Review: Northern Faire, 2008 (Opening Sunday)

September 8, 2008 by Mary Miller

Ed’s Note: This is Mary Miller’s first review posting, and we’ll looking forward to getting many more as time goes by.

Casa de Fruta, Hollister, CA - So we arrived late in the morning to this annual six week faire held about 6 miles outside of Hollister (though the event is more often associated with Gilroy, since that’s where you turn off the main freeway to get there), and found that it was far warmer than the high 80s that had been predicted for San Jose at that same time of day. So much so that you might say that it was flipping hot for muggles and performers alike. Within 20 yards of entering the faire, however, we’d been told repeatedly about how stupid hot it’d been the day before (the stories ranged from 102-110 with almost no breeze to speak of on Saturday) - and no matter the actual temperature, once you pass 100, it gets into that stupid hot range.

The performers were doing their best to keep their chins up and soldier through the heat, and the washer women especially who just inside the front gate, make a great first impression for patrons walking in. Their singing, antics, and general goings on make for a great first and last experience of the day. However once past that, there was really very little interaction in the streets. There were a number of performers making the Court, Queen’s Guard, and St. Cuthbert yards colorful and active, but they seemed more an extension of the stage performances where they were performing for the audience, and not really a particularly interactive experience. So for patrons who like to walk and watch, it’s generally a lot of fun, though it’d be nice if so much wasn’t packed along the one stretch from court glade to the main stage, then the rest of the site for encampments/performers is rather sparse.

The stages though are all around the site, you can’t help but turn another corner or two and hit another one. Here’s where I think this event particularly shines - that they have a wide number of stages as well as acts that aren’t just static from one weekend to the next - check their entertainment lineup to see which of your favorites will be playing on which weekends, don’t just assume that every one will be there every weekend. The heat was still a killer on most stages, but the players were doing a great job of working through the heat (how Siamsa La Cheile does it in that heat without bursting into flames remains a mystery).

Placement of some groups might have had some better thought put to it (what’s the point of an elegant Military encampment parked next to a live stage so they can’t even do any steel fighting for a good chunk of the day).

The only complaint we had however was a genuine WTF moment. We had gone to get some ice to deal with the heat from one of the alestands - nope, you have to buy it by the cup. Ok, fine. How much? $4. Yep boys and girls, four (4) fraking dollars for ice. That’s being raped hard and not in the nice neighborly way, either. Even on purchasing a bottle of water (also $4, but at least that was a decent sized bottle), nope, you can’t have ice unless you buy the $4 version. $7 beers, and $4 sodas. When you’ve got a family out and wandering through an already beyond reasonably hot day, let’s do them a favor and give them some impetus to want to return to try it a second time.

Beyond that, the vendors were great and attentive (even generally in better spirits than last year), with some apparently nice new additions to the clothing lineups even in booths that have been around a while. I personally miss the shepard’s pies from years long past, not that the new booth isn’t great, but I loved the old foil bowls and their particular product far better (that was what I’d grown up getting used to). Also kudos to their keeping the free parking in the boondocks. Given the $25 gate fee, it’s nice to at least have some option to park and not have to add to the budget impact.

Total Price for the outing* (3 adults): $147.