We all went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival today in Crownsville, Maryland, near Annapolis (http://www.rennfest.com/). It was great fun, and I wish we had been able to spend more of our day there.
We saw jousting, many armories and silk dancing. Will fell in love with the beautiful wooden swords from Hollow Earth Swordworks (http://www.hollowearthswordworks.com/main_index.htm) and wants one for Christmas, Eva had her hair done in fancy braids, and Lyra acquired a new puzzle from Game Puzzles (http://www.gamepuzzles.com/). Will also found a puzzle he liked, which may be another Christmas present. Will tried knife throwing, and both Eva and Will tried their skill at cross bow. All the kids went through an outdoor maze, though Eva did not much enjoy the experience.
The variety of costumes was fantastic (including much body art), and the merchants sold everything from real suits of armor to faerie masks. We did not see bear baiting or other animal sport - I guess that was one nod to modern sensibility. We did see many busty wenches in corsets.
We arrived around noon and stayed for about three hours. We missed most all of the performances, and I suspect some of the crafts. This is certainly a 'do again' event, and next year hopefully we will be able to go for a full day.