REN FAIRE: Back in time

The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim runs every weekend through October, and it is a hoot. We didn't dress up, but many visitors did, and what an astonishing variety of costumes: there were knights, peasants, wenches, fairy maidens, elves with pointy ears, cassocked monks, Plague doctors, and pirates (and, inexplicably, the Incredible Hulk, a Roman centurion, a Pharaoh and a couple of Storm Troopers). It was hot and humid on Sunday, and I certainly didn't envy those wearing leggings, long, full dresses, leather jerkins, or masks and headdresses.
There are shows and exhibitions throughout the fairgrounds all day. In "Archery Through the Ages," we learned about different types of chain mail and watched three archers display their skills with longbows and crossbows (there's a tradeoff between power and ease of use, we learned).
The "Delightful Deceptions" magic show was well named: the magician's sleight of hand with interlocking rings and balls and cups was astonishing -- how did he do it?   
One of the costumed actors that roam around the fair persuaded us to join in the Peasant Dance, where they taught us three dances. We did OK at first, but just as we were starting to get the hang of things, the musicians relentlessly picked up the tempo. We later saw one of the dance instructors and asked her if we were the worst dancers they'd had that day.
"Oh, no," she said. "We've had people fall down."
 The Royal Falconer was probably my favorite part of the afternoon. He put three beautiful birds of prey -- Merlin, a Common Buzzard; Thor, a Harris's Hawk; and CC, a Crested Caracara -- through their paces, and we were amazed at the bond between them and their trainer.
The 35-acre "Shire" is full of shops where you can buy everything from daggers, to magic wands, to butterfly headbands, to lace-up corsets, to dried herbs. There are food and drink vendors on every pathway, and I saw plenty of turkey legs being devoured. I can't imagine how many bottles of Poland Spring water they sold that hot afternoon.
There were plenty of kids and even infants at the Faire, and there are special activities for the little ones. There are also bawdy comedy shows for adults, and though not to my taste, we could hear howls of laughter coming from the audiences.