PipemanRadio Discusses The 33rd Anniversary of RenFest

0:04 Hey, you love lunto censure. See Wow for you. Young why become of America? It's time for the adventures of White Man. I'll tell you four c why dot Com West Pond Beach is number. One Internet radio station. Here's your host, the White Man. For the days you'll never remember.

0:46 We create an experience you'll never forget. Through fantasy, we discover an opportunity to pause time. We bring to life a world from pure imagination through the lens of childlike wonder. Any that passed beyond our castle gates received the freedom to be their realities behind.

2:43 I can tell you that this experience is something special, but I won't. They will mhm. The Fair to me is a sense of community. It's a sense of escapism. It's also a sense of how we hope the world will be one day. Every Yeah, me and my friends look forward to coming back to this magical place and having the absolute best time and making the most cherished memories. Well, I love it. I love feeling part of a community that loves embracing and enjoying being fantasy based, different, having fun, having a good time. Florida Renfest is kind of like Halloween for eight straight weeks of dressing up in medieval, steampunk, wonderland, whatever you've got your eye on, come out and dress like that.

3:25 It's so much fun. Everyone comes to the Renaissance Festival for all the stuff you can do and see, but I come for a person that I can be when I'm here. This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man w four Cy Radio. And I gotta tell. You this interview I'm excited about only because it's about one of my favorite events. And you know, anybody that listens to. Me knows me. They no, No, I go to a lot of events for a lot of years. This one is my favorite, and if you can see be you might know what it is. And the shirt I'm wearing is actually from the Ramissance Festival.

4:06 And now I have one of. The people that produces the whole festival right here, and that's right here in South Florida, hometown to the Pipe Man. So let's welcome to the show, Bobby Rodriguez. How are you well? It's my pleasure and thank you for inviting us and that festival. Let me turn my radio by walkie talking off because we're constructing a ress. We speak yes, say there you go yetcha. It also happens to be my favorite festival as well. You know. I started going to ranssance festivals because there's a lot of them when I lived in nineteen eighty in Agura, California, at thirteen years old, and me and my high school friends used to work at the festival volunteer, you know, just so we could go as teenagers with no money.

5:06 And it's one of the best times of my life and it led me to My kids will tell you like they never missed a rentfest here in South Florida, because I would go every single year since nineteen eighty to a rentance festival. And since I've been here since two thousand in South Florida, there's no other better place to be. And I can't believe it's like the thirty third anniversary. Does that blow your mind? Yes? Yes, I had no idea when I started this whole thing that it would become the monster that it is. And so you have been coming to the festival ever since we moved to Quiet waters Park, because this is our twenty fifth year at Quiet waters Park and.

5:53 Do wow, that's pretty cool, and it is true because I have been going to Quiet waters Park every time that I've gone, and it's been since two thousands, so wow, I didn't know that that. Was the first year there too. Yes, it was nice, and so you have seen the metamorphosis that has has happened over the last twenty five years, and it's been incredible. Oh yeah, And you know, like even now my kids are grown adults, you know, far beyond even just adulthood, and still they always ask me if they're in town during the time that Renfest is, is that if we could go to Renstance Festival, And they always talk about it's like one of her favorite childhood memories.

6:47 Wow, that's awesome. That's awesome. Well, listen, what a great place not only to have fun, but to escape reality. And I think that in twenty twenty five, I think here in South Florida, that's what we need most, just everybody to go to the Renssance Festival and just escape reality for a little while. Because listen, isn't that what it's like you go there? Even like my sunglasses I'm wearing here, I got them at the Renssance Festival during one of your themed weekends and it was Steampunk weekend. So tell us about this year's I. Think you hit the nail on the head. You know, people say why is it still growing and why is it successful? And I think more so today people need that escape from reality. The pressures of daily life seem to get more and more. The world's a crazy place.

7:48 And just just as in really bad times, the movie industry always does well because people need to sit in that seat for a couple of hours and escape and get and get taken over by that that facade that is created, and that's what we do with it. Takes a lot of work for us to make you feel like you five hundred years back in time. Right. Just yesterday I had somebody, a new vendor that said, I've never been to a Renaissance festival before, and uh, you know, can I can I dress up in regular clothes? I said, no, if you're a vendor, you've got to You've got to dive into this, this facade that we're creating.

