Bill peered through the opening cautiously. He realized that the 'castle gate' was made out of artfully painted wood that had been propped upright. He looked around, amazed at what he saw, and completely unsure of what it all meant. It seemed like something straight out of one of his history books from back in his days at Hogwarts, and completely contradictory with what he knew about the behaviour patterns of Muggles. Many people were wearing strange clothes for Muggles: gowns of extreme elegance, men in... tights? Knights with swords, women with baskets and wooden buckets. Yet none of them appeared to be doing anything particularly magical, there was not a single wand in sight and there was not the feel of magic either. And then there were groups of normally clad people milling about taking it all in with amusement. He was not sure what to make of it all. Perhaps it was some sort of theatrical presentation. But then, he had heard that Americans tended to be a strange sort...

A portly gentleman who had been sitting at a table watched the young man hesitating at the entrance. He could tell that this newcomer had never been to a historical re-enactment before, and was a bit intimidated and perplexed. Thinking to ease a bit of the discomfort, he bustled over.

"Greetings, m'lord!" said he. "I am Reginald, one of the Keepers of the Gate. Welcome to the ____ Park Faire!"

"Um... hello. I'm Bill."

Reginald grinned. "Pray, sir, is this thy first faire experience?"

"Well, I suppose so, yes."

"Ah. And wouldst thou mind if I ask in what way thou hast discovered our festivities?"

"I was just walking through the woods and heard some music and shouting so I--"

"Of course!" he interrupted. Reginald took Bill's arm and led him to the table. "Allow me to acquaint thee with a few things, sir." Handing Bill a leaflet, he continued. "This doth outline the events of the weekend. As it is just past noon on Sunday, we are almost finished for the weekend, but thou shouldst be able to see some jousting and get acquainted with things before the day is through. And, mayhap, thou shalt return next weekend! The leaflet also has a map of the grounds. It is a $3 entry fee, sir, and all proceeds go back into funding for next years faire."

Deciding that he might as well since he was already here, Bill reached into his pouch and withdrew a few of the green notes the Muggles in this country used as money. Dull stuff, really. No variation of colours at all! After paying, he took a glance at the map and walked into the main grounds. Spotting a tented area with many people gathered around sitting on bales of hay, Bill wandered over and sat down as well so he could peruse the information within the leaflet. He discovered that this was an annual event celebrating England's history during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Nothing evil about it at all. Just people with an avid interest in the past who want to share their knowledge and play a bit of pretend. He also found out that there are many such faires around the country from the adverts for a few of them in the leaflet, although this particular one was only in its third summer.

As he started to look through the schedule outlining the events for the rest of the afternoon, Bill noticed movement in front of all the hay bales. He looked up and realized that he was in a sort of tented auditorium, and there were people on the 'stage'. He watched and soon became entranced by a brief magic show. It was more a demonstration of illusion than the true magic he was used to, but Bill found the whole thing entirely refreshing. Everything was so simple, yet the viewers were quite heartily entertained. When it was over, the performers passed around a little hat and some of the audience members were dropping coins or notes into it. Bill happily obliged as well, thinking that it was going to a well-spent afternoon. He decided then to forgo the schedule and simply wander around, seeing what he could see and hoping to get a better grasp on this whole idea of a 'Renaissance Faire' and why it held such an allure to people who were, apparently, all very much Muggles.