Dear Faire Family,

In the wake of rising questions and rightful curiosity, we want to address something head-on: the difference between how Dave and Tracy took control of the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire and the Oregon Renaissance Faire, and how our movement intends to reclaim the nonprofit in the name of transparency, accountability, and justice.

This is not just a battle over leadership. It’s a fight over values—and the legal and ethical framework by which we hold community institutions accountable.

🔍 What They Did: A Quiet Takeover Behind Closed Doors

In the late 2000s, the faire was a privately-run, for-profit operation under its original founders, Ron Cleveland and his wife. It was a tight-knit community event built on performance, passion, and public engagement.

But in 2008, a nonprofit called the Washington Renaissance Arts & Education Society (WRAES) was formed—with Tracy Nietupski already serving on its board. By 2009, WRAES had licensed the fair’s name from the original owners after a management dispute. When the license was not renewed the following year, WRAES filed a new business name and continued operations, effectively cutting out the original for-profit team.

The key systemic move? Forming a nonprofit not as a public trust, but as a tax shelter.

Under the nonprofit status:

• WRAES could avoid federal income taxes on profits made from the fair.
• Tracy and Dave could pay themselves large salaries and consulting fees under the guise of administrative work.
• They could solicit tax-deductible donations and grants, without being subject to the financial scrutiny that comes with public accountability.

But what made this worse was their lack of transparency and internal control:

• No elections or open board meetings.
• No financial disclosures beyond what’s required on minimal IRS Form 990s.
• No meaningful community representation on the board, despite volunteers and workers building the fairs from the ground up.

In short: they used the structure of a nonprofit to avoid taxes, consolidate power, and profit from a community they never truly respected.

⚖️ What We’re Doing: A Legal, Transparent Path to Reclaim a Hijacked Nonprofit

We are not trying to “steal the fair.” We are fighting to legally remove bad-faith actors from a nonprofit that they have corrupted—and to restore it to the people who built it.

Unlike Dave and Tracy, we are:

• Acting under Washington State Nonprofit Corporation Act (RCW 24.03A), which empowers members of the public and stakeholders to hold nonprofit boards accountable for violations of duty, misuse of funds, and lack of transparency.
• Coordinating with legal experts, whistleblowers, and state agencies to petition for a forensic audit, as allowed under RCW 24.03A.225, which grants the Attorney General investigatory power into nonprofits believed to be abusing charitable assets.
• Gathering evidence to show violations of fiduciary duty, including self-dealing, excessive compensation, and failure to operate in accordance with their charitable mission as required by RCW 24.03A.155.
• Proposing to reinstate a new board, nominated and confirmed with oversight, composed of actual workers, managers, and community members—not just department heads handpicked by insiders.
• Committing to public board meetings, annual elections, and full financial transparency as part of a new governing structure.

💬 Let’s Be Clear:

Dave and Tracy used the nonprofit model to hide their control, avoid taxes, and silence dissent.

We’re using nonprofit law to restore community power, investigate fraud, and end the abuse.

They took over quietly and kept the community in the dark. We’re organizing publicly and inviting everyone in.

If you’re a community member, vendor, performer, or volunteer who has ever felt betrayed, overlooked, or silenced—we are fighting for you.

If you’re someone who loves the faire but didn’t know the truth behind the scenes—now you do.

And if you’re on the fence, we invite you to read Washington’s nonprofit laws yourself. We’re not afraid of the truth. We’re building with it.

In solidarity,

The People’s Faire Council

Fighting for a nonprofit that serves its people—not its predators.