Did go to this in the early 70's in Novato and at that juncture it was new and entertaining, as all young culture was at that moment in time, especially in the SF area which held a lot of fantasy and creativity. It was far less commercial. Never thought of it as a "white" celebration, just play acting of ye old Ye Olde, and turkey legs of course. As a repeat participant of the Oregon Country Fair and Burning Man, there is a complicit freedom in play and cosplay which is usually humorous., and yes, buffoonery. (Yay, white people!) However, I did attend another one in upstate New York in the early 2010's and was disappointed in the either cultural differences (east vs. west) or perhaps just a degeneration of the original idea as it had sort of devolved into what seemed more like a tired script.
Did go to this in the early 70's in Novato and at that juncture it was new and entertaining, as all young culture was at that moment in time, especially in the SF area which held a lot of fantasy and creativity. It was far less commercial. Never thought of it as a "white" celebration, just play acting of ye old Ye Olde, and turkey legs of course. As a repeat participant of the Oregon Country Fair and Burning Man, there is a complicit freedom in play and cosplay which is usually humorous., and yes, buffoonery. (Yay, white people!) However, I did attend another one in upstate New York in the early 2010's and was disappointed in the either cultural differences (east vs. west) or perhaps just a degeneration of the original idea as it had sort of devolved into what seemed more like a tired script.
amazing. only in California!