PRAY TELL, FROM WHENCE DID IT COME Return to the days of knights and maidens at the 31st annual Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly,
which is held every weekend now through Oct. 4, each with a different theme. The Elizabethan village — complete with a castle, turreted gates and period crafts — attracts as many as 220,000 visitors, according to event organizers. ERE I GO YONDER, MEWONDERS ‘BOUT THE CAROUSING. Watch jousting matches, master artisans at work, competing archers and period games such as the caber (long wooden pole) toss and the stone put (similar to shot put). Stroll down the Queen’s Walk and North King’s Boulevard and chat with re-enactors wearing elaborate period costumes. Take the kids to the castle playscape and the presumably dragon-less petting zoo. PERCHANCE, WILL THERE BE MUTTON Not really, but don’t get your chain mail in a bunch. Most of the menu — like the parking lot — is anachronistic, so expect fare ranging from a joust-a-burger to spring rolls. And, of course, plenty of ale. ALAS, ANYTHING FOR THE WENCHES The fair hosts weddings and custom group parties, and both genders will want to stroll through the marketplace with booths displaying period clothing and theme items, such as Waxen Ware Candles, Ironwolf Blacksmithing, Earth’s Cauldron and Lady Mac’s Horns, Canes & Staffs. HARK NOW, ASSEMBLE THE TOWNE CRIERS AT ONCE, SO THEY MAY HERALD THE NEWS TO ALL. Admission at the gate is $18.95, $16.95 for students and seniors, and $9.95 for children season passes are available. For more information, go to or call 800-601-4848. A version of this story appears on page 22A of the Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, print edition of the Detroit Free Press. See what you need to know about President Barack Obama’s health care plans.
From big engines to big crowds, the Cruise was a welcome break for Detroiters.