Response to "The Renaissance Faire: Entertainment or Escape?"

This essay describes the author's annual trip to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and discusses the reasons why many people might attend such an event. The author reiterates the conventional wisdom, stating that many people go to the Renaissance Faire because they need a break from the increasingly technological lifestyle of our society. People need to get away from the cell phones and computers and other electronics constantly surrounding them in their daily lives.

I, too, attend the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire annually, and I must disagree with this suggestion. Few of the attendees of the faire, even those who wear costumes and stay in character throughout the day, would be found without their cell phones. The various shows throughout the faire too do not do without electronics either. Most of the shows are mic'd and rely on amplifiers and speakers to project the performers voices out to the audience. Some of the shows even use special effects, such as explosive charges and sound effects.

People do not go to the Renaissance Faire to escape from technology. Not even the faire is immune to that. People go to the faire to be entertained - nothing more, and with the inclusion of the aforementioned effects, the entertainment that can be had at the Renaissance Faire is not really all that different from the entertainment one might get out of going to see a play or a movie. The Renaissance Faire just happens to be a bit more immersive than the theater.