ALABAMA RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Minutes of Meeting, 1-17-08

 

Those present:  His Majesty King Gregory of Bowling, Bonnie McIntyre, Rick McAdams, John Iaria, Ann Iaria, Mary Nicely, Sue Bevis, Jan Roblin, William Freeman, Lee Freeman, Carol Burhans, Leah Brewer, David Fowler, Billy Warren

 

  1. The Roundtable members expressed deep sympathy to Donna Miles in the loss of her daughter-in-law, Tiffany Miles.  Billy Warren announced that the Roundtable has placed the book, The Renaissance:  Masterpieces of Art and Architecture by Susan Wright, in the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library in Tiffany’s memory.

     
  2. Bonnie McIntyre circulated a copy of publicity, with full color pictures, regarding our 2007 Faire which appeared in the 10-21-07 issue of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

     
  3. His Majesty King Gregory:
    1. Circulated an album of photographs from the Alabama Renaissance Faire from its third year of existence to the 2007 edition (WOW!); and
    2. Stated that he plans for these things to happen at the 2008 Feast:

                                                              i.      A small table to be placed behind the High Table for his cupbearer to be served,

                                                            ii.      The knighting of his long-time friend David Fowler, and

                                                          iii.      The proposal in marriage by his brother to the brother’s fiancée.

 

  1. Ann Iaria:
    1. Stated that she will soon work on the possibility of comped hotel rooms for Chef Jim Matterer and his crew during the Feast weekend;
    2. Reported that the Riverwalk project near the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center is almost ready to open and encouraged everyone to visit it when it does open; and
    3. Reminded everyone that the Ardmore Renaissance Faire will occur on the third weekend in April and stated that we have been invited to set up a booth free of charge.

       
  2. Jan Roblin:
    1. Distributed copies of a letter to her Renaissance friends announcing the opening of the Center for Peace at her Spanish Oaks Gallery;
    2. Stated that the video done by her son, Shane Wilson, at the 2007 Faire is now being edited and that he will give us a short (approximately 5 minutes) version of it for us to post on our website and MySpace page;
    3. Suggested that we compile a book that includes our poster collection, a  history of the Faire and, perhaps, a history of our local area during the years of the Faire’s existence; and
    4. Stated (and all agreed) that the castle decorated by children at the 2007 Faire should be displayed this year in locations such as the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library.

       
  3. Sue Bevis reported (to great applause) that she went to the Marriott and made photographs of each of the Renaissance Faire posters.  She photographed the 1989 poster today at Richards Education Center today, making the set of photographs complete.  Sue will email these to William Freeman so he can post them on our MySpace page and to Billy Warren so he can forward them to our webmaster.  Great!

     
  4. William Freeman reported that our My Space page has been updated, including the posting of photographs from our 2007 Faire done by a staff member from the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.  William further stated that our page continues to get a huge number of hits and has accumulated a host of friends.  All agreed that the page has come a long way since John Iaria first suggested it a few years ago.  On behalf of the Roundtable, Billy Warren expressed sincere gratitude to William Freeman for keeping the page both current and very interesting.

     
  5. Lee Freeman:
    1. Volunteered to research the history of the children’s game of hopscotch;
    2. Stated his hope that we will succeed this year in staging a mini-version of the pilgrims’ journey in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”;
    3. Stated that he plans to reinstate the lecture series at the public library this year, featuring lectures on such topics as:

                                                              i.      Geoffrey Chaucer and his famous “Canterbury Tales,” and

                                                            ii.      Pirates during the Medieval/Renaissance period; and

    1. Announced that he is considering the showing of a series of films related to the Medieval Renaissance period on Saturdays in October at the public library.

       
  1. In a drawing, both John Iaria and David Fowler won bound books with blank covers and blank pages so they can write and illustrate their own books.  (Will they write books related to the Medieval/Renaissance period or on the Alabama Renaissance Faire?  Or will they turn the books into pictorial albums related to our Feast and Faire?  We’ll see!)

     
  2. John Iaria suggested, and all agreed, that our Faire this year needs ale in kegs.  Others suggested that, if ale in kegs isn’t available, we need to search diligently for a vendor similar to the guys who sold sasparilla and other liquids in refillable bottles.

     
  3. Billy Warren:
    1. Displayed an impressive collection of fine books related to the Medieval/Renaissance period which Bill Parrish has donated to the Roundtable (huge applause!);
    2. Reviewed the list of one-of-a-kind events that Roundtable members did in connection with the 2007 Faire (see item #2 in the minutes of the 11-1-07 meeting of the Roundtable) as a way to set the stage for great things to happen this year as well; and
    3. Circulated various items (the current issue of Renaissance magazine, the printed program from the Arizona Renaissance Fair, catalogues from Medieval/Renaissance suppliers, etc.).

       
  4. Billy Warren reviewed the list of suggestions for children’s activities for the 2008 Faire (see item #6 in the minutes of the 11-1-07 meeting of the Roundtable).  These additional suggestions were made by the group:
    1. Work with the Times-Daily to publish clues related to the treasure hunt.
    2. Create riddles to insert in the hopscotch game, with the requirement that the riddle must be answered before the person can move to the net square.
    3. Set up a tabletop game with knights, damsels and dragons, with regulations about which figure can be moved, etc.