The sounds of crashing swords, the smell of fried foods and the sight of royalty transformed the Alachua County Fairgrounds into a medieval world this weekend.
The 26th annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire started this weekend and will continue from Friday to Sunday.
It was the largest opening day in the history of the fair, said Bill Hutchinson, 65-year-old entertainment director of the fair.
On Saturday, about 12,000 people attended, and 9,500 people attended on Sunday, said Linda Piper, events coordinator with the City of Gainesville Division of Cultural Affairs.
Participants arrived dressed as everything from Orcs from the "Lord of the Rings" series to bar maidens and blacksmiths.
"Everyone is comfortable to be themselves or their favorite character," Hutchinson said.
The fair is run by the city under the Division of Cultural Affairs, and the cost of admission to the fair pays for next year's fair, he said. There were 150 vendors and 120 performers at fair this year, he said.
Actors from the Thieves Guilde, a stage-combat acting troupe, performed hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting during their annual show, called "The Living Chess Board."
Audience members heckled for the good and evil sides and chanted, "We want blood, we want blood!"
The king and queen of the chessboard strolled through the streets of medieval village making fun of people and playing practical jokes on those walking around the fair.
The New Riders of the Golden Age, a nationwide Renaissance-period jousting group, put on a jousting competition with splintering lances and knights in full armor.
"We follow the same patterns, designs and armors today as 500 years ago with the same techniques," said Kelly Bailey, 56-year-old director of the group.
The horses, clad in steel armor, galloped toward each other as people sitting in bleachers gasped when lance met armor and splintered into pieces.
Paolo Garbanzo, the winner of the 2007 International Jester Competition in Muncaster, England, juggled pins, ate fire and joked with children.
John Waltz, 26-year-old UF mechanical engineering master's student, said he goes to the fair for the food, drink and fun.
He has been to at least seven medieval fairs around the southeastern United States, but he said he still loves the Hoggetowne fair and wants to come back next year.
"I'm here for turkey legs and a good cup of mead," Waltz said. "There's nothing better."
David Buth, 46, an Alachua County resident, dresses as Azog, a 446-year-old Orc from Moria, for the 26th annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire on Saturday afternoon.
