Minnesota Renaissance Festival is an annual event in the fall. It started in the autumn of 1971 in a 22-acre park in Jonathan, MN over two weekends. There were more than 25,000 people enjoying the festivities during those two weekends.

The festival was moved to Shakopee and has grown to seven weekends. It has nearly 300,000 visitors a year, and it's now the largest renfest/fair in America.

There are so many things to do, you may want to visit more than one day to take it all in. There are the activities you would expect to find at a renfest such as jousting, bards singing, mead drinking, and a Viking invasion.

There are other activities as well, such as a mermaid cove where you can see merfolk singing and swimming around, a juggling school where you can learn how to juggle, como cottage--which is a place housing reptiles, and a daily children's costume contest.

When you're tired from all the fun you've been having, you can take a break and feast on the infamous turkey leg that is as big as your head, elephant ears, and Nordic meatballs with lingonberries. And, because it's Minnesota, you can always get your favorite food on a stick--such as deep-fried sushi on a stick, mango on a stick, or hot sausage on a stick.

You can wash it all down with an apple cider float, bubble tea, or bubble lemonade. And for dessert, there's Mexican street fruit, penuche pecan roll, and frozen chocolate bananas.