The 16th Century in the form of the King of the Texas Renaissance Festival dropped by the Houston Press offices on Wednesday with food from The Greek Agora (always appreciated) as well as word of what's coming up as we enter the second of nine weeks of the festival.

The King, now in the 20th year of his reign, presides over the largest RenFest in the entire country. This is the first year he's been traveling the state (Conroe, San Antonio, Bryan College Station and Houston) to urge folks to make their way to his kingdom in Todd Mission. And organizers are trying to make this as easy as possible — go to their website and the first thing you'll be met with is the latest information on the best routes to take to avoid traffic.

Fairies get their due this weekend — maybe a good time to pick up some Halloween costumes — while in upcoming weeks there will be Barbarians (October 13 and 14), Pirates (October 20 and 21), all sorts of Spirits for All Hallows' Eve (October 27 and 28), a Roman Bacchanal (November 3 and 4), Heroes and Villains (November 10 and 11), a Highland Fling where kilts will abound (November 17 and 18) and the crescendo ending with the Celtic Christmas three day weekend (November 23, 24 and 25).

New entertainment this year includes a ventriloquist; a Tea and Strumpets Tea Room and The Great Scot Kilt Shop offering daily scotch tastings. This is all in addition to the usual jousting and wild bird flights of wonder.

There are all sorts of ticket deals although clearly it's cheaper if you enter in a group. So get your own barbarian horde together, storm the barricades and spend some days going back in time and exchange your modern day concerns for turkey legs, mead and bawdy wenches.