Renaissance Faire Balks at New Contract with City

The new contract for the lease of the Rotary Park Renaissance Faire site would replace an agreement made in 2005.

On Wednesday, May 8, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen will be considering a new contract with Renaissance St. Louis (R.S.L.), the parent company of the St. Louis Renaissance Faire. However, R.S.L. officers objected to provisions in the new contract, a city source told Patch. The officers insist that the city honor the present contract, dated June 2005. The sticking point of the new contract is a condition that the Faire must hire overnight security if overnight camping is to be allowed on the site. The Faire would be required to have a minimum of two uniformed officers during event hours and one officer for overnight patrol. If the Faire chooses, two armed licensed security personnel can be substituted for each police officer. The Faire …

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Michael Henry

11:58 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2013

I have been performing at the Faire for 14 years and this year I was pressured out. Ethically, I cannot comment further, but I will say that the Faire staff has a tendency to "effectively spin a story in a magical sort of way." I encourage people to talk to the large group of staff that left the Faire a few years ago...   more ›

City's Inspection of Renaissance Faire Site Prompts 31-Item Correction Notice

With opening day just three weeks away, festival organizers and merchants must repair rotten decks, leaning buildings and missing guardrails.

The St. Louis Renaissance Faire, originally known as the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire at Wentzville, has been given a list of repairs and corrections that must be made to the Rotary Park site. Repairs must be made, or the noncompliant booth or stage could be shut down during the fair's 2013 run. This year's fair starts May 18. The site, comprising about 15 acres, is leased by the fair's parent organization, Renaissance St. Louis (RSL) in exchange for five percent of gate admissions to the organization's events. Even though the ground is owned by the city, RSL owns the stages, storage buildings and some of the booths. Other booths are owned by merchants. A city inspection on April 9 by city building commissioner Diane Bolderson, Fire…

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Board Decides to Allow RV, Tent Camping for Renaissance Faire

Renaissance St. Louis, the parent 501(c)(3) company that runs the fair, promised to add extra overnight security and require RVs to pump their holding tanks weekly.

On Wednesday night, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen reversed an earlier decision to not allow RVs to camp at Rotary Park during the Renaissance Faire. The board had banned RVs after an incident during last year's event when sewage from an RV was found dumped on the lower field where Renaissance Faire merchants and performers park their RVs for a maximum of six weeks during the event. READ MORE: Board To Discuss Renaissance Faire Issues: Debt, Security, Construction Two directors from the Renaissance St. Louis (RSL) board spoke during the work session. Bill Martin, one of the directors and a vendor at the fair, said that the camper that was responsible for the incident was not associated with the fair. Alderman Forrest Gossett said that he…

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Board To Discuss Renaissance Faire Issues: Debt, Security, Construction

The fair's parent organization, Renaissance St. Louis, plans to pay off their debt to the city after next year's event.

The Wentzville Board of Aldermen will discuss issues concerning the St. Louis Renaissance Faire and parent company Renaissance St. Louis (RSL) at Wednesday night's board of aldermen meeting. At the June 27 meeting, Alderman Forrest Gossett requested that the city take a look at RSL's tax forms and discuss the city's financial commitment to the fair as well as RSL's outstanding debt to the city. READ MORE: City to Scrutinize Renaissance Faire Financial Commitment On July 20, RSL board members met with city staff "to address building concerns, public safety, gate revenue, modifications to the agreement, and future expansion of structures and to provide open communication." The following items were discussed: Per Gossett's request, the parks …

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City to Scrutinize Renaissance Faire Financial Commitment

The Wentzville Board of Aldermen will look into the Renaissance Faire's contract now, and the County Fair's after it completes this year's event.

At last week's Board of Aldermen meeting, Ward 1 Alderman Forrest Gossett asked the board to look into the the city's financial commitment to the Renaissance Faire that is held yearly at the city's Rotary Park. Parks Director Mary Jo Dessieux said that the fair's parent organization, Renaissance St. Louis (RSL), has a contract with the city to pay 5 percent of the fair's gate proceeds to the city for the use of the site at Rotary Park. However, RSL has often failed to meet these payments, and has an outstanding balance owed to the city. That exact amount of that balance is unknown. Gossett said that he'd pulled the organization's 990 forms (a non-profit version of a tax return) from as far back as 2007 and that he would like the board to …

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C. Panter

9:30 am on Monday, March 25, 2013

Perhaps you should check out reviews of events and ask people what their experience has been before you take your children? You could've even looked up Ren. Faire costumes on the internet and gotten some forewarning. And by the way... women's breasts are not evil.   more ›

Renaissance Faire Cancels Student Day Event

With fewer schools registering for the event, parent company Renaissance St. Louis said the decision was necessitated.

Renaissance St. Louis, the parent 501(c)(3) company of the St. Louis Renaissance Faire, has announced on its website that it will not offer a Student Day at this year's event. The Faire is held annually in Wentzville's Rotary Park. Student Day is generally held on a Friday during the Renaissance Faire's run, and school groups are invited to attend an abbreviated festival day with special educational programs in addition to a selection of professional stage acts and merchants and a jousting performance. The organization says that last year's (2011) Student Day had a limited number of school participating because of budget and transportation expenses, and extra snow days added to the schedule. This year, RSL staffers say, the financial …

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The Week in Wentzville

Week in Review: Ron Paul Visits, Group Pledges Park Funds

We know you're busy, so here's a roundup of some of the recent stories featured in the past week on Wentzville Patch.

Too busy last week to stay up to date on all the news happening in and around Wentzville? Not to worry. Patch has your back. In case you missed them, here were some of the top headlines from the last few days:

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Police Blotter: DWI, Store Thefts and Vandalism at Rotary Park

Wentzville police reports for March 1-4.

Following are crime reports from the Wentzville Police Department. Thursday, March 1 Friday, March 2 Saturday, March 3 Sunday, March 4

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There’s No ‘Arrr’ in Wentzville for 2012

The St. Louis Renaissance Faire will not host Pirate Festival this fall, but the Faire is considering other featured weekends.

A St. Louis Renaissance Faire board member confirmed the not-for-profit agency will not host a Pirate Festival this fall or in 2013. “It just didn’t grow like we had hoped it would,” said Mike Dinello, a St. Louis Renaissance Faire board member. “It wasn’t really a money maker.” The Pirate Fest started in 2006 and ran three consecutive weekends this past September.  “It wasn’t an easy decision. A lot of folks like the Pirate Fest and shooting off the guns,” Dinello said. The good news is that the Renaissance Faire, which runs each weekend from May 10 through June 10 this year, has been doing very well, he said. In fact, in 2013 there are plans to extend the Faire from four weekends to six weekends in honor of its 15th anniversary. In a …

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Vandals Damage St. Louis Renaissance Faire Buildings in Rotary Park

The vandalism was reported to Wentzville Police Friday. Faire board members are considering security measures.

Vandals did more than $1,000 worth of property damage to St. Louis Renaissance Faire buildings in Wentzville’s Rotary Park last week. The damage was reported to police Friday. Capt. Kevin Pyatt said the amount of damage makes the case a felony. Wentzville Police still are investigating and tracking down building owners. “There was spray paint damage and there was damage to buildings, broken spindles,” Pyatt said. Buildings damaged include the Cigar Bar and the Caravan Traders. At a Park Board meeting Monday night, Parks Director Mary Jo Dessieux said that some doors had been kicked in and boards on stages were damaged and spray painted. This is at least the second report of property damage to Renaissance Faire buildings, which are in a …

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