IF I HAD TO SUM UP THE ORIGINAL RENAISSANCE PLEASURE FAIRE IN ONE WORD, it would be: Cleavage.

Lots of it. Precariously pushed up to chins, painfully pushed out to unnatural distances, covered with glitter and tightly holding onto shot glasses and dollar bills. Cleavage was king (queen?) at this place. And people were loving it.

I had never been to a renaissance faire before, and this one east of Los Angeles—Irwindale, in the San Gabriel Valley, to be exact—seemed like the one to go to, if you are into these kinds of things. The faire spreads across 20 acres at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, a beautiful nature area situated around a 70-acre lake and nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Now in its 48th year (although not at this location that long), the faire recreates a 16th-century English seaport town. Some 1,500 costumed performers are on hand to bring the period to life with a variety of staged performances, presentations, demonstrations and impromptu acting. I was immediately whisked away, back to a time when kings and queens ruled and knights defended maidens’ honor; a time of plagues and crusades and no plumbing.

A group of jesters wobble by a fencing demonstration, the bells on their hats jingling as their curled-toed shoes desperately seek traction along the dirt pathway. Outside the jousting arena (think Medieval Times), a sexy gypsy walks by pushing a baby stroller, and the sound of a hurdy-gurdy fills the air. Wait, is that Queen Elizabeth I over there? And why is that guy dressed like a ninja?

I was surprised by the wide range of characters roaming the grounds. You had your peasant types, your pages, your kings and queens, belly dancers, Scots, pagans, Vikings, Puritans, pirates, fairies, role-playing animal-human hybrids and goth versions of all of the above. This was truly the place to, as the signs said, “eat, drynke and be merry,” and to let ye olde freak flag fly.

There were entertainment groups throughout, singing bawdy songs (they took being bawdy here quite seriously) or recreating medieval village scenes. And tons of impromptu scenes were acted out right in front of me—it was never clear if the act was totally staged or just fellow festival-goers getting caught up in the moment and the Bud Light.

My favorite moment had to be a curious scene acted out right in front of me, in which a group of Pilgrims (who let them in?) tried to save the souls of a bawdy (again, they strive for bawdy here) group who were just minding their own business, drinking out of their pewter mugs and yukking it up in olde English. The Pilgrims wanted none of that, and a loud shouting match and tussle over a Bible ensued. Hilarity all around.

Folks in costume were more than happy to pose for photos and to talk to you. “What is this strange telescope that thou poinst at me?” a Pilgrim bellowed, motioning toward my camera. “Dost thou try to capture me in this contraption? I hope thou gets thine money back, for all mine eyes see is darkness. ‘Tis broken!”

The faire vendors were in character as well, telling bawdy jokes and yelling at you as you walked by. There were a variety of games to play that were quite fun, and much better than a traditional fair—knife throwing, archery, tomato lobbing and dunking booths. Who knew that successful knife throwing required such technique?

Being an “outsider” was interesting here, and I quickly made a mental list of things to bring with me next time:

• Corset
• Pewter ale mug
• Raccoon tail (?)
• Olde English dictionary
• Illuminated manuscript on which to take notes

I was surprised by how much fun I had here. I can see why people live for these things. The creativity was inspiring, and everyone was having a blast.

Who knows—I might just show up in a corset next time.