8:36 You can't wear watches, you you can't use your cell phone in front of patrons. That you have to try and stay away from local colloquialisms and try not to speak like an actor, but you know, get a little bit into character and uh and interact with our performers. You know. That's that's what makes this village come to life. Yeah, and what it happens is all of the people coming, the patrons, they do the same thing. So like it just creates a whole community of in my opinion, no outsiders. We're all united, one people in a time that was a lot simpler.

9:25 Yeah, well, listen, the reality is it was compared to today, it was a pretty horrible time because you had you know, no, you didn't have the medicines and the doctors, and you had open sewers and a lot of it was pretty damn ugly. But we leave all of that ugliness behind. We just take the beautiful stuff and we relived that, you know see. And me as a motivational speaker, I like to just focus on what was poss and so that's why I look at that, like. You come to Nsance Festival right here, and it's like you get it.

10:10 Almost is like you can rewrite history because you can take times that maybe were, for lack of better way of putting it, barbaric and turn them into some fantasy of you know, togetherness, family, love and fun. Well, you know it's funny, you're saying that because somebody asked her, what is the fascination with the medieval and the Renaissance era? And I said, in my opinion, growing up in the fifties and sixties, Hollywood had a lot to do with it, you know, Robin Hood and all of that. And almost every year since I've been born, there's been some kind of a movie about that era.

10:58 And we're fascinated over here because we don't have the history that they have over in Europe. Excuse me, and you know, listen, we didn't live it, so it's like we're trying to live by care. It's just like anything else that we when we put on costumes and you know, cosplay and stuff like that, we didn't get to experience it. So that's our way of experiencing Yeah. Absolutely. And as a matter of fact, I don't know how many years it's been now that we started doing themed weekends. It's got to be at least twelve to fifteen years that we've started doing that. And that became a hit because now it's an excuse for patrons to get dressed up into different themes. People have to do.

11:43 That, Oh, no doubt, that's what I meant, Like the patrons when you go to the Reassance Festival here in South Florida, Oh my god, like you feel like you're back in that time. You don't really see. Even the people you would think wouldn't dress up, they dress up because it's just again, a great escape and a lot of fun. Do you know. I think I'm going to use that as the new tagline, the great Escape. I love it perfect. And you know, but it is true because you do escape in time and you escape reality.

12:25 And as soon as you walk through that, you. Know Castle Gate exactly right as it's like you're in another world. Sure, even you were talking about how you talk like it just automatically happens, you know that you start to talk like you're in Renaissance times while you're inside. And then the music. I love the music part of it, Like the Celtic music to me is like so much fun, especially when you do at the end of the day and like it's like the whole community is there dancing and singing, and it's just that's what I want to see. Forget everything else and the news and whatever else everybody watches.

13:17 That's what I want to see. Well, I'm glad to hear that we happen to have the reputation of being one of the best Renaissance festivals musically speaking, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I myself am a musician and performer. Nice you know, it's very important to me and we are blessed to have some great musicians. So and I have another question too, like, yes, there's a lot of different renssance festivals, and so what do the pep, the performers, the ones not the local ones, but the ones that track, what do they say about our Renaissance festival.

14:06 Well, I'm very proud to say that the majority of them say that it's the best what they call soft show. Because most of the really big Renaissance festivals around the country are like theme parks. They're permanent with permanent buildings, and we transform a park into a Renaissance village and when we leave, you don't even know that we're here. And with all that we have built and all the attention to detail that we have given the show a year after year, the reputation is that it's the best soft show. And a lot of it you wouldn't know that it's a soft show. You'd think it was a permanent show. And again, musically speaking, we have the reputation of having the best music and I'd like to think that it's up there with the big guys.

14:59 I think. So, you know, and. I love you know, some of the shows you just love to go do over and over again because unlike some types of events, it's a different show every time for each of the different performances. It's a different show every time you could go. I've gone to some of the shows a few times in one day and it was like, you know, just as good each time because it was a different show completely. Well, this year is going to be even better because what I've done. Sadly, my entertainment director after twenty years, has retired, and being in the entertainment business all my life, I picked up. I tell people I had a promotion.

15:52 I'm now the new entertainment director. So what I've done is I've cut back on a lot of the acts that have been doing my show for many many years, and instead of them doing the entire eight weekends, I'm having them do partials three, four or five weekends, allowing me to bring in a lot of new acts. And so every weekend, especially for those who are season passes. It's not going to be the same old, same old. It's nice. We're really changing it up and it's going to be fresh and it's exciting. Yeah, so that was the next those gasket. Can you give us some hints of what's going to be new for this year to thirty third a verse three that maybe hasn't been around ever.

