Des Moines Renaissance Faire Website Updates

Here's a list of updates done to this website.

Tuesday, September 2 2008 - Publicity page updated (TV clips).
A few links to local TV news articles and segments has been posted to the Publicity page.

Saturday, July 12 2008 - Website updates for 2008.
The website has been updated for 2008, though some items (entertainment, cast, etc.) are still coming soon. Ticket prices, dates and times, etc. should now reflect the 2008 season. If you find any errors, please report them to the webmaster so we can promptly fix them. Thanks!

Wednesday, September 12 2007 - More testimonials added.
Some more Testimonials have been added, some of which came from visitors that were also able to provide some very detailed and constructive comments on what they'd suggest the festival do for future years. A big thank you again to everyone who has taken time to send in feedback!

The festival owners are looking in to planting more trees, adding grass and many other things that have been directly brought up through visitor feedback this season. With your continued suggestions and support, the event can continue to grow and evolve! Huzzah!

Tuesday, September 4 2007 - Added Testimonials page, and Memorials page.
Two new pages added to site.

Tuesday, August 14 2007 - New spotlights: Three Wenches Coffee and character Charles of Charlatan
The Entertainment page and the Shopping page has been updated with this week's spotlight.

Saturday, August 11 2007 - Link to photo blog added.
A link to AtTheFaire.com's Festival Park photo blog has been added to the "Photo Gallery" page.

Monday, August 6 2007 - About page updated.
The "about" page has been restructure, and now includes event description from the 2007 handouts.

Sunday, August 5 2007 - Website issues.
Apologies for the website issues experienced between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Our account needed to be moved to another location with more room. Once the dust settles, everything should be back to normal, with more room to expand and grow.

Monday, July 30 2007 - More website updates...
Some more technical updates have been done to the website, including a spiffy new "scroll" navigation menu on the left of every page. Please let me know if it doesn't look proper on your system (and tell me what system -- PC, Mac, etc. -- and web browser you are using).

Wednesday, July 25 2007 - Website updates for 2007
The first round of updates for 2007 have been done to the website. Minor changes have been made to navigation, and ticket prices have been posted for this year. Also, a new event Press Release for this year has been posted. Much more to come...

Saturday, March 10 2007 - Sign up to the new Mailing List.
Our public news mailing list is now ready. Sign up from the Mailing List page and you will get occassional e-mail updates about the Des Moines Renaissance Faire.

Wednesday, September 6 2006 - Feedback feedback! You guys rock!
Wow, less than 12 hours since the feedback/comment form has been added and several dozens of you have taken time to send in comments - Huzzah! While most of them are almost embarassingly glowing ("It's just as good as the faires in Shakopee MN and Bonner Springs KS, only smaller." - Waukee resident), the Festival Park staff isfocusing on how they can enhance things and add missing items. Here's a few quick updates:

1) Yes, there is supposed to be permanent seating for the stage areas. Weather delays pushed the project back a week or so, and temporary seating had to be arranged for opening.

2) Hopefully merchants will find the time to complete the insides of their buildings. Not everyone had enough time to do that before opening. As to the product lines they carry, please let them know what you are looking for. They really do want to sell stuff to you, so anything you can't find is probably because no one there thought of selling it. (Other than a few park-run consessions, each merchant is an independent business.)

3) Yes, parking layout kept changing daily as the staff was trying to figure out the best way to move people in and around. (Obviously, the rains turning the main lot into a "park here and you'll need a tow truck" on Monday did not help.) Even staff/performers had to park "far, far away" after the rains.

4) Indeed, there will be more signage installed by weekend 2 and 3. In fact, there was a number of signs installed by Monday that weren't present on Saturday.

5) The assortment of foods and merchandise is due to the staff visiting the large events in Shakopee, Kansas City and Kenosha and making category lists. Merchants were encouraged to snag available product lines to offer. Thus, some vendors have rather odd combinations as they try to satisfy these lists. Product lines will continue to expand, *especially* with your feedback! "If you don't see it, ask!" (Several merchants are bringing up more/different inventory for weekends 2 and 3 based on requests during the first weekend.) Pay attention to the Bake Shoppe. She had different items each day!

6) Soda pop brands are locked in contractually since Sleepy Hollow already has an agreement in place with the distributor. In the future this could change, so please let them know what types of drinks you want. (Of course, those of us who love Dr. Pepper hope it doesn't...!) I'm sure if 90% of everyone through the gate wanted Soda Brand X, they'd figure out a way to get it. (Ice tea should be available this weekend, too! Huzzah!)

