My husband and I took last Friday to head to the Renaissance Festival in Holly and had a fantastic time. I have wanted to go for

years, but hadn't gone - with only the usual paltry excuses.

But Brendan & I had such a great time at the Saline Celtic Festival in July and I connected so deeply with my heritage that I found the perfect excuse to go: it's educational! We're studying Medieval History in our lessons, my kid was full-on attentive and had a great time watching jousting in July, and pretends that he's a knight and is protecting his "castle" (the back deck) every chance he gets. This was a great fit for us.

The Festival runs weekends through October 4, 10am - 7pm, rain or shine. Tickets are

$18.95 for adults, $16.95 for students or seniors, and $9.95 for kids. Discounts tickets are available at local retailers, including Kroger and Walgreens; full-price tickets can be purchased at the gate or online and printed at home, as well.

The drive to Holly from Ann Arbor wasn't bad, but on a Saturday, you might want to find an alternate route to US23, as delays are regular and sometimes extensive on the weekends. Parking is free on site of the Festival, and easily navigable.

Jousting demonstration

Sue Talbert | Contributor

I was impressed that the Festival grounds have permanent structures - I knew the Festival is celebrating its thirtieth year, but I honestly didn't expect it to have permanent buildings that matched the theme. We found it slightly overwhelming - there was so much to see, do, and hear - but as we walked around and viewed different vendors, artists, and performances, we enjoyed the experience as a whole. Some attendees wear costumes fitting the period, others are simply dressed in normal street clothes.

There are many things to do with the kids - stage shows are family friendly (and included

The Rogue Blades

Sue Talbert | Contributor

in the price of admission), and varying "rides" befitting the period are also available. It's not like an amusement park, but our son came away saying that he had "great fun" and wanted to do it again next year.

Highlights for us included the stage shows - The Rogue Blades is a sword-fighting show with comic undertones (our son loved it - we smiled at the silly humor).

The Filthy Rotten Scoundrels is a mud-pit show that appeals to the kid in all of us - who can resist smiling after someone flings himself face-first in to a mud-pit?

Gypsy dancer with python

Sue Talbert | Contributor

There are gypsies who dance (one with a python!), artists who offer henna tattoos, clothiers who specialize in period dress.

Toward the back of the grounds is the jousting "arena" - where there is a combination of stage-acting, horsemanship, and jousting all rolled in to one. Our son definitely preferred the real jousting he saw in Saline this summer, but jousting is fun no matter what.

By far, however, we enjoyed one of the performance bands the most. We're big fans of Celtic music here - and have a playlist in iTunes comprised almost entirely of

Tartanic, bagpipes & drums of fury

Sue Talbert | Contributor

The Chieftains' music to prove it. My heritage is British (Welsh) and my husband's is Irish, so when a jig or reel plays, we feel like dancing along. So when we heard music coming from a stage and saw bagpipes, our son dragging us to the seats was almost entirely unnecessary. Tartanic bills themselves as "bagpipes and drums of fury," and honestly, they are just that. Two pipers and two drummers made

Sue Talbert | Contributor

the experience one that left us with mouths gaping. They are simply amazing. One guy did some impromptu dancing on the sidelines to the music, and a mother spun her daughter, dressed in a fairy costume, to the rhythms that emanated from the band. We enjoyed the band so much that we came home and bought their music online - they were definitely worth the price of admission for us.

If you have a chance to head up to Holly before the Festival ends in ten days, do it. It's a fun time for parents and kids alike and there are many opportunities to engage your kids in historical and educational discussions. But most of all, it's just fun.

Sue is a freelance information consultant, homeschooling mom, and writes regularly at A Mother's Heart. All of her photos of her family's trip to The Renaissance Festival are on her Flickr account.