ESCONDIDO -- Visitors to the Escondido Renaissance Faire at Felicita Park this weekend and next are immediately reminded of the difference between this and other fairs around the county.
Instead of row upon row of generic commercial vendors, enthusiastic strolling minstrels greet the guests. Handcrafted arts and goods are displayed in themed booths around the oak-cloaked grounds.
And costume-clad entertainers and a host of "guilds" educate visitors about life in 16th century England.
Lia Lynn of Hemet said the main difference between this fair and others is education, and that each time she comes she learns something new.
"It's always fun to visit each year," said Lynn. "Now I have all my grandkids coming."
This year she brought grandson Greg Weinkauf, 17, also of Hemet.
Wearing a chain-mail vest he made himself, he said what he loves the most is "the learning."
"I come to seek knowledge from the archers and blacksmiths," Weinkauf said.
One of the dozens of educational guild booths that drew a crowd displayed two Harris hawks and a peregrine falcon.
Licensed falconer Andrea Ashbaugh said the Harris hawks are the only social hawks that hunt in cooperation, making them easy for humans to train.
She said the techniques of using the birds to hunt rabbit and fowl have been virtually the same since the 1600s.
In a meadow cleared for the occasion, arrows soared through the sky and swords clashed loudly in a period-costumed battle re-enactment that takes place each afternoon between actors portraying the English and the "Wilds."
One of the Wilds, Eric "Skunk" Hallam of Escondido, was covered in black-and-white war paint and fur skins -- a look that he said takes nearly three hours to complete each morning.
Hallam said he's been coming to the fair since he was 12 years old, and he was very happy to become a participant three years ago.
The fair continues from 10 a.m. to dusk Sunday and Nov. 1 and 2. Visitors will find Queen Elizabeth's court and recreated village, Shakespearean scenes, and Renaissance-era food and drink, along with more than 1,000 costumed guilders to entertain and educate.
Schedule activities also include a medieval footballesque game at 1:30 p.m.; scenes from "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at 3 p.m.; the Bawdy Juggler at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; Jack Dagger & Whipboy at 1 and 4 p.m.; and the Queen's Swordsmen at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. A drum jam is planned for 5 p.m. at the exit gate.
Musical entertainers include Kenny Klein, Pirates Charles, Wildwood Morris, Rusty Happenings, Alioth Lotus and A Fool & His Lady and the House McFionn Dancers.
Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the campgrounds where out-of-town guilds are set up for the two-weekend stay.
Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $7 for children ages 5 to 11 and are free for children ages 4 and under. Active members of the military gain free admission when they show their military ID. Parking is $5.
Felicita Park is at 742 Clarence Lane, one mile west of Interstate 15 on the Via Rancho Parkway exit. For information, call (805) 496-6036 or visit www.goldcoastfestivals.com.
Elena Cristiano is a freelance writer for the North County Times.
