Huzzah! Prepare thy costume and gird thy spirit for an adventure at the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest renaissance fair in the nation, held in the town of Todd Mission northwest of Houston. With 49 years of history and nearly a half million visitors a year, the event has become a beloved tradition, a time-honored escape into the history of a bygone era.

While the clash of knights in jousting tournaments, the hearty quaffing of mead, and turkey legs galore may be the hallmark of this enchanting festival, make no mistake—this is a world of multifaceted wonders. Set in a charming sixteenth century English village, merchants peddle their finest treasures: think tapestries, trinkets, pottery, crystals, intricate hairpieces, fairy wings, corsets, authentic swords, even full-blown armory.

Witness over 50 types of live demonstrations of traditional craftsmanship like broom making, glassblowing, metalworking, pottery, swordsmithing, and bow making. Kids and the young at heart can enjoy old-school wooden games, an ode to the simpler pastimes of yesteryears. Fire performers and magicians entertain, troubadours serenade, and jesters juggle. Food fit for kings and queens can be savored, including surprisingly diverse offerings like Latin American, Greek, and Asian cuisines. Sip on frozen drinks like piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris, nonalcoholic options such as root beer and jalapeño lemonade, or beer and wine, some made from historic recipes.

The fair offers a bunch of themed weekends including “1001 Dreams,” which enchants the village with fairies, elves, and whimsical wonders, and features costume contests and dragon-wing eating challenges. At last week’s “Pirate Adventure,” swashbucklers united for the ultimate buccaneer fest, complete with Best Dressed Pirate competitions and fish-and-chips eating contests. Take your pick of the many other themed weekends from now until the festival ends November 26.

Come along with us for highlights of the pirate-themed week, plus a few tips from renaissance veterans on how a newbie can have the best experience.

Entering the festival grounds will feel a bit overwhelming, but the easiest way to enjoy yourself is to just start walking. Heading southwest, you’ll notice The Pirates Treasure at a corner booth (517). It’s hard to miss considering the number of swords and knives from different places and time periods on display, and crowds hovering around to learn from the expert dealers.

Amid the huzzahs of the crowd at the Texas Renaissance Festival, be on the lookout for a mini parade of horses and the regal presence of the King (Greg Taylor) and Queen (Rosella Gonzales). You could be walking down a quiet pathway eating freshly made souvlaki from the Greek Agora when someone from behind the counter yells, “All hail the King, long live the Queen!” The crowd then echoes the phrase while drums and fiddles and fairies dance on by.

Face painting is popular at the festival, but don’t overlook getting your hair professionally braided. Located in two booths (652A, 683M), Fantasy Hair Weavings has been a longtime RenFest staple. Apprentice Cheetah (photographed above, left) has been working with owner Sara Lindberg for two years. They currently travel full time, doing six different renaissance shows a year. Festival goer Amber from Victoria (photographed above, right) says that her favorite part of going is dressing up, being immersed in the culture, and people watching.

Tip from renaissance veteran Sara Lindberg: “Think of something you like to do out in the real world like comedy, music, shopping, and find it here. Remove expectations and just enjoy yourself.”

The Village Mint is a metalworking booth (678BB) based on the industrial tools Leonardo da Vinci invented to make perfectly shaped coins. For over 30 years Michael Stewart, also known as Pike, has created jewelry, visual art, and designed his own coin press mint, catapulting his business of making medallions and talismans at renaissance fairs around the world. The 150-pound mint creates the coin by raising it nine feet high and, with accelerated gravity, slamming down on the metal at an equivalent of 40-tons of force.

Experience live demonstrations of glassblowing at Hot Glass (525), where rotating artists teach the public the history of glass arts while explaining the techniques they use. Renaissance veteran Jodi Bove (pictured above with her many vessels) has been a glass artist since 1987, and takes pride in having Peter Pelletierri as her mentor—a student of Harvey Livingston, the “father” of modern glassblowing in the US.

