For information about the wonderful activity of letterboxing, please visit the letterboxing homepage and read its FAQ.

Open again for the 2011 Season!

My biggest apologies for the delay this morning.
Be sure to know how to do the following simple ciphers:
Pigpen, pig latin, Ceasar shift, and rail fence

The other ciphers are simple substitution.  I kept them easy so you can do them on-site.

Important Note: These letterboxes are only available inside and during the Bristol Renaissance Faire during the summer of 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays until Labor Day.  Some will not be available on some days of the faire, so be sure to read all the clues below.  Hopefully we can continue this each season.  There is a fee to enter the faire, so we have placed multiple boxes on the site to make it worth your while (although the faire itself is worth the price of admission).  You should be able to find any number of coupons in the local papers and businesses as well as online, and there is also a great coupon in the Wisconsin Entertainment coupon book (probably Illinois too).  For more information, faire dates and times, and coupons, please visit their site.  There is pay parking near the faire, or free parking to the north of the faire.

You do not need to find the boxes in any particular order.  Keep all the clues in mind as you travel around the faire.  Unlike most of the letterboxes out there, some of these boxes are carried by people at the faire (we're calling them "letterpeople").  All of the clues lead you to either actors, shop owners, or Bristol staff.  These people may be in the middle of a set or other duty, so please enjoy the faire and wait patiently for them to finish rather than disrupting a set, skit, or distracting the staff while performing an important task. Bristol Renaissance Faire also contains many improvisational actors. Please just remember that improvisational acting sometimes lands in your cup. You might become part of the act!  Enjoy these letterboxes, and enjoy the fun and wonderful people on the other end! One important note: Pick up the programme on your way in. It will be very helpful.

Also, although this is a Bristol sanctioned event, very few people at the faire know about the letterboxes/people.  Do not ask around for help - you'll probably raise suspicion more than anything else. Thanks!

Before you set out read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.

Letterpeople (5 - not counting The Dragon):

The Dragon (Available ??? Watch posts on the Great Lakes talk list for updates. Labor Day for sure.)

As you travel around the faire, look for a patron with:

velvety green pants
white loose medieval shirt
knee-high tan/brown moccasins with dagger stuck in
feathery leather wrap holding his ponytail
long sword draped on his back held in place with a black strap across his chest
(if it is not hot - a black/green cloak)
the "mark of The Dragon" on his left hand

Come up to him and say "I see you have the mark of The Dragon.  Can I have it as well?" and he'll gladly exchange his mark for yours.

The Charitable Mistress (Available Saturdays except 7/23)

She's back!  Go bananas finding Julie Jester (aka Jezebel Harlotte)

Quoth Foster:

My Mistress faire can oft be found
Where Love and Charity abound.
To make th' exchange, thou must needs first
Fynd her and recite her favourite verse,
Then, fruit-less tho thy state may be
She shall share her fruits with thee!

1 Corinthians 13:13
"And yes, we have no bananas!"

The Hair-Braiding Box (Available All Days)

Where do you go to put your hair up on a hot day (or any day) at the Faire? There are two hairbraiding locations at the Faire. The one you are looking for is north of the Fountain Side Stage and south of the main food court area. Outside the shop is a little garden, with a "birdhouse". The birdhouse opens toward the shop and hides the box. If the braiders - Kimbelle and Ray - aren't busy, you can ask to sit and stamp in and chat at the shop. Feel free to look through their many many braid styles and have your hair up for the day.

The Wenches Guild (Available All Days)

Gibson Girl is still working on the details, but look for wenches around the faire wearing LbNA patches.  If they have a patch, they have a box. These will be able to be logged on LbNA and AQ under "Wenches of Bristol Ren Faire".

Wench #1:

"Find the shop of the Spanish Dove and ask if they have something suitable for a mad hatter."

