SOMETHING ABOUT MERRY MAKING EXPERIENCE YOUR OWN PERSONAL RENAISSANCE IN DEVORE.

Byline: Michel Nolan Staff Writer

WILL SHAKESPEARE, Sir Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, music, song, jousting, jesting, juggling, magic, comedy, a bit of theater and - belly dancing?

Such are the pleasures of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, where visitors are whisked back in time - half a millennium or so - to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a 16th-century marketplace in the English countryside.

All things Elizabethan will transform Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore as the revelry continues for seven merry olde weekends, May 4 through June 16, and Monday, May 27.

Belly dancing - courtesy of the Suhaila Dance Company, a nationally renowned traditional Middle Eastern belly-dance troupe led by Suhalia Salimpour - is just one of the new additions to the faire this year.

In addition, there's the Royal Joust ``to the death'' by armor-clad stunt knights wielding 10-foot lances and charging at each other on horseback at 20 miles per hour. The Belles of Bedlam, a group of lusty singing wenches, as well as two sets of mirthful street performers - Shakespeare in the Streets and Zany Inventors - also debut this year.

``We're very excited about this year because of all the details that really make a difference,'' says Bud Coffey, Pleasure Faire general manager.

``Our vendors have done some wonderful things with facades, arches, arbors and windows. A new theatrical addition is the stone Washing Well, a 20-foot-wide theater-in-the-round, where the townspeople will be splashing, frolicking, singing and insulting each other,'' Coffey says. ``They're a little bawdy, but that's why we love them.''

The setting itself is greener, says Coffey. ``About 20 new trees have been planted, tripling last year's shade. We've planted about an acre of grass, a special, 20-foot tall willow, and new gardens that will be glorious in a couple of years.''

Covering 25 acres of a rural 100-acre site, the faire is at home in its new permanent setting, amid water gardens, shade trees and canopies. The 360-degree Elizabethan experience includes the pageantry of more than 250 artisans exhibiting their wares - some demonstrating their historical crafts - as well as eight open-air stages, armored jousts, street performances, children's activities, hand-powered rides and parades.

Each day, five parades will wend their way through the shire, including the Royal Progress of Queen Elizabeth I. In all, some 1,200 performers dressed in Elizabethan garb will entertain visitors.

Traditional faire foods have become revelers' favorites - huge roasted turkey legs, shepherd's pye, fish and chips, toad-in-a-hole, and sausage bangers.

New to the gourmet menu this year are savory Middle Eastern additions including lamb or chicken shish kabobs, momos with chutney (vegetable-filled puff pastry), pani pudi (vegetarian fried puff pastry) and refreshing suntalla (orange salad with cucumber), as well as falafel, hummus and an authentic Tunisian dish known as tagine.

New World fajitas, spicy duck legs and thighs, Canterbury pork pockets and oriental glazed pork ribs are among the choices offered by gourmet food purveyors this year, and for the first time, visitors will be able to watch crepe-making demonstrations.

Ah, and to quench your thirst, beverages include hearty English and domestic ales, wines from local vintners, domestic beers, hard ciders infused with pear, raspberry and apple, as well as soft drinks and juices.

This year's edition of the faire celebrates its 14th year in Devore. Thanks to a 10-year lease signed in June 2000 with the San Bernardino County Parks Department, the event has been able to create its present - and more permanent - faire setting.

Faire warning

Here are staff writer Ed Mauel's rules for enjoying your Renaissance Pleasure Faire experience this year. Mauel, a veteran performer at the event, notes that the free general admission parking should also bring you joy.

Rule No. 1: Arrive at the front gate at least half an hour early. Some of the principal characters are on the catwalk above the gate being themselves with great gusto. On your (ground) level, other performers are wandering about to make you feel welcome, silly or eager to get inside and lose yourself in another place and another tyme. (Back in the goode olde dayes when there were no editors, let alone spelling machines!)

Rule No. 2: Be ready to play. Everybody in the cast is being urged and trained to interact more often and more thoroughly with our guests. You don't have to essay an accent, but try it if you feel like it. Jump into the 16th century. Ask questions about things you don't understand and those you do. The answers might surprise you.

Rule No. 3: Come hungry. There is more good stuff to eat than a teen-age male athlete can surround in eight hours. Scotch eggs. Toad-in-a-hole. Real Turkish coffee that will stand a spoon straight up. Bread bowls of soup. Fruits, ices and breads so rich and cream-slathered that to describe them as ``sinful'' is understatement.

Rule No. 4: Bring money. The company didn't make me say this, either. The myriad craftspeople who display their wares have done wondrous work. I have a faire savings stash like real people have Christmas clubs at their banks. I buy gifts. I buy necessary items, such as the 16th-century footgear that Payless Shoes doesn't stock. I bought our 25th-anniversary wedding ring set from a faire jeweler.

Rule No. 5: Follow your own interests, not somebody else's ``rules'' for enjoyment. You didn't need me along on your honeymoon, now, did you?

Non-Rule No. 837: Sixteenth-century clothing is not mandatory, but dressing for faire will cause your faire pleasure to multiply like horned rabbits (olde Englishe for ``exponentially'') as you become a part of our village.

Remember the rules, then ignore them and have a good time. That's what we're all about, you and I and all the rest.

In the immortal words of Elizabeth herself, ``Goodie, goodie gumdrops! It's time for Pleasure Faire!''

THE 40TH ANNUAL RENAISSANCE PLEASURE FAIRE

Where: Glen Helen Regional Park, 2555 Glen Helen Parkway, Devore.

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends May 4 through June 16 and Monday, May 27.

Tickets: $17.50 general; $15 seniors, students and military; $7.50 children 5-11; children younger than 5 admitted free. General parking is free; preferred parking is $5. Call [phone] or go online at www.renfair.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1) ``Sir William DeBarcy'' will be performing in three jousting competitions at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Devore.

Gabriel Acosta/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 4) From left: Jennifer Jacobs, left, Luz Torres and Angela Allen enjoy a rousing song and some gossip at the Washing Well; Elizabethan-style fare from the Boar's Head Inn; Sir Walter Raleigh (Elliot Dennis) woos Queen Elizabeth (Gay Linn Kirkpatrick).

Gabriel Acosta/Staff Photographer

Box:

Faire warning (see text)