In the Medieval Mode for the Faire

Summer heat and dusty fields have never dampened the allure of dressing in costume for the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

Now under way at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore in San Bernardino County, the Faire offers visitors a chance to slip into something medieval and sample the lifestyle of a 400-year-old Elizabethan village.

From witch to 16th-Century soldier, costumes worn by Faire-goers throughout the years would make any historian cheer. In 1979, for example, a beggar boy finished off his dirty, raggedly outfit with a wooden alms bowl, while in 1980, one visitor chose an imposing rack of antlers to top off his mythic (and skimpy) “Horned God” costume.

At the royal end, Queen Elizabeth I annually struts in jeweled period dress to meet her subjects, and the somber Guildmaster of the Faire eyes visitors from inside a velvety court official’s uniform.

Children easily fall into the fantasy of Faire costumes, with girls choosing flowing skirts and kerchiefs, and boys girding long shirts for an accurate “peasant look.”

For most Faire-goers, however, the best costume remains the simplest: comfortable shoes, cool shorts and T-shirts, and a big, big sun hat.

* The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through June 10. To reach Glen Helen Regional Park 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. Follow the signs to Faire parking. Tickets available at the gate, or by calling (800) 52-FAIRE. Admission: adults $14.50, children 3 to 11, $7.50; seniors/students at the gate, $11.50. Children under 3, free.