Wench #2:

This Wench is one of many who can be found roaming the streets of Bristol. Once known as KissMeKate at both the Faire and for other hobbies, she is now known by another moniker. At the Faire, she is most often recognized by her signature feather headpieces and hats. Most often, she is wearing a straw hat covered with a ring of feathers, a variety of species of all naturally colored plumage. Tell her the famous line from Taming of the Shrew - "Come kiss me, Kate, and we shall go together" to get her new Faire stamp.

More to come...

Jane the Phoole  (Confirmed - Available all faire days.)**

While you walk around the faire, look for the most phoole-ish one around.  When she's not busy entertaining the Queen or others, approach her and yell "Bad Monkey" in some foreign language.  If you impress her, she'll give you a great impression in return!

New!  See Jane's letterboxing photo page!

The Dirty Gossip Box (Unconfirmed - give it a try.)

There once were two sisters who ran this "dirty" establishment. However, to Cheddar they have now gone. Since they left, those who still remain seem to do nothing but gossip all the day long. Laundry was never their forte and it's amazing they get any soup cooked, with all the gossiping they do. Maybe someone should go to Cheddar and inform the sisters? Speak to those within, from without. If you try to enter within, you will be stopped at the gate. Just step up to the fence, and to anyone within, ask, "Do anyone know the way to Cheddar?"

The Knight of Swords (Confirmed - Available most days.)

You will find him somewhere at the faire. Where? Well, that's the challenge - the game is afoot! Look at him and ask "Are you the Knight of Swords?"

Letterboxes (12):

Note: Most of these are microboxes - just a stamp and folded pieces of paper for the logbook in an Altoids can or pill container that has been covered with camo tape. Please, please, please, put boxes back properly so they do not get exposed or fall out of their hiding location.  Some clues are fairly specific so snooping can be avoided, and less snooping equals less attention to the boxes.  If you don't put them back properly, then others will need to raise suspicion as they may be caught "snooping" more than they should have to!

When you find the location of a box, please take extreme care to not expose the location of the box to others around you!  If you are in a group, use the other people in your group to block the view of others.  If you are alone, you might try "dropping" things "accidentally" and picking up more than you dropped.  (I'm sure you can think of other ways to get the boxes as well.)  In each case, leave the area to "stamp-up", then return the box carefully.  Make sure it is well hidden before leaving the area.  Thank you!

Letterboxing Bristol Ren Faire Box (LBBRF)

If you wish to find this box, you'd do well to find this attraction.  Keep in mind it is "Not for Drinking!", but if you reach behind, you might get your wish! (There's been problems in the past with this box not being replaced in the right spot - remember: "Not for Drinking!"  Thanks!)

(Note: Even if you got this stamp in the past, you may wish to log in so other letterboxers know you are at the faire.  Make this your first box and check in on it during the day to see if anyone else is there!)

Beware the Marsh! (regular letterbox container)

Take a walk across Lake Elizabeth on the bridge.  The lake is so peaceful with its still water and elegant swans. One wonders why they don't use more of the lake's shore...

Take a walk along more of the shoreline.  That's right...explore the untamed part of the lake farther away from the rest of the faire.  Exit the bridge on the north end and turn left.  Walk along the shore as it goes along the side of the climbing tower.  Notice how the reeds get taller and taller and the shore becomes more untamed as you head to the outer wall of Bristol.  Why is this area left to grow like this?  Why doesn't anyone go back here?

If you truly want to know the horrific reason, you best be very, very careful!  For a creature that loves this kind of marshy area has made its home here.  Not many of those who have seen it return to tell the tale.  If you look carefully, and at a distance, you might be able to sight it among the reeds.  The best viewing spot is at the first sloping wall support beam whose foot is at the spot where the less tame grasses begin.  Can you see how some have attempted to walk through the tall grasses here?  Notice that they don't get too far before their trail stops abruptly....

DON'T FOLLOW THEIR TRAIL AND BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC!!! Play it safer. Where the town wall meets the castle wall there is the last post of the town wall with a “spider” plant growing at the base. The creature is currently hiding under the “spider” plant there. Since you know it is there, you might be able to sneak up and trap the creature before it gets you!

The Spellbook of Incantrix! (A letterbook!!)