There will be jousters, jesters, jugglers, wenches and men in tights when the Bay Area Renaissance Festival returns this weekend for a 32nd year with new entertainment and more competitions than ever before.

Running for seven weekends and starting earlier than in previous years, the festival that celebrates all things Medieval will have arm wrestling, belly dancing and mashed potato eating contests among the events.

There also will be competitions in horseshoe pitching, barbecue cooking, spaghetti eating, long bow shooting, fencing, juggling, bocce ball, opera singing and the ever-popular men in tights and women in bloomers contest.

"These events are very popular with our visitors," says Festival spokesman Tim Liss. "Our last weekend this year will be a new High Seas Adventure theme with crews competing in rope climbing, raising the mast and walking the plank."

Once again, the wooded area behind the Museum of Science and Industry on Fowler Avenue will be transformed into the village of Fiddleworth in the time of Henry the VIII.

The event gets under way Saturday with a Highland Fling weekend featuring Scottish games, vendors and dancers as well as the Tampa Bay Pipe and Drum Band. Other weekends will be themed around an Italian Carnivale; Wine, Chocolate & Romance, a Buccaneer Beer Fest; Shamrocks and Shenanigans; and Wonders of the World.

Liss says that a new attraction this year is the Medieval Monster Museum, a family friendly interactive exhibit. Here one will find monster hunters Raptus and Krane (Dan Carro and Alan Hopps) who can teach guests how to trap a live troll. Their exhibit hall covers all creatures strange from vampires and zombies to unicorns and dragons.

Returning are the full-armor jousting matches from War Horse Productions in Sarasota as well as the daily human chess matches.

Entertainment includes local and national acts such as the Washing Well Wenches (bawdy clean fun), Johnny Phoenix (comedy, fire and whips), Demzarrah Gypsies (music and dance troupe from Safety Harbor), Manolete' (Bolas and fire), Emyrs Fleet the Ratcatcher, the Bawdy Boys, the Filthy Rotten Scoundrels and Minstrel Jim Hancock.


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Bay Area Renaissance Festival

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sundays through March 28: also Friday, March 19

HOW MUCH: $14.95 adults, $6.95 children (age 5-12) in advance at Circle K and Walgreen's; $17.95 adults, $13.95 seniors (age 65 and older), $9.95 children (age 5-12) at the gate.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.bayarearenaissancefest.com

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