Park-wide Threadneedle Faire Special Event

[Nicole]

@Zachary and I were discussing how last month’s Mardi Gras event didn’t feel like a good fit for BGW. Eventually, conversation moved to a focus on good alternatives. We ended up at this concept for a new annual event, built around nostalgia and the specific strengths of our European-themed park:

What If... Threadneedle Faire Became a Seasonal Event – BGWFans

Ever since Busch Gardens Williamsburg reopened, we have been able to experience a variety of limited-capacity special events ranging from the food-inspired Taste of Busch Gardens to the animal-focused Winter Weekends. Given the park’s resource and time constraints, these offerings have varied in...

bgwfans.com

Let us know what you think.

 

[warfelg]

I like it a lot. I felt the event was sorta...off. It feels like they went
“What’s a spring event?”
“Mardi Gras!”
“Hmmm. Mardi Gras...New Orleans...French Quarter...France....That’s in Europe!!!”

This feels better. In terms of the fit with the park.

 

[Celticdog]

This is a great idea. It doesn't have to start off as a big production/event. It could be built upon over several seasons. It would work really well in the colder months as most Ren costumes are quite heavy fabrics. There's even opportunities to bring in pirates as a positive, not a scare actors. Hoist a tankard of mead, aye.

 

[warfelg]

Also this is far far far better than the alternative I woulda hoped for while walking around, so also kudos on that.

 

[halfabee]

Love this.

Would costumed attendees be welcomed? That seems to be a major aspect of the Renaissance Fair attendee experience, as I vaguely recall.

 

[Zachary]

Would costumed attendees be welcomed? That seems to be a major aspect of the Renaissance Fair attendee experience, as I vaguely recall.

I'd sure hope so! I'd imagine a bit of a laxer costume policy much like what we saw for Halloween Harvest in 2020.

 

[Nicole]

I think it is also possible that like HOS and CT this event would bring a new cohort of guests into the park.

 

[Lord Robert]

Oh this is something I would definitely love to attend. Medieval costumes, great food and games that are themed to it is something the park can benefit from and a throwback style event is a good idea that BGW can easily do well. Also this could be a great opportunity to fill in the empty space in the Wild Reserve that's still there and with More Pet Shenanigans gone, a Threadneedle Faire style show would be perfect in that space.

 

[rswashdc]

I could honestly see the Mardi Gras event become Xmas town big in terms of crowds and activities given a few years time. There's just a ton of potential between food, entertainment, and the overall spectacle to do something unique for the whole Mid-Atlantic during a time of year that doesn't have a lot of competition.

 

[Twisted_Airtime]

Since this event would be focused on nastalge it would be cool if they could bring back older shows for a limited time, like London rocks or the old festhaus shows

 

[Nicole]

London Rocks doesn’t really fit with the Medieval theme.

Actually, in the post we included a lot of specific ideas for shows and entertainment that would fit the concept.

 

[Zachary]

Yeah, in my opinion the real strength of this concept is the "Renaissance Faire at BGW" side. Yes, the concept capitalizes on nostalgia to sell merch and provide charming entertainment, but what @Nicole and I were envisioning was very much Renaissance Faire at heart, not just a BGW history fest. I think the Faire angle carries much longer-lasting, wider appeal than focusing primarily on park nostalgia.

Plus, the Renaissance Faire side of this is what we expect would be able to draw in a new crowd for BGW. Catering to that market makes sense IMO.

 

[Thomas]

Since this event would be focused on nastalge it would be cool if they could bring back older shows for a limited time, like London rocks or the old festhaus shows

 

[Alf33]

I really like this idea. The park could host it for like two months. It could start a week after CT and go until St. Patrick's Day (if they wanted to keep it) and by then it's time for spring operations. They could, if they have them, set up some of the old tents and the costumed characters wouldn't bake in their costumes with the cold/cool weather. A new ice show could be in the RPT as the ice would be easy to maintain in the winter. Even a regular show would work. All of the food and merchandise suggestions everyone has proposed would be fantastic.

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

As far as entertainment goes, the park could just hire normal Rene faire people since they are already trained. They could do things like archery demonstrations, mock sword fights, axe throwing, ect.

The park already has falconry covered as well.

 

[The Quist]

Since the British Renaissance took place between the 16th and 17th centuries, a Shakespeare production would be fitting for the Globe Theater. Oh and the fact that the theater is a "replica" of the original from that time period too which was also home for Shakespeare's work.

But they would probably do a show about fake Beatles or something.

 

[Mushroom]

Since the British Renaissance took place between the 16th and 17th centuries, a Shakespeare production would be fitting for the Globe Theater. Oh and the fact that the theater is a "replica" of the original from that time period too which was also home for Shakespeare's work.

But they would probably do a show about fake Beatles or something.

Presenting: Shakespeare Rocks!

 

[Zachary]

The park could host it for like two months. It could start a week after CT and go until St. Patrick's Day (if they wanted to keep it) and by then it's time for spring operations.

I've spent a little more time thinking about scheduling, and I still really like Winter Weekends for January. I think a smaller event during which BGW can teardown Christmas Town while the park deals with the absolute worst of the winter weather is probably super valuable. It keeps costs really low and staffing pretty minimal to match the likely inevitable substantial decrease in attendance. I also think the animal aspects of the event are super valuable to the park’s identity and that they proved to be a good driver for off-season attendance this January.

I like this Threadneedle Faire event concept for February and March personally. I think BGW can celebrate St. Patricks Day in Killarney as part of this event in March—sorta like a mid-event boost to Threadneedle Faire's scale and appeal. EPCOT has actually experimented with something like this recently—adding new things to see and do halfway through an event to get another round of marketing value out of it and drive some more repeat visitation.

Ultimately it would allow for a nice smooth spin-up of operations from the cheap, limited Winter Weekends, to the more involved Threadneedle Faire, to the "final form" Threadneedle Faire plus Killarney-centric St. Patricks Day Celebration. That seems like a really strong January, February, and March lineup to me.

 

[snowman6996]

As long as they bring back the dunk tank with the actors talking trash to the customer.

 

[Jonesta6]

Since this event would be focused on nastalge it would be cool if they could bring back older shows for a limited time, like London rocks or the old festhaus shows

It'd be difficult to bring back the old Festhaus polka show with the change of staging, though would make for interesting adjustments.

Instead of the old boogie band (bring that back for summer though!), maybe roaming minstrel band a la The KD Clown Band? (No set stage or show times, just turns up somewhere, plays a few tunes, the rolls on)

If indoor attractions are reopened, bring back Questor and the Pirates 4D show with the old outdoor pre-show barkers (I recall there were actors sword fighting in front of the Globe for a time) if they could have some actors play up the whole historical piracy against the British empire angle.