16:40 Well, there's one area in the festival that for twenty years now has been called the Beer Garden, kind of a German theme, and we have decided, and we're probably the only Renaissance festival in the country that has done this, we're converting the area to be steampunk themed. And now, granted steampunk is not Renaissance, but again we're time travelers and so we're looking at it that way. We're just transporting you to another area temporarily before you come back into the Renaissance era, and so it's steampunk themed and we're calling it the gear Garden instead of the video Garden.

17:27 I love it. I love it. We're really excited to see how it's received. Well, I'll be there for sure because I like obviously by the lasses I'm wearing, I like that. The best and so like the first. Weekend, you have free entrance for the kids that week that weekend only for opening weekend, it's Jesterre's Jamboree. So tell us a little bit about that first weekend. A gaggle of giggles. It's you know, we'll have a fool's parade and gestures and I mean, it's not a kid's weekend, but we are opening the gates to kids for this first weekend, free for kids eleven and under.

18:18 And you know, as usual, we've got seven other themed weekends including Pirates and Viking and Steampunk and Celtic on Saint Patti's week and there's a little something for everybody. So it's exciting. I think it's actually the best place that you should take your valentine to. Also, Oh, the romance weekend, Sure, yeah, I. Mean, like what better way. And you could even like if you really want to, you could probably just get dressed up go and then probably you know, marry yourself there.

18:58 Well, we have a lot of people who get their vows renewed at the Renness House Festival. Yeah, and did it tell us a little bit about that for some of the romantics that may want to show up and get that done. Well what we've done in the past, and there's a chance we may have a character dress up as a cardinal and one year it was actually the Pope and on stage he invited all the patrons to come up and have their vows renewed and made a big spectacle out of it. I love it. And what's your favorite weekend? I have to say it used to be Pirates weekend, but now with all the changes, I don't have a favorite anymore because the patrons are getting more and more into it, and it's like, Okay, what are the not only is it, what are we coming up new with?

19:55 What are the patrons doing in terms of their costumes and what they're doing? So it it's pretty it's pretty exciting to see what's going on. I also want to say that, you know, a lot of people are involved in putting this together. There's a lot of volunteers and I'm very big about you know, we need to support the festival, the community and everybody involved. And part of that is the vendors that have certain cool things and crafts like I brought props with me one year. I bought this from one of the vendors and I hope I don't stab myself with it.

20:38 But so that's pretty cool. And then I have this I was gonna wear this during the interview, but I got I put it on, and I got. Nervous that I might like poke my eye out while while I'm holding the mic. But I have this thing on my hand here which is like a blade right hard there you go. So but then the blade was like right up by my eye while I'm holding I'm like, yeah, that's not a good idea. So but yeah, I mean support all the vendors. Support support everybody there that's putting their time and effort into it.

21:22 And there's so much more weird s tough you can shop for. We have one weekend that this year that is themed to promote the vendors, and it's a marketplace Mayhem, and we we are actually this is the first year ever that we are one sold out with vendors. Wow, we have no space left for any vendors and we're we're you know, they're juried in So the one of the criteria is that they have to be able to make at least a minimum of fifty percent of whatever it is that they sell. So we've got some great handmade items, everything from chainmail to clothing, to jewelry to it's a shopper's dream, you know, so great place to pick up items for for gifts and for yourself.

22:21 Yeah, I mean like shopping there is one of my favorite things too, because you find stuff there that you. Won't find everywhere else. And and then I love the rides, okay, because they're brilliant, Unlike you know, just you know, a manufactured ride. These are like human human powered rides. Right, you feel like you really are in the restaurants and the rides are like handmade. And you know, I mean that's a pretty cool experience for the kids for sure.

23:01 Because we've got a barrel ride that As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago, I had a reporter said, well that's cool, but it doesn't like look that exciting. I said, you got to get in it. And when they spun that barrel around and started clinging it, the guy was ready to throw up. I bet. And then the swing that's pretty cool one. I like that one. We've got something called a Crow's Nest where that spins around a giant telephone pole, the world's largest rocking horse. Oh yeah, something called a hurlinator, which is two seats that spin around three hundred and sixty degrees. That is the patron. It's self propelled that you pump it. The faster you pump it, the faster it goes and it gets pretty intense. So there's some there's some pretty cool rides.

