How would you like to travel back in time to a 16th-century European village with armored jousting, giant roasted turkey legs and $5 ale?
ASU students can break their weekend routine and enjoy time outdoors this spring while watching over 150 shows and interacting with knights, rogues, royalty and craftsmen at The Arizona Renaissance Festival, said Sanja Malinovic, the festival's marketing director, in a written statement.
Anthropology sophomore Aryn Klein, who has previously worked in the festival playing Gaelic tin whistle with an Irish step dancing group, said that the festival has a lot to offer ASU students.
"You can watch the comedy shows and laugh your butt off, eat a turkey leg, get a henna tattoo, ride an elephant ... it's fun spending the whole day there," Klein said.
The festival, open every Saturday and Sunday through April 1, is located in a secluded, 30-acre village near Superstition Mountains.
Robyn Buehrle, secondary English education junior said the festival provides an opportunity to escape modern life.
"At the festival, you are thrust into the culture of that time period," Buehrle said.
"The food, the style of speech and the clothing all help bring people back to Renaissance times," she said.
Malinovic said the festival is celebrating its 19th birthday, and 250,000 people are expected to attend this season.
One of the reasons the festival became so popular is the opportunity it gives people to participate in the show," she said.
"Today's audience wants to be more then spectators," she said, "At the festival, the audience are special guests in another place and time."
Pubs, kitchens and ware shops are among the 250 craft and food vendors in the festival.
"Merchants sell everything from clothing to custom ceramics," Malinovic said.
The artists, housed in medieval tents, are one of the attractions of the festival, often demonstrating their blacksmithing, glassblowing and pottery-throwing skills.
Jovanna Romano, anthropology senior, said she has attended the Renaissance Festival nearly every year since she moved to Arizona 11 years ago.
Romano, who first discovered the festival on a school field trip, said she became so "hooked" on the festival that she started to dress the part when attending.
"My friends and I have begun to dress up in Renaissance attire, so we can try to fit in a little more with the times," Romano said.
"Each year, the group of friends that I go to the festival with increases," she said.
Buehrle said that rainy or sunny, she never misses the festival.
"Last year it rained, and I got all muddy, but it was still a blast," Buehrle said.
She said that despite the rain, she enjoyed seeing "singing nuns, men in tights telling dirty jokes, bird and animal shows and a man who speaks switching the first letters of words."
"The festival is a way to have a great day with friends, enjoying shows, shopping and great food," she added.
This year, the festival features a cast of 682 artists, including improvisation artists, comedians, actors and musicians, said Rob Lindler, entertainment director for the Arizona and Carolina Renaissance Festivals.
The cast goes through four weeks of training before the festival, perfecting their improvising, language and costuming skills and learning more about the Renaissance era," Lindler said.
"The special thing about our artists is that they are always excited to talk to everyone," he said.
"They make every person feel special."
The festival is located east of Apache Junction on U.S. Highway 60, just past Gold Canyon Golf Resort.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $6 for children ages five through 12 years old. Children under five years old do not pay. Advance discounted tickets are available at Fry's and Fry's Marketplace or on the festival's Web site www.renfestinfo.com. Tickets purchased at the festival's box office are $2 more.
Reach the reporter at: amanda.soares@asu.edu.