Who created Tudorcon? Is this a legit thing?
Hi, I’m Heather, and I created Tudorcon! I’ve been podcasting on Tudor England since 2009 when I created the Renaissance English History Podcast. I’ve interviewed people on my show like author Alison Weir (whose book The Six Wives of Henry VIII was the first Tudor book I read, way back in 1995-ish!) and musicologist David Skinner. I am a pioneer in podcasting, and have spoken about podcasts at venues from the Sound Education conference at Harvard University to the Tribe conference for writers, to the Intelligent Speech Conference. I also created TudorFair.com – an online shop filled with lovingly-created Tudor Swag – in 2017, and the Tudor Planner in 2016 (the crowdfunding campaign for the 2021 Planner funded at over 650% of the original goal!)
I came up with the idea of Tudorcon in 2018 because I wanted a place to connect with other Tudor enthusiasts in real life, and create an event that was a mix between a Renaissance Faire and an actual academic conference. There’s all the fun of a Ren Faire, mixed with talks from historians, and new friends who share your Tudor obsession.
What’s included in the price?
Your ticket price covers all talks on Saturday and Sunday. Plus the Welcome party on Friday evening with party food, music, activities (there will be a cash bar for those who want to indulge in some modern day ale). Catered lunch on Saturday, the musical on Saturday evening, and the medieval feast plus private entertainment on Sunday, as well as the entrance to the Renaissance Faire. You will also receive a recording of all the talks, available as a download, so you can enjoy the talks forever, as well as fun giveaways and swag.
What if I can’t make it?
Tickets are non refundable. But they are transferrable, so if something comes up and you can’t make it, you can always gift or resell your ticket to another Tudor fan.
Do I need a costume?
Costumes are definitely encouraged, though not necessary (I’m not wearing one)! You’ll have plenty of opportunities to wear them, including the Friday welcoming party, and the Sunday feast.
I have a dietary request. Can you work with that?
Absolutely – A few weeks before the weekend we’ll be checking in to make sure we have a list of all the vegans, veggies, and gluten free folks.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes! Just send me an email and I can work out an invoice setup with Paypal.
How do I get to Tudorcon, and can I travel there without a car?
Lancaster is almost exactly the same distance from Baltimore as from Philadelphia – it’s 70-ish miles north of BWI or east of PHL. I usually find inexpensive flights on Southwest to BWI, but if you don’t have a car, PHL could be easier because you can easily get a train from there to downtown Lancaster (you can get one from Baltimore too, but it’s a little trickier because you wind up taking the train to Philadelphia and then changing and getting on the Lancaster line).
Tudorcon itself is at the winery next to the Ren Faire, which is another 20 miles north of Lancaster, so if you got a train to Lancaster you could either take a Lyft/Uber up, or you could arrange for a rideshare in the Tudorcon group on the Tudor Learning Circle network. I know there are many people who are fairly local who are coming, and you might be able to easily arrange for a ride up.
Once you’re there, there are two hotels directly across the street, but with that said, it’s a pretty major intersection across a large parking lot, and I’m guessing that door to door it’s about a 10-15 minute walk. People did it before, and it’s not hilly or anything, and there are clear crosswalks, but I just mention that because if you’re going to wear a costume, that might be tricky for a walk.
The only other thing you’d need a car for would be for the Saturday night entertainment which is in downtown Lancaster, but you could easily arrange for a ride on Friday night once you’re there, or with the same person you got a ride from the train with. We will have a rides needed/rides offered bulletin board so people can arrange rides for Saturday evening.
So if you really want to do it car-free, I would think that your best bet would be going into Philadelphia and then taking the train.
You could also fly into Harrisburg, which is normally more expensive, but lately, there have been some amazing deals. There’s no direct public transport from there to Lancaster (it’s about a 40-minute drive) but you could take a bus into Harrisburg, and then take the train to Lancaster again – there’s a bit of a walk involved. Also, again, you could probably arrange a ride share – there might be other people flying into Harrisburg.