Kenny was a supporter of the project, touting the economic benefits.

“This event will be of value to not only the families that attend, but also to those who depend on the small businesses of North Mason,” he said in an e-mail.

Community members, however, had mixed reactions to the festival. Some had even signed an online petition against bringing the fair to Belfair.

Signee and Belfair resident Keith Morrison said he was concerned about having thousands of cars on a steep, narrow road leading to the site. He also said few people knew about the specifics of the fair.

“The first time I heard about the issues was when I was asked to sign a petition,” said Morrison, who lives less than two miles from the site.

“There’s been little information given to the community and most people around here have no idea of the scale this is going to be.”

But Bremerton resident Wesley Weaver was doubtful the problems associated with holding the fair would outweigh the benefits. Like Kenny, he thought holding a multi-day festival would boost local businesses. A longtime renaissance fair attendee, Weaver pointed to the success of a festival in Larkspur, Colo. The town bases its livelihood on the fair, he said, and holding a similar event could catalyze development in Belfair.

“Saying ‘No, we don’t want the millions of dollars the fair is going to bring to the community’ is ludicrous,” Weaver said. “It’s self-destructive.”