Dancers who wish to perform with the branch at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival (MRF) are required to familiarize themselves with the performance participation guidelines established by the board and teachers of the branch. Please direct any questions or concerns to Dan Friedman-Shedlov (e-mail: friedmanshedlov [at] gmail.com). » Go to the Performance Participation Policy

Rehearsal Information

Regular rehearsals will be held Mondays and Fridays beginning Monday, July 5th through Monday, August 16th, except there will be no rehearsal on Friday, July 16th.
Instructors are Lara Friedman-Shedlov and Joy Gullikson.

All Monday and Friday rehearsals will be 7:30 to 9:30pm. All will be at Tapestry Folkdance Center in south Minneapolis, except Friday, July 30th, which will be an outdoor rehearsal at the home of Jim and Joy Gullikson in Bloomington, and Friday August 13th, which will be an outdoor rehearsal, at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul. More info TBA.

Unless other specific arrangements have been made with the FOD, dancers are expected to be on site, costumed and ready to perform by the 9am opening cannon at the latest. We typically do 4 half-hour performances throughout the day, plus the parade. Please meet near the Irish Cottage immediately following cast call (about 8:25am) to check in with the FOD, get any last minute announcements, and do walk-throughs. Out of professional courtesy, please be on time. Lateness may get you eliminated from the line-up for the day.

The 2010 sign-up list for dancers, showing who is signed up to dance on which day, is available to download from the RSCDS Yahoo Group files section (login required).

The 2010 Minnesota Renaissance Festival runs weekends and Labor day from August 21st through October 3rd. The Branch will performs 6 out of the 7 weekends. >

Date	FOD*	Notes
Sat, 21 Aug 2010	Jamie Berg	Highland Fling Weekend
Sun, 22 Aug 2010	Andy McCracken	Highland Fling Weekend
Sat, 28 Aug 2010	Janet McKernan	Silk Road Weekend
Sun, 29 Aug 2010	Carol Mordorski	Silk Road Weekend
Sat, 11 Sept 2010	Eric Salo	Royal Ale Festival
Sun, 12 Sept 2010	Hannah Wells	Royal Ale Festival
Sat, 18 Sept 2010	TBD	Irish Weekend
Sun, 19 Sept 2010	Nikita Woltersen	Irish Weekend
Sat, 25 Sept 2010	Jamie Berg	Wine, Chocolate & Romance Weekend
Sun, 26 Sept 2010	Judith Palmateer	Wine, Chocolate & Romance Weekend
Sat, 2 Oct 2010	TBD	High Seas Weekend
Sun, 3 Oct 2010	Judith Palmateer	High Seas Weekend

Signing Up for Performance Days:
Sign up for performance days at rehearsals or by sending an e-mail message to Chandi McCracken (chandi [at] mccrackens.org). If it is within a week of the performance date, contact the FOD in question. The roster of RenFest dancers and the list of performers signed up for each performance date is available in the files section of the members only web site. If you are bringing a guest as a non-dancing dancer helper, you must contact one of the RenFest co-chairs at least a week in advance, so we can get their name on the list at the gate.

Getting Out to Renaissance Festival

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is located here.

• Attend cast call/morning meeting at 8am to get the day's performance schedule and any important RenFest news
• Run warm-ups and/or a brief walk-through in the morning
• Assign dances and partners for each performance during the day

NOTE: All 3-couple dances will be performed in 3-couple sets. All 2-couple dances will be performed in 4-couple sets.

The Happy Meeting	32 J 2C	RSCDS 29
The Lammermuir Hills	32 S 2S	Goldring/Wells House
The Westminster Reel	32 R 2C	RSCDS 45
~~In the Buff or Step Dance~~
The Rover's Rant	32 J 3C	Goldring/12 More Social
Flowers of Edinburgh	32 R 3C	RSCDS 1
~~In the Buff or Step Dance~~
Kenora Reel	32 R 3C	Drewry/Bankhead 2
Inverlochy Castle	32 S 3C	McKinnell
In the Sandbox	32 R 3C	New

Dance instructions are available from the Performance Repertoire page.

Information about Renaissance Festival costumes is available in the RSCDS Twin Cities Branch Costume Guidelines. If you have never performed with the branch at the RenFest before, you should get your costume approved by the RenFest chairs. If you have any questions at all about costumes, contact the Wardrobe Master. Jim will be glad to answer you any questions you have, make suggestions for costumes, and help with patterns, etc.

Where to Get Costumes:

Contact branch wardrobe master Jim Morehouse (E-mail: jmorehouse57 [at] gmail.com) for patterns and tips on sewing your own costume.

If you don't sew, there are several people in the group who are willing to sew costumes for reasonable compensation (contact Jim for information). There are also several commercial vendors who sell reasonably priced items*:

• Museum Replicas
  Good source for reasonably priced footwear, shirts, and doublets.
• Celtic Croft
  Good source for reasonably priced shirts. They also sell great kilts and arisaids, as well as sporrans and belts.
• Deva Lifewear
  Good source for reasonably priced shirts (the "Frontier" and "Bucaneer" shirts make good RenFest garb).

A Few Costume-Related Tips:

• Do bring a basket or rustic cloth sack to carry things (and in which to hide watches, water bottles, sunscreen, and other modern items that must be kept out of sight).
• A leather, wooden, or ceramic mug or goblet for drinking water is a must.
• Do not wear sunglasses (prescription eyeglasses are OK), visible wrist watches, modern clothing, or obviously modern fabrics.

• Listen carefully to the FOD's instructions and be on time when meeting for performances.
• Be sure to let the FOD know if you are injured or not feeling well.
• Wear shoes (see the Renaissance Festival costume guidelines for suggestions). It's safer and it is required by Festival regulations. You may want to add insoles to your shoes for extra support and comfort (it's a long day on your feet out at the RenFest).
• Apply sunscreen and reapply regularly throughout the day, even if it is overcast.
• Drink water and/or gatorade whenever you get the chance. Learn the locations of water out at the festival (there are water coolers in several locations on site).
• Familiarize yourself with the first aid kit.

Renaissance Festival-Related Links

• Official Minnesota Renaissance Festival Web Site
  Includes some maps and directions and an event schedule.

• Minnesota Renaissance Festival Friends
  Home page for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival mailing list, an e-mail-based bulletin board (listserv) for people associated with the MN RenFest. The web site includes information on how to subscribe to the MRFFriends listserv and a directory of some of the listserv participants. It also includes some useful information such as how to earn points to redeem for RenFest admission tickets and/or food coupon books, lyrics to some of the most popular songs sung out at RenFest, and tips on use of language during the Renaissance.

• RenFest Parade Info. Check this site for the schedule of upcoming parades where you can earn points to redeem for RenFest admission tickets and/or food books.