Color Use in
Renfest Construction
A Guide for Management & Builders
The basic paint color guide that every Building Coordinator
(or office staff covering those responsibilities) needs.
If you...
... have been developing or maintaining a permanent site Renaissance Faire without a trained Building Coordinator.
... need training for the office staff covering those questions from vendors.
... need a handout you can give Builders, but are not ready for a personalized set of Park Building Covenants.
... don't know what you don't know about color use in construction set to the time period.
... get held back by the rules for construction at your festival changing when staffing changes, which leads your vendors to deal with the inconsistencies.
There's an easier way!
Let's paint a picture! Imagine that now...
You know enough of the history to continue developing your own color schemes within the proper time-period restraints
Notes for management are in the introduction, and the following ⅔ of the guide can be used as a handout for builders to reference
You can maintain consistency in color rules when your office staff changes instead of allowing it to change with a Vendor Coordinator’s individual preferences.
Your site has a varied, but consistent look/feel, creating the perfect backdrop for the staging of your event.
You never have to ask a vendor to repaint after they’ve made a poor color choice.
Introducing...
Renfest Builders’
Guide to Color Use
A guide to the hows and whys of colors applied to buildings within Renaissance Festivals and Faires, including guidance for management, and a handout with examples.
What is covered on this Guide:
How to choose colors for a Renaissance Faire building without destroying the illusion of a historical village
Why the colors matter, and why some colors would have been impossible
Where the colors should be applied to help the illusion of different materials being used
Examples and options, both by brand name and hex code
With this Guide you'll be able to...
... build consistency in show policies on construction colors
... have confidence that a color scheme will pass muster when a Contractor or Vendor presents it for permissions
... eliminate one of the learning curves for a new Vendor Coordinator or Site Manager
... build Vendor/Show relations with Ease, Confidence, and Trust regarding paint and color of construction projects onsite.
While most people see either an impossible, or at best, an improbable situation - Rhonni sees the innovative solutions that save business owners time and valuable resources...
These solutions lead to the most profitable outcomes, all while playing to the natural strengths of the business owner on the other side of the table."
Rhonni’s coaching and business insight helped me ask better questions of myself and my goals.
By recognizing certain things about myself, about my business style, and with a better visualization of my true goals, I now “work my business” with less stress and much greater productivity.”
My darlings, why should you listen to me … about any of this?
Hi, I'm Rhonni.
Renfaire Management and Vendor Coach
For some background: I’m an Air Force Brat with a restaurateur father (someone has to run those NCO and Officers’ Clubs on base); my first job on the renfest circuit was as a carpenter’s helper, which evolved into festival building designer. Most of our Design Build work in the early years of being on circuit was for a group of Food Vendors, for whom I also hired and trained festival workers.
Fortunately for this lifelong learner, the Renfaire industry rewards the expansion of skillsets and encourages constant evolution. Self-taught CAD skills and familiarity with 4 different regional building codes meant I could design, draw for permits and then GET those permits in municipalities in multiple states.
Design-Builders on the renfest circuit are called to help a vendor create a workspace design that fits within the parameters of the event’s theme. It also needs to be efficient and cost-effective. These conversations require the same interpersonal skills I had to use as the Building Coordinator when the Georgia Renaissance Festival relocated their entire site in its 12th year.
As Building Coordinator, I was tasked with the following:
- Interface with vendors to convince them to invest in the park with their buildings
- Work to place Vendors in their preferred locations within the new park, while still maintaining a good product mix for each neighborhood.
- Tweak and correct the original sketches of the new park to work with the actual terrain of the site, and correcting traffic flows
- Translate show specific needs to building inspectors i.e. Deck vs stage and what’s necessary for a working stage (code handrails do not work here)
- Translate new-to-them building code to carpenters twice my age
- Relationship building and maintenance between Vendors and Show Management
- Understanding and strengthening the Festival’s relationships with Locals in maintaining Goodwill
It's time to make confident
Construction Color Choices
that will “pass muster” with a festival office