Opinion: Recenter Renn Fayre - for Everyone

Renn Fayre at Reed started as a Renaissance Faire, an environment immersed in a theme. A festival where, half the fun exists in the surrounding environment – distinct from other college end-of-year celebrations in its transformation of campus into an art installation, a land of whimsy. Having experienced a Renn Fayre for myself, I can unfortunately say that this transformation of campus was not what I experienced. Rather, post-pandemic Renn-Fayre seems to be centered on a few large parties organized by the czars – primarily Thesis Burning and Midnight Surprise – with occasional, scattered immersive art installations from extremely dedicated students. This is to Renn Fayre’s detriment. 

As a disabled student, my enjoyment of the present version of Renn Fayre is extremely limited. Thesis Burning, while held outside, is extremely loud and crowded, making it difficult to enjoy for those with mobility needs and sensory issues. This problem is exacerbated with Midnight Surprise, which in addition to noise and crowds, crams students into the Student Union, increasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. It also takes place late at night, a hugely limiting factor for disabled students and those who live off-campus. Midnight Surprise is also easily the most expensive single part of Renn Fayre due to its hiring of outside music acts.

On an unofficial level, substance use is often considered a core part of Renn Fayre, a practice similarly limited in its scope of participants. Assuming students don’t have to pay for their own substances (which many do), those limited by medical conditions, those without a group to rely on to keep them safe when under the influence, and those who simply choose not to imbibe just do not get the same amount out of the event, it seems. For a number of peers I’ve talked with, their consumption of substances during Renn Fayre was a large part of their enjoyment of the event. Some of this was the experience of imbibing on its own, but it was also the way the influence of substances altered their actions and perception of the events around them, whether they be the large parties, the smaller festivities, or private conversations among friends. All of Renn Fayre is not designed with the assumption that everyone will be inebriated, but there is a level of social expectation, and disappointment with the event seems jarring compared to the glowing reviews of those who experienced it drunk, high, or otherwise influenced. Amplifying the transformation of campus as part of the event would make Renn Fayre more magical for those staying sober, making the world surreal and wacky on its own, while likely only improving the experience for those who imbibe.

While I am delighted to see other Reedies enjoy the current version of Renn Fayre, I can’t help but lament the older incarnations of the event spoken of by alumni and in conversations on Reed history. Olde Renn Fayre was a transformation of the campus environment, full of structures and other large-scale art pieces, student performances, and even a border separating campus from the outside world to help students feel comfortable with their self-expression or use of substances. The large scale of this event, however, was primarily made possible by widespread student involvement. The czars, Facilities, and other official representatives facilitated the basic structure of the event, but the plethora of curiosities around campus came from everyone. 

In pointing this out, I do NOT blame the current classes of Reedies for not putting enough effort into Renn Fayre. Rather, I intend this as a reminder (of?), but more importantly a contrast to some of the current practices in official Renn Fayre facilitation that place borders on this wider community participation. During last year’s Renn Fayre, any and all exhibits or other student-organized projects had to be proposed to and approved by the czars and other organizational heads of Renn Fayre. While a useful system on its own, particularly for informing people of the time and location of events, in practice this limited the amount of projects that were able to occur. Students had to submit their ideas far ahead of the event, with no clear recourse for those who could not work with this timeline. Community Safety announced that they would be taking down any unauthorized student projects put up as part of Renn Fayre, on the basis that they might not be safe for students. For this same concern of safety, approved projects were also limited. Most notably, students were not allowed to build structures using wood due to liability concerns, limiting the possibilities for and structural integrity of what did occur, such as the maze. Funding for these student projects is, of course, also limited, as more funding is set aside for events like Midnight Surprise.

Efforts on campus have been made to make Renn Fayre projects easy for students, most notably BARF (Bring Art to Renn Fayre), which attempts to help students find materials, space, and help for constructing Renn Fayre projects, but these movements are still relatively small. A focus on these sorts of efforts as the core of Renn Fayre, rather than the administrative and monetary job of the czar team, could be part of bringing back the more immersive atmosphere of Olde Renn Fayre. 

The Olde Renn Fayre ethos is, at the end of the day, a more accessible version of the event. Not only does it allow for the most memorable aspects of Renn Fayre to be more democratic and built by the community, but it allows for a special kind of wonder to exist in a space that is theoretically outside the norms of the society around us, but that is physically made to be as such. For someone incapable of late-night parties, ingestion of various substances, or constant aimless wandering looking for events, to be surrounded by creative labors of love such as sculptures, or mundane but fantastical details, such as trees full of paper cranes and fairy lights on the quad, could be what separates Renn Fayre from just another weekend of parties on Reed campus. 

Let’s make a new Olde Renn Fayre for everyone, one that explodes with the creativity and passion of Reedies, beyond what’s normally acceptable. Let’s put money and support back into that transformation, and not a single party. Let’s not just be ourselves, but help those around us to be themselves too, louder than they thought possible. Let’s bring dreams to life however we can, even those that seem absurd and a little obscene, and, in doing so, touch on the parts of Olde Reed not just worth keeping, but that bring joy when we do.