Why do you think Medieval Reenactment is more popular today than its ever been before in America?

If I had to say how it was here in the UK it declined some from the previous years I was here. Last year the massive camp we gathered was less by 1/4-1/3 the years before, the venders were much less as well. This is but one example but others here have noted the same thing here. I think here it rests on the bad economy almost completely. People do not feel they can afford the long travel and hauling their gear. I'd imagine something like this is happening stateside. At least gauging by the number of armourers stopping full time production and such and diminished sales from what I have been hearing seems to be everywhere.

This is not just reenactment though. It is hitting most hobbies and leisure activities.

RPM

every year the events are less, there are less people at the events that are held within the DC and surrounding areas. now this is counting the SCA etc, i mean LH events.

Attendance and sales at the area RenFaire events in Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Minnesota are seemingly down. As a previous vendor, I still keep in touch with all my old friends that still do these events. There seems to have been an apex around 2003-2004, then a steady decline from there.

The faires are probably is not the best representation to get feel for the sum of the whole, but I think it is a pretty good sampling of the community.

From what I've gathered SCA growth overall has slowed, and there may have been a small contraction this year. In the western US gatherings of any activity were always relatively sparse because of the huge expanses of empty land and the logistics of getting people from an already eccentric hobby together. Unless you live in California even most traditional reenactment groups seem to be no larger than a dozen people.