Yesterday we went to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, in Mt. Holly. I'd never been to one - and it was so much fun! Our daughter has written about it here.

What impressed me most about this Renaissance Festival was two-fold. The Michigan Renaissance Festival is over 30 years old, and they have a wide area of land (17 acres) in which to hold this glorious event. Held every weekend during August and September, visitors can stroll through wooded lanes, seeing entertainment and shops, eat, and watch a variety of plays and of course the ever-important jousting. They had lots of children's activities, and as it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, many pirates were in sight. There are many buildings for the merchants and food - it was so much fun! The other thing that impressed me was the great variety and quality of costumes. Medieval costumes are so much fun - my 6-year old daughter and i plan on researching and making princess dresses for our next outing.

Here are some photos of the magnificent costumes we saw. Enjoy!

The first Pirate we saw...

The guy in the middle was eating a barbarian burger...

Manoleto later twirled balls of fire on ropes...

Hob's Bridge - with delightful dental work...

A juxtaposition of old and new...

That long skirt can go all the way to the back of the horse...

Another pirate - this one took our money (when we bought a crown!)...

Artisans galore were working on their craft...

Waiting for a play to begin...

These washing well wenches riled up the crowd with their humor...

Starting the jousting tournament...

The queen deigned to walk amongst her subjects...

A good fairy bestowed princess-hood on our daughter...

Even the horse was dressed up...

And the magician walked around wisely...

Will we be back? You bet.

For more information on the Michigan Renaissance Festival, please visit:

http://www.michrenfest.com.

They'll also be open the first weekend in October this year!