Welcome to
The Rendezvous
If you're familiar with Rendezvous I guess you'll just want to look at the pictures. But, if you've never experienced a Rendezvous, you are in for a treat. The modern Rendezvous is patterned after the annual gathering of Mountainmen. Once a year, they would meet in an agreed location to trade, get drunk and compete, not necessarily in that order. The modern rendezvous is a family event. Some rendezvous have seminars in weaving, tanning hides, canoe making, sewing and blacksmithing. You can compete in shooting, cooking, fire starting, knife & hawk throwing, just to name a few. If you don't want to compete, no problem. There's music, dancing and lots of fine company. So I don't bore you to death, I'll intermix my words with some pictures so you can get a feel for what this Rendezvous thing is all about. Like people, Rendezvous come in all sizes.
This is the 1997 National Muzzleloading Rifle Association (NMLRA) Northeastern Primitive Rendezvous in Pawlet, Vermont. The national rendezvous last ten days. This is a nice sized event with about 300 participants. What you see here is maybe 20% of the camp. The location was atop a beautiful mountain and about three miles from the nearest phone or paved road. For those of you who worry about such things, there are water tanks and porta-johns (called hooters) at Rendezvous. Modern Rendezvous require that everything you can see, look as if it were made before 1840. Great pains are usually taken to keep the water buffalos and hooters out of sight.
This is the 18th Century Market Fair, held the last full weekend in April at Ft. Frederick in Big Pool, Maryland. The fort was originally erected in 1756 and was reconstructed during the 1930's by the CCC. As Rendezvous go, this is a mid-sized event. Competition at Market Fair is kind of lacking. However, most folks don't attend Market Fair to compete. They come to shop. Most of the tents to the left of the road are personal camps. To the right of the road and around the Fort, are the tents of well around 150 Sutlers. A Sutler was an 18th Century merchant who followed the Army. The term has come to mean any rendezvous merchant. Just about everything you want or need to get active in this hobby can be bought from the Sutlers at Market Fair. Here you will find tentmakers, tailors, blacksmiths, shoemakers, gunsmiths, weavers, tinsmiths, knives, blankets, cookware, leather goods, and on and on and on.
This is the NMLRA Eastern Primitive Rendezvous in Aurora, WV. If I remember right, this was held in 1990 or '91. And yup, this is one of the biggest rendezvous you can attend. About 3000 campers. The real big national rendezvous not only draw lots of campers, they draw lots of sutlers so you need the ten days just to walk around. The Eastern offers top notch prizes for the competitions but the competitors are top notch too. If you win the Eastern woodswalk, you've done alright.
And if you can't afford new goods, then wander through the camp and checkout the trade blankets that folks put in front of their tent. Most of the items on a trade blanket are used, but some are things the owner has made. This is where the bargains are. On the blanket shown here, you can see some strands of beads, a variety of knives, eating utensils, wooden bowls, tin cups, pewter plates and some powder horns. If you have young children, trade blankets are the place to pick up used clothes. Frequently during the course of the Rendezvous, you will notice items move from one blanket to another as owners barter and swap. Haggling is not only acceptable, it's expected.
The whole family can attend a Rendezvous. This gent has three kids in tow while he checks out some of the longrifles. I know for a fact that the Mrs. was taking a nap. It's kind of hard to tell, but at least one of the kids is barefoot and all are wearing breechcloths. Leggings and breechcloth for the growing lads in your family can really keep the cost of clothes down. And, the kids love running around like indians and they sleep like rocks.
Some folks might worry about bring their children to an event with all those guns, knives, woods and streams. Lots of ways for kids to get in trouble, right? Well, Rendezvous people, called Buckskinners (or Skinners for short), watch out for each other and each other's kids too. If your young one is getting into something he shouldn't, just about anyone will reel him in and send him home. Looks like this lad wandered too far from camp. On her first visit to a Rendezvous, a friend said she had never felt more safe in her life. She new that anyone in camp would help out if there was trouble. It's also amazing how a kid you can't get to take out the trash at home will offer to help folks put up their tent or haul wood & water (for someone else, of course).
Some families prefer to just relax away from all the bustle of the modern world. But, if you want, there is plenty to do. Here is my then 10 year old son Evan entering a "knife and hawk" competition. The objective is to cut the playing card in half with your tomahawk, and stick your knife in the center of the card. You usually get one throw of each (knife and hawk) at each of five cards. Sometimes you get to pace off the distance, sometimes you don't. You can't see the adult who's there to supervise and keep score. Unsupervised children are not allowed at the range, and knives and tomahawks must be sheathed when not in use.
Here is that same kid four years later claiming second prize in Junior Knife & Hawk at the NMLRA Northeastern Primitive Rendezvous. Dave who ran the Knife & Hawk range (and took 1st in the Men's Competition) said he was not looking forward to the day he would have to compete against Evan.
OK, it sounds like fun.
Do I really have to go through all that just to attend a Rendezvous?
Sunday morning brings Church services for those who are so inclined. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful chapel. Services are usually well attended with plenty of enthusiastic singing accompanied by guitars. First timers are a bit taken aback when the minister turns out to be the guy you saw yesterday in the deerskin breech cloth, or a Native American in full face paint.
One evening some folks might get all dressed up in their finery for a dance. Those that have it wear it and those that don't, don't. If you look close you'll see some plain folks mixed in with the fancy. This particular dance was preceded by dance lessons the night before, conducted by the gentleman in the kilt. This is a Virginia Reel in full swing.