7) Yes, a list of all product items available needs to be made available. The website list is currently being updated. We've been seeing many folks submitting "wish list" items that were actually available, just not noticed. (Maybe something similar to how the local amusement park has a guide that says "If you're looking for ... find it at ...". Any suggestions on how this should be presented?)

8) Yes, the event plans to grow larger. Take a look at the corn field and beyond. That's all future expansion. Festival Park has about 20 acres of land to grow in to if the market supports that kind of growth. One of the pavilions was literally put up on Thursday and Friday before opening. There's still more to come!

9) Yes, the event is always open to new acts. Know an act you'd like to see perform in Des Moines? Send them our way! With many groups appearing for the first time (or first time in years) in Iowa like the Hanlon-Lees jousters (they do Bristol, and used to do Salisbury/Wybreg/etc.), Scurrvy Dawgs, Aerial Angels (first time in Iowa?), Limey Birds and 3 Pints Gone (as seen at Kansas City) and others, the next two weekends should continue the new tradition of exposing us all to acts we'd only have seen if we blew a bunch of money on a tank full of gas ;-)

10) And lastly... How can you help? If you sent feedback, you already did. Every single feedback form is passed along to Sleepy Hollow and Festival Park staff. You guys are doing a great job helping direct this event!

Remember, some of the largest events in our region started out 25 years ago as a dozen tents on a field and took years to have their first row of merchant shops. With your support of the renaissance faireand other three events planned (OCtober's Pumpkin Fest, next summer's County Music/Cajun Fest, and future Victorian/Dickens Christmas), perhaps Festival Park can get to that level much quicker. (Hey, just because it normally takes years to grow, doesn't mean we can't dream! If we come, they will build it. Or something like that.)

Thanks again for the feedback! It's keeping me (the webmaster) very very busy relaying and filing all the comments. (I plan to give summaries of kudos and requests to the affected merchants/performers. Awesome!)

Folks are really busy right now, but remember -- you can always pick up the phone and call Sleepy Hollow at 515-262-4100 with more questions, concerns or suggestions.

Tuesday, September 5 2006 - Feedback form added! We need your help!
Okay folks -- here's your chance to tell us what you liked and didn't like during our first weekend. Your feedback will directly affect the direction Festival Park is heading in since, after all, we're doing this for you! Please take a few minutes to run through our list of questions:

Feedback Form

Although it's a very, very busy time right now, you might also call 515-262-4100 (Sleepy Hollow Sports Park) to talk to someone (but chances are, the folks working on the Festival will be out at the site finishing things up for weekends #2 and #3).

Thanks!

Monday, August 28 2006 - Etnertainment and Lodging pages updated.
A few nearby RV/Camgrounds have been added to the Lodging page, and the Entertainment page has been updated with a partial list of our cast members and demonstrators. The Weddings page is also now listing some of the weddings to be held at Festival Park this season.

Monday, August 21 2006 - Videos fixed; map and ticket details updated.
The YouTube.com video journal playlist has been repaired (I think) so check it out for the latest videos and TV commercials.

A new map/directions page has been added with links to a number of online mapping services to help you plot your course to Sleepy Hollow Sports Park.

Monday, August 21 2006 - Map and other website updates coming soon.
A few days ago, a few more entries were added to the Entertainment page. There may still be a few more last minute additions.

Thanks to some website visitors, a few more updates need to be done, including clarifying ticket prices for children (under 6 free, children is under 12) and adding a detailed map to the location. In the meantime, you can also find Ren Faire details (with these details) on the one-page Ren Faire site at the http://www.sleepyhollowsportspark.com website.

Thanks for letting us know about missing bits here - we'll keep adding!

Saturday, August 12 2006 - State Fair photo section added.
In the Photo Gallery you can now find the pictures we are taking at our booth at the Iowa State Faire. If you come by the Varied Industries Building, you can get your picture taken with a costumed character, or just with our drawbridge photo backdrop. The pictures will be posted to the website within a few days (if all goes as planned). Photos from Thursday and Friday are now online.

Sunday, July 30 2006 - Website under construction.
To get ready for the "public" version of this website (i.e. one focused on the event more than the project status), many changes are being made. If you encounter any problems viewing this site on your system, please let the Webmaster know (and tell him what web browser you are using, such as "Mac with Safari" or "Windows with IE 7 beta". Thanks!)

Read older website updates from September 2005 thru May 2006.