24:00 Yeah, definitely if you're in South Florida or anywhere you need. You have eight weekend So if you want to come from Australia, it doesn't matter. But if you're here, get the season pass. Go every weekend, because I'm telling you you shouldn't just go one weekend. You have to experience experience at all. But if you can only go to one, go to one. But you need to go. To The Florida Renaissance Festival is the most awesome Renaissance festival. I think it's probably one of the best events here in South Florida. And I'm so glad that we're here thirty three years later.

24:43 Thank you so much, and we are certainly blessed that we can continue. Can you tell everybody how they can go to the website, go to your socials, connect with you on socials, how they can get tickets season passes as anything. Sure. Sure. First of all, aside from the website, if anyone has any questions that they'd like to ask, we just developed the most incredible chatbot on our phone system, So you can call our office and ask the chatbot. But her name is we call in our office, we call the festival Flar Florida or Renaissance Festival. So when you call Flar Fett, Renaissance gal answers the phone and she can answer any question that you have about the festival.

25:42 And she can also speak in several languages. Wow, that's really cool. And if you decide you still need to speak to someone, it's not like you're hooked on this call and going to stay on forever. You can just immediately say I need to speak to someone and they'll pass you right on. So it's really cool. And that telephone number is nine five four seven seven six. Four to two, and can you save. Can you say the phone number again because you were cutting out during that time?

26:23 Sure, Uh, it's aery code nine five four seven seven six one six four to two. Now, if you want to buy tickets online, go to our website which is ren dash Fest. That's r E n hyphen Fest f e s T dot com and UH and there too. We we we have a an AI on there that can answer questions for you. So that's the best place to buy tickets online. And of course we have tickets available at the box office. If you're a last man person and you want to just come to the show, how you can buy it at the box office. And we are open on Saturdays and Sundays from ten am until sunset raina Shine for eight weekends beginning February first.

27:16 And I just have to say also that as somebody who is from the Northeast, so I've been to the New York festivals, and somebody who was also from California and has been to the California festivals. For all of you people listening have moved here to South Florida from both those places. If you haven't been to the South Florida Rnassance Festival, well you've been to the wrong ones, because this one's better than both of them. Wow, thank you so much. Oh my pleasure. Thank you for giving that to us here in South Florida and everybody. So you know it's at Quiet Waters Park, Pompino Beach, you know, so get Deerfield.

28:03 I always confuse it right Deerfield Beach. So whether you're Palm Beach, County, Broward Dad, it's easy to get to Martin County, easy to get to. You must be at the Renaissance Festival this year to thirty third anniversary. And if I may, if I may add that for those of you who've never been, I would highly suggest get there early. This way you can drive in easily and no hassles with parking because if you get there later, you'll be waiting online for half an hour to parking car and then waiting to get checked in. Get there early because the reality is if you stay the full eight eight and a half hours, you can't see it all because there's too much to do.

28:56 I've always tried, and you're absolutely correct, and go early because you are right. If you get there like on time, you'll be waiting. If you get there early, it's easy, peasy, and you can And you're right. You can't possibly catch everything in one day if you stayed a whole day. And I've tried, I've tried to map it out and do it, but I've never succeeded. So yeah, I love it. Do you have one of your favorite stories of all these thirty three years of doing the Renaissance Festival. Favorite story, Yeah, Oh my god, there's a million of them.

29:41 Probably there's a couple that and I get this quite often. There's a couple that met at the Renaissance Festival and a few years later they got married at the Renaissance Festival. Because we used to produce a lot of and receptions here at the festival, they got married and the day they got married, something happened to his costume, and I gave him my personal costume that I had just ordered. I hadn't even worn it yet. I gave him my costume and so that was a beautiful day, which could have been terrible for him if he didn't have any any costume. They made all these plans to have a wedding, and now fast forward and that was probably twenty eight twenty nine years ago, and they just moved back to Florida and now they have a family and they're bringing their family to the festival. And we hear that kind of thing all the time. So those are the stories that really make it all.

30:53 Worthwhile, absolutely one hundred percent. And it is that type of festival I've brought Mike, I brought my grandkids. It's it's just that type of environment, and I hope everybody joins us. Do you have any final words for our listeners, anything we haven't covered yet that maybe they need to know. No, I would just say, if you haven't been, give it a shot, because you will love it and you'll have. The common comment for people that come for the first time is I had no idea right here, the size of it. I had no idea that you had all this to offer. So come and join us February first through March twenty third, Saturdays and Sundays.

31:41 Well, thank you for doing this for us here in South Florida. And I can't wait to be there myself. And thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. And when you come and look me up, let's have a drink together. Let's do it all right. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man onw fur c u I Radio