It’s become a yearly tradition to attend the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I remember many years ago that one of my cousins had this hammock-chair thing, and I asked where they got it. “The Renaissance Festival” was the answer, and I wondered what is this Renaissance Festival they speak of? I attended the Festival for the first time back in 1996. I got sick with food poisoning the night before which made for an interesting debut. I didn’t eat much, just chicken on a stick. And I’m not sure what acts my friends and I attended; 22 years is such a long time ago!

Even though the grounds haven’t changed much, and there’re a lot of longtime acts and vendors, we never tire of the Ren Fest. And when we had to wait two hours on the highway just to get to the parking lot, we didn’t seem to mind.

This past Saturday was a hot September day. We got an “early for us” start and made it to the parking lot by 10:30 a.m. Shuttle buses were dropping off throngs of people and even if you already had a ticket, you had to join this ever-growing line. “If this takes more than an hour, I’m going to cry,” bemoaned the young woman behind us. People were speculating as to what was the holdup. Eventually the line started moving, and we made it to the Queen’s Gate. Being short, I couldn’t really tell if any of the entrances were open. It didn’t seem like it as there was a mass of people swarming around the area. Mind you, the Festival does start at 9 a.m. Anyway, more entrances opened and we were relieved to finally be inside. But since we were there earlier than we’ve attended in the past, we really didn’t know what to do first. It was a little early for lunch, and the act we usually hit first didn’t start until 12:30 p.m.

We were both sweltering as we wandered around, consulting the Festival program for an act to see in the meantime. We managed to catch the last five minutes of the Danger Committee’s show. One of the performers was throwing flaming knives at another performer and the goal was to have the performer who was having the knives thrown in his direction be able to catch one. There was a lot of buildup, but he did finally catch one, and the audience gave the team a rousing round of applause.

Onward, as we sweltered in the heat. We watched DeCantus on one of the stages. It’s a group that performs a cappella music, mainly from the 15th through 17th centuries. After that, we went in search of food. I was trying to find a line that didn’t look too terribly long. So I chose a place that was selling Chicken Shwarma on naan, as well as mango or pineapple on a stick. The line may have been short, but it took a while for ordering and getting food. But it was something different to have for lunch. Pretty soon it was time for Vilification Tennis, which is in its 30th and final year at the Renaissance Festival. Admittedly, I got a little turned around looking for the Bear Stage, where the show is performed. Anyways, Vilification Tennis is where performers hurl insults back and forth at each other.

Since it was 90+ degrees, the lines for pop, water and Powerade were long. When I stood in line to get beverages, I bought both a Coke and a bottle of water for throughout the day. “Want ice” in your soda? I was asked. Yes, please! It was a refreshing relief to stay hydrated through the day.

The thing about the Ren Fest and going almost every year, it’s tough to figure out what acts to see and what not to see. And there’s plenty to do throughout the day. We got to see a couple of bands we enjoy seeing — The Dregs and Four Pints Shy. We watched a little of the presentation from the Viking encampment. We even sat for the last chunk of a Puke and Snot show, while enjoying a chocolate malt cup. Puke and Snot is a comedy act that’s been around since 1974. They’ve appeared at other fairs and festivals, such as Maryland, Texas, Florida, Missouri and California. Even though some of the quips can be a little cliche, we found ourselves laughing out loud.

Despite the heat and the dust, we did have a good time, hearing fun tunes, looking at cool murals for the annual Renaissance Festival mural contest, and I got to see some cute animals at the Cock-A-Doodle-Zoo, like a ring-tailed lemur and kangaroos. And also, I did get a few photos of Magic, the Live Unicorn. Granted I didn’t get to ride on an elephant, but there’s always next year.