Any citizen impressions at Gettysburg over the weekend? How did it go?

I was there, as a citizen covering the event for a newspaper, the Civil War News.
Camped in the "living history area," which surprised me by its incredibly large size. I expected this year's event to be about one tenth the size that it turned out to be.
GAC must still be counting its profits.
Lee's Lietenants made up the bulk of the "living history" area, with dozens and dozens of more "ordinary" citizens surrounding the central core.
To me, it was incredible how many visitors stopped by my camp and were willing to ask questions and/or chat. Lots more approached, but many probably felt intimidated, for I could see them pointing at my "news correspondent" sign and chichat amongst themselves without coming over. I tried to appear friendly. and I greeted everyone with a happy, welcoming smile, and answered all questions to the best of my ability. I sure wasn't shy about saying "I don't know," but I have the handy excuse of speaking with a foreign accent and telling them that I am a recent arrival from Europe (and I do speak Spanish and Portugese, to support the impression, which invariably seems to impress the hell out of most visitors, who never expect someone to be able to converse with them in their native language) and I simply haven't had a lot of time to learn about the situation in the "New World."
All in all, it was a great weekend.
Gettysburg is what it is. Come ready to accept it, or don't come at all, or if you do, just hold your tongue in check, for it will never change.
All expectations met.
Julio

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Julio C. Zangroniz wrote : All in all, it was a great weekend. Gettysburg is what it is. Come ready to accept it, or don't come at all, or if you do, just hold your tongue in check, for it will never change. All expectations met. Julio

Julio,

You are a wise man!  

When all is said and done, it only matters if you had a good time and did not feel you wasted the weekend.

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Annette Bethke wrote : When all is said and done, it only matters if you had a good time and did not feel you wasted the weekend.

.........and why does it take some people so long to grasp this concept?  Thanks for that post, Annette.

Bill,
I call them as I see them.
Sometimes, it almost hurts to see people *choose* to participate in certain events expecting results far, far different from what they will find in those events... a process that has been documented again and again and again.
As a "non-reenactor" who goes to document a number of events for a particular publication (in my case, usually the Civil War News), I go looking for the good impression, the more "authentic" impressions, if you will, and to meet old friends and have a jolly good time.
After 22 seasons of CW reenacting, I know for a fact that I am a lot closer to the *end* of my reenacting endeavors than I am to its beginnings, so I try to make the best of it each and every time I go out.
Yes, I could have "documented" a real farby event at Gettysburg (and I do have a lot of the photos to prove it). But I choose to look at the glass as half full, rather than half empty, so I will continue to document what I feel is the *best* that the hobby can offer, what "newbies" should strive to match, or surpass, rather than the negative side of the spectrum, which should languish in ignorance, in my opinion.
Julio

I did go to G'burg on Friday. It allowed me to make sure a newbie found the time to hear a lecture I knew would be well done and thought she would benefit from. It also gave me an opportunity to talk to her in person, where I could point out examples of what we had been discussing.
I attended a farbfest earlier this year as a treat to a friend and his unit. Every year they select a coupla events because they are close, rather than "they are accurate".
Doing this allows us to be an example of what can be achieved if folks have that desire to progress. Sometimes they have the desire, just haven't got a clue about who to talk with to start that journey.

Yes, Elaine, so true. I have no problem with farb fests; I go knowing exactly what they are but try to stay true to my own standards. They can be a lot of fun if you know exactly what you are getting into and just accept it.

If someone is perfectly happy in a less than correct outfit, who am I to say they can't play if it's not my event or even to judge them because they don't wish to progress any further? I like Elaine's concept, offer the right information and examples but don't judge someone based on how they wish to enjoy their free time. At one event we may do something "progressive" such as delivering a soldiers' box or offer to write letters and include a group who may not be "authentic". It really is a lot of fun and I think helps bridge the nasty us and them gap.

However (there had to be one) what is good for the goose is good for the gander. One cannot expect an event to lower its standards to meet the enjoyment level of those who do not wish to progress. Nor should those happy with their level of participation poo-poo those who choose to reach a little further.

I think this hobby is flexible enough to offer opportunities for all levels of participation.  

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Annette Bethke wrote : I have no problem with farb fests; I go knowing exactly what they are but try to stay true to my own standards.

Serious question: how do you do that? Here's where I keep running into the same sticking point:

The group/event decides to do or have something that's inaccurate and yet could be easily avoided by making a more accurate choice. (That's almost the definition of a farb fest, come to think of it.) The problem is, to behave accurately, I would go along with the group, yet to actually do/have the thing would be inaccurate.

How do you deal with that paradox and stay true to your own standards, which presumably means making the more accurate choice whenever possible?

There seems to be no right answer; whichever you choose is blatantly inaccurate, and one choice also makes you run the risk of being ostracized by the group.

I can think of numerous specific examples, if that would help.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

I have moved part of this discussion over to Camp Gossip in a thread entitled "maintaining authenticity" since we are now moving on to something beyond a specific event discussion. Good discussion though.

Anything else on Gettysburg?