There’s nothing that says fall like crisp days, colorful trees, and men dressed up like they’re about to sack a castle.

That’s right, once summer is over, eighty plus acres of the town of Carver are cast back in time.  Think Plimouth Plantation, but with swords, armor, fire eating, and, of course, beer.  Complete with a jousting field (that features REAL jousting!), jesters, a smithy making bladed weapons and custom armor, tons of medieval - esque crafts, and more, you can’t beat King Richards Faire for quality family entertainment and some of the best people watching ever.

We arrived right as the gates opened, and were met by Stephanie, their press liaison.  She gave us the five dollar tour, and then set us free.  It can be hard to navigate from attraction to attraction with so many people dressed for the era and acting the part… LARP a palooza to say the least!  I have to give these folks credit for losing their inhibitions and really giving their all to the day, it adds a sense of magic (and surrealness) that I haven’t experienced since my rave days.

We saw people eating mud, swallowing and juggling fire, doing acrobatics, sword fighting, and, of course, drinking.  I have to say the only disappointment of the day was that a “yard” of beer was hardly that, coming in a plastic decanter that weighed in at more like twelve inches.  This was almost made up for by the turkey drumsticks, which were smoked and must have come off the biggest gobblers ever, as they were the size of my forearm.  And delicious, to say the least.

The highlight of the day for many was the tiger show, which featured rescued tigers of all sizes and carried a pretty strong conservation message.  They even had Hercules, the Guinness Book of World Record largest feline, and he was HUGE.  Certainly made me glad I didn’t have to wrestle him.  After the tigers, we were feeling a little hard to impress, but the Aerial Angels did make us laugh with a collection of acrobatics, tricks, and, most importantly, off color jokes.  They may not be Cirque de Soleil, but they sure would be more fun to party with.

At the end of the day we were well fed, tired, a little dirty and completely broke, which, let’s face it, is the mark of a great fair or festival.  If you haven’t been I certainly recommend heading up there this coming weekend, as it is the last chance you’ll have until next year.

Photo gallery?  Click here!