Faire Thee Well : Events: Revelry and relaxation await in San Bernardino County at the annual Renaissance-themed gathering.

It’s time to go over the freeways and through the woods to the annual revelry at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

For the faire’s opening next weekend, gather a handful of like-minded friends and hie thee hither to Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore in San Bernardino County to soak up the historic atmosphere of a 16th-Century English village faire.

Starting April 21 and continuing through June 10, the faire blossoms prettily every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. among the trees, giving visitors a chance to beguile the senses in a rich medieval adventure.

Last year, the fate of the event was up in the air as organizers tried to find a place to move the faire. The Agoura site where the faire had been held for 25 years had been tentatively approved for single-family home development.

Like a proverbial fairy godmother, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors agreed to let the faire unfurl in the rural surroundings of Glen Helen Regional Park.

For the faire, the 50-acre park sheds its contemporary image as a place for strollers, picnickers and fishermen and becomes a bustling 400-year-old Elizabethan village named Glen Helen-on-Willow Pond.

Nestled in booths and tents among trees and lush lawn will be glass blowers, potters, paper makers, costumers, jewelers, metal smiths, herbalists and perfumers among the 250 artisans. The booths, bedecked with garlands, banners and wreaths, make wandering colorful, and the smells of exotic foods and perfume oils titillate the nose.

But picking up food is not the only option. A catering booth lays out a sit-down banquet twice daily for 30. Cornish game hens, pork ribs, steamed vegetables and bread are among the delicacies served. Reservations for the banquet are necessary at (714) 642-0262.

On the other hand, there is something appealing and rather Renaissance-y about balancing a dripping turkey leg, a plate of quail, fish and chips and raspberry crepes with a glass of tea, stout or wine while plowing through a crowd of merrymakers.

But once you find the perfect spot in the shade, indulge in one of the most pleasurable and rewarding aspects of the faire: people-watching. The ever-changing crowd is a rainbow of colors, body sizes and costumes. Later in the afternoon, you might want to listen in as Queen Elizabeth I discusses the day’s events with her court and graciously accepts presentations and dances for her amusement. Visitors can sit in comfort on hay bales and chat up members of the court: They quite enjoy a good gossip.

Numerous parades and capers pass by throughout the day, from the opening procession of St. Cuthbert’s Guild, which greets the lord mayor at the front gate, to the March of Clan MacColin, a rangy band of Scots, to the strange and weird Danse Macabre with its clackers and bones and lugubrious noises.

New events this year include:

* A royal joust, where four armored knights on horseback engage in a full-contact battle.

* At Willow Pond, the Queen’s Progress will glide regally by on a flower-decked barque.

* At noon each faire day, the Drake Military Pageant on the Main Stage will commemorate Sir Francis Drake’s landing near San Francisco.

Several stages abound for performances of mummers; belly-dancers; Elizabethan allegory, morality and bawdy plays, and sendups of Shakespeare, as well as Morris dancing, music and other forms of Elizabethan entertainment.

For sports enthusiasts, Elizabethan games to watch and join: battledore (predecessor to badminton), rounders (the earliest form of baseball) and pelle-melle (a mixture of golf and croquet).

Above all, keep in mind that the Renaissance Pleasure Faire is designed not for passive enjoyment, but for a definite hands-on, jump-right-into-the-swash-of-things approach to history.

Don’t feel silly joining in on that impromptu rope pull or jigging along to bagpipers. Take a ride in the high-flying swing over the lake or try your luck at candle making.

After all, this is history you’re making.

Renaissance Pleasure Faire, opens April 21, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore in San Bernardino County; from downtown Los Angeles take Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway) to Interstate 15 north. Follow the signs to Interstate 215 south and exit immediately at Devore Road. From the east, take Interstate 215 north to Devore Road. Follow signs to parking. Tickets available at the gate or by calling (800) 52-FAIRE. Admission: adults $14.50; children 3-11, $7.50; seniors/students at the gate, $11.50. Children under 3, free.