Local 34.5 is comprised of wenches from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. We are affiliated with International Wenches Guild as established by Lundegaard Armoury.

Although mostly sighted at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, we can also be found at faires and gatherings all over the United States.

What's A Wench?

A wench is not afraid to stand on her own
A wench is beautiful, regardless of size, shape or color.
A wench is unafraid to use body, brains and brawn to get what she wants
A wench doesn't need anyone to tell her how to live, love, look or dress.

To paraphrase Guild Scribe Lars Lunde, the Wench's Guild is a loose (not necessarily literally) yet powerful confederation of women who share beliefs that some may consider sexist but that we feel are just fine. Among those beliefs are the ideas that it is every woman's right to choose what she does with her body, with whom she does it and where and when, and that all women, regardless of shape, size, color, age, creed or sexual orientation should be encouraged and permitted to be the person that she wishes to be. Although our organization started out at the Renaissance Festival in Tuxedo, New York, it has since grown immensely, and our members range from housewives to college students to strippers to businesswomen. As long as you are a strong woman who is not afraid to flaunt brain, body and soul, you too could be a wench. In our organization, the word does not have any negative connotations, nor do words such as hussy, trollop, strumpet, jade, tart or Madame. In fact, we have even come up with acronym for wench:

Women Entitled to Nothing but Complete Happiness.

What We are Are:

1. We are a group of strong, independent women (and a few men).
2. We are entitled to nothing but complete happiness.
3. We are mothers, daughters, married, single, gay, straight, students, teachers, workers, entrepreneurs and homemakers.
4. We are proud of our bodies, our minds and our hearts.
5. We carry ourselves with dignity and pride and take responsibility for our own actions.
6. We learn from our pasts and shape our futures.
7. We are fighters and lovers, nurturers and hunters.
8. We are ready.

What We Are NOT:

1. We are not perfect, but we learn and teach from our mistakes, and the mistakes of others.
2. We are not PC. We are not threatened. We are unafraid to stand firm in our judgements.
3. We are not threatened by those who intend to intimidate us, and we will *not* be subdued.
4. We are not a political organization although we do have some very strong, group opinions on domestic abuse and the equality of women.
5. We are not a group of Femi-Nazis. We are not against men in any way; in fact, there are male members in the wench guild.
6. We are not limited to Renaissance Faires, although that is where many of our member first heard of the Guild.
7. We are not content to sit idly by and watch as ourselves and our sisters are being stifled, ignored, abused, abandoned, raped, murdered, stereotyped or mistreated in any other way, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or socially.
8. We are not afraid.

A Little History

The International Wenches Guild is the brainchild of Lars Lunde (Official Guild Scribe) and Patti Falzarano (National Grande Madame); it began at the New York Renaissance Faire in the summer of 1995. What began essentially as a local club intended to give some vague sense of order to the various wenches all over that Faire site rapidly turned into an organization stretching across North America, with a present membership of over 3,000women.

The Guild is not a political organization, due to the varied beliefs among our members. As a result, we avoid any volatile political topics, as a group, as it would be unfair to rally the Guild for one side or the other; although many of us appreciate a good debate. We do, however, hold certain beliefs that could be construed as political, such as an absolute abhorrence for domestic violence of any kind and a healthy respect for the environment and for all living things.

Membership in the Guild is open to all interested parties; we even boast a few men in our ranks. Membership includes a pewter pin with the Guild logo on it, a certificate, a membership card, The Little Brown Book and Guild Songbook, and a stack of "free kiss" cards. Men who think this idea is interesting but are wondering why there isn't something similar for guys can contact www.lundegaard.com for information on our brother organization, The International Brotherhood of Rogues, Scoundrels and Cads. Men who are interested in more involvement with the Wench's Guild can talk to any IWG member about getting nominated into the Loyal Order of Himbos.