Renaissance Festival starts in mid-August ( hot and sticky; vendors of tiny cups of warm soda make a killing.) Finding the fest is simple -- just follow Hwy. 169 south from Minneapolis. You will see the signs after about 40 minutes of driving. The scenery is nice along the way, so even if the traffic is heavy, you might enjoy the drive. The Fest brings together a score of likable weirdos and a larger score of less likable visitors. The admission is $12.95 -- expensive but worth the money for some. At the Fest bozos like me and David can photograph an alien culture without either bothering the Amish or performing costly time travel. Basic courtesy is still encouraged (participants carry swordshi-res and justicehi-res tends to be prompt and absolute)
Although some participants have recently resigned out of disgust with the treatment by the orginizers of the Fest, samples of each segment of the population are still represented. Young (hi-res)
Old (hi-res)
Valiant (or just pretentious) menhi-res
Fair Ladies hi-res
Cute petshi-res

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If you are not content to carry heavy camera bag and a tripod around just for fun, other entertainments are available.
You can throw veggies(hi-res) at fellow humans and not be arrested for it. Much to the disappointment of many auto-da-fe and other charming Renaissance practices are not permitted at the Fest (those with younger siblings or pets can try them at home anyway.)
Various music(hi-res) -- from flute for the timid to bag pipes for the masochistic -- sounds throughout the fairgrounds.
(hi-res)