Wicked Events

Wicked Events, the event-planning subdivision of Widdershins, LLC, is a company owned and run by Jeff Mach. The company presents multiple events in New Jersey each year, structured similarly to Renaissance Faires, including entertainment, vendors, and participation by costumed attendees.

Whereas traditional Rennaissance Faires attempt to immerse participants in a cohesive thematic experience, Wicked Events cater to a wider range of "fringe interests." [ [http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2008/0220/front_page/004.html "Faire Attendees Have a Wicked Good Time", "The Sentinel"] ] Mach refers to the events as "Cuisinart events," [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Wi3nbyWvs Interview with Jeff Mach at DexCon 10] ] wherein devoted fans of various subcultures have the opportunity to intermingle, collaborate, and blend their passions together, often yielding surprising and entertaining results. The events ground themselves in the cultural solidarity of their participants who, despite their differing tastes, share the common bonds of free-form creative expression and indulgence in fantasy without shame. "People mixed genres freely" at the event. ["Wicked Faire" "Outlet Magazine" Spring Semester Issue] This environment is furthered by one of the events' main goals, which is to create a home for "unusual people." [Interview with Jeff Mach excerpted from [http://vidgle.com/podcast/?p=6 A Con-goer's Video Journal of the event] ] . This broad theme of inclusiveness has further extended to welcoming people of all kinds of alternative lifestyles, including gays and lesbians, polyamorists, BDSM folk, steampunk aficionados, goths, and neopagans. A number of entertainers have become "regulars" at Wicked Events, including (but not limited to) Voltaire, Isaac Bonewits, [http://www.weburlesque.net/ The White Elephant Burlesque Society] , Professional Domme [http://www.lady-arielle.com Lady Arielle] , and erotic hypnotist [http://www.hypnoslave.com/ Aaron Glotfelter] .

Wicked Events are typically one or two days long, compared to the weeks to months of a traditional Renaissance faire. Past events have included the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, Dark Fantasy Faire, Wicked Good Time, Halloween in December, Dark Fantasy Faire II: Yoshiwara Village, Wicked Labyrinth, and The Totally Normal Event.

The Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire

The first Wicked Event was the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire. The faire began in 2006 at the New Jersey Expo Center in Edison, NJ. In 2008, it moved to the Holiday Inn, also in Edison, NJ. In 2009 it will be held in a new location, at the Hanover Marriott, in Whippany, NJ. Held in February, completely indoors, it is the first ever Renaissance Faire in the northeastern United States to take place during the winter (traditional Faire Season of most Faires in this area is July through October).

In addition to the traditional Renaissance theme, each year the Faire adds an additional, non-traditional, theme for flavor. Some of the various themes incorporated into past Faires include science fiction, Lovecraftian horror, superheroes, ninjas, pirates, anime, and even Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Event founder Jeff Mach explains that his reason for including an additional theme besides Renaissance to the faires is to "take something that people like, for different reasons maybe – Renaissance Faires ... and layer on top of that all kinds of other interesting stuff" [Interview with Jeff Mach excerpted from [http://vidgle.com/podcast/?p=6 A Con-goer's Video Journal of the event] ] .

The result is what Mach likes to call "A Renaissance Faire With Benefits," and is essentially "twelve or so hours of damn good times, made from a formidable array of entertainments, games, and experiences spanning several genres, set against the backdrop of a slightly twisted, not-for-kids Renaissance Faire" ["Wicked Faire" "Outlet Magazine" Spring Semester Issue]

With each change in theme, the event title also changes slightly.

Past & Planned Themes:
*2006 -- Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire
*2007 -- Wicked Winter Pirate-Ninja Renaissance Faire
*2008 -- Wicked Winter Lovecraftian Renaissance Faire
*2009 -- Wicked Winter Chocolate Factory Faire

Other Wicked events

Wicked Good Time

The [http://www.impurityball.com/ Wicked Good Time] took place on November 11, 2006. It was a benefit event for the [http://www.hyacinth.org/hyacinth/home/index.jsp/ Hyacinth Aids Foundation] . The idea behind the event's theme, an "impurity ball", was to promote individuality and sexual freedom of consenting adults, by playing off of the purity balls that aim to enforce premarital virginity on young girls through abstinence pledges. Hyacinth was chosen as a charity for the event to support making safe sexual choices.

Halloween In December

[http://www.halloweenindecember.com/ Halloween In December] took place on December 9, 2006. As the name suggests, it was an event designed to give participants an extra day of macabre Halloween-style fun during what is ordinarily the Christmas season. The venue was adorned with decor that combined the two holidays, including a cobweb-draped Christmas tree and pumpkins with Santa hats. In traditional Halloween spirit, attendees were able to trick-or-treat for candy from vendor to vendor while browsing their wares. A costume contest and a murder mystery dinner were also held at the event. Other activities included piñata-breaking, a Halloween-themed dance party, and an adult version of pin the tail on the donkey. Entertainment ranged from Wicked's traditional style of performers, including belly-dancers and musicians, to a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show with live cast and audience participation.

Wicked Labyrinth

The [http://www.wickedfaire.com/labyrinth/ Wicked Labyrinth] took place on September 28 and 29, 2007, in Edison, NJ. This was the first two-day event presented by Wicked Events. It combined the already unusual style of the Wicked Faire with some of the more exotic elements of a science fiction convention, including a weekend-long full-scale LARP.

The Totally Normal Event

On June 28, 2008, Wicked Events presented the [http://wickedfaire.com/TNE/index.html Totally Normal Event] , a benefit for Summer Project for Academic Reach and Creativity, [http://www.sparcsummer.org/ SPARC] , a non-profit summer program for gifted children. The Totally Normal Event differed slightly from other Wicked events, in that event-goers were even more strongly encouraged to attend in costume and participate in the story of the event. Similar to Wicked Labyrinth, the event crossed into the genres of science fiction and fantasy. This event was held in Whippany, NJ.

External links

* [http://www.wickedfaire.com Official website]
* [http://community.livejournal.com/wickedfaire Official Livejournal community for Wicked Events]
* [http://thetotallynormalworld.ning.com/ Custom social networking community for the events]
* [http://www.fairenews.com/208/have-you-met-jeff-mach/ An article about Wicked Events' Founder, Jeff Mach]

References