Houston native and comedian Jim Mackenzie shows off his “mad skills” to a crowd near the Arena after a jousting show ends. His performance is carefully curated with juggling acts of fire torches, a violin, pool cue, glass of beer, and other props while making the crowd laugh. For the performance pictured above, each act had an artsy name like “Surrealistic Smoked Salmon Swimming Upstream,” “Art Deco,” and “Martial Artistic Juggling.” Mackenzie’s entertainment career began in 1986 at the Texas Renaissance Festival, and he has since been at various festivals, theme parks, and comedy clubs around the country. Mackenzie also served as the director of clowning for Houston Grand Opera. If there’s one show to experience while at the festival, it’s this one.

Tip from renaissance veteran Jim Mackenzie: “There’s some quality food here that can’t be missed like the quesadilla Florentine, steak on a stick, Hamburg Royale, and homemade beer from Brigadoon Brewery. Also, don’t get stuck in one place, there’s plenty of shit to do in the back area of the festival.”

Next door to Hot Glass, Swept Away is a broom making business owned by Sharon Jackson (left) who’s been part of the festival for 21 seasons. Darby Lockridge (right), Jackson’s apprentice since 2007, is seen weaving sorghum broom corn to a harvested wooden handle. Once the broom is tightly assembled, customers have the option of leaving it as is for decoration or stitching it up to be used for sweeping.

This Austin crew, camping here for the weekend, call themselves the Muppets of Valhalla. Their names are just as wacky as their costumes and lively energy (from left to right): Captain Groundscore the Dreadless Pirate, Captain Kat, Commodore BSTEE, Admiral Mox, and Moksa. Commodore BSTEE says getting into character is half the fun while Admiral Mox shows off her gold teeth.

The talk of the town is that longtime staple La Pizzeria Il Forno (F64), next to Mead Hall, has the best pies (no, really, we were told by many people). In its ninth year running the only wood-fired brick oven pizza in the Kingdom, Il Forno offers an assortment of vegetarian and meat lover’s options. The manager, Ryan (pictured), is a 25-year renaissance veteran who helped build the oven, but he’s worked many different gigs throughout the years: musician, nut roaster, fudge booth worker, henna tattoo artist, and jobs he can’t recall. He even lives on Renfaire Drive near the festival grounds along with four other pizzamakers and helpers.

Tip from renaissance veteran Ryan: “Wear good walking shoes.”

At new booth Dancing Glass Beadworks and Hair Extensions (671), sift through a variety of colorful hair extensions that easily clip in and out of your hair, perfect for those who want to join in on dressing up for the festival, but don’t have a costume. Each handmade clip extension has a name that pairs with color schemes mostly based on natural landscapes, like Sedona Sunset and Texas Sun. There are also beaded anklets that hook between the toes and wrap around the lower leg.

At a small and unassuming gazebo, Celtic band Crannog performs a few Irish tunes featuring Jerry Berry (guitar), Sean Malley (djembe), Frank O’Gara (fiddle), and Gabriele Decker (singer, concertina, whistle, and Irish frame drum). Decker, who founded the band with husband O’Gara 30 years ago, says the band name comes from man-made islands made by medieval Celts in lakes throughout Ireland and Scotland.

Tip from renaissance veteran Gabriele Decker: “Skip the turkey leg and mid-day jousting, stay for the last jousting show and fireworks.”

Amid this grand festival, where chivalry and mirth reign supreme, one fabled spot stands as the unspoken heart of raucous behavior: the Sea Devil Tavern. It’s a place where buccaneers cast their anchors ashore, infusing the realm with a swashbuckling spirit that enlivens even the dourest souls. The most popular pirate performers of the ship are known as Pride O’ Bedlam, who drink rum and belt their fan-favorite tunes to create a wild, foot-stomping piratical party. Come pub o’clock (6 p.m.), there are lights, canons, fog machines, and a full crowd of loud pirates—and not just on themed weekends. Dane Bennett, largely known as Captain Basil Drake, and his crew of misfits (along with his wife, Jessica Maris, aka Ginger, pictured) have been a band for 12 years.

Tip from renaissance veteran Dane Bennett: “Prepare to be astounded at how big this place is. You can’t see it all in one day, so this may be strange coming from a pirate, but pace yourself.”