Over the weekend of Sept. 12 and 13, I went to the Renaissance Festival in Holly with my cousin, Amy.

We got there before it opened at 10 a.m. and were able to see the opening routine, which was new to both of us. I would highly advise everyone who plans on going to get there early because when the park first opens, it is not very crowded and there is more time to enjoy things, rather than being pushed and shoved out of the way. Another advantage to getting there early is that you get a decent parking space.

Once we got into the actual festival, Amy was set on finding a corset for one of her cosplays (dressing up as a fictional character) so we headed to Fiona’s Fineries. One of the workers there, Julie, was very helpful. She measured Amy, helped her try on corsets, and even helped me put on an outfit, which, surprisingly, was not as uncomfortable as I would have imagined.

Once Amy made her purchase, we continued on, stopping to look through the Fairy Garden.

This Renaissance Festival holds a competition every year in which people design their own fairy houses.

At the end of this little garden sits the Throne of Swords from “Game of Thrones.” The next thing we did, was to get our faces painted at Phoenix’s Face Painting booth. She had examples of different designs to choose from, which I found very helpful, and even the price of each design. I thought she did a wonderful job on both Amy’s and my face design.

By the time we had finished with all of that, we were both starting to get a little hungry, so we got some mozzarella sticks from one of the many food stands set up all around the festival. They were delicious, and we did not have to stand in line because we were there so early.

Finally, it was my turn to choose a shop. After browsing through a few different art shops, I finally found one that I really enjoyed (and so did Amy): Art of Ed Beard Jr.

There were lots of intricate drawings with subjects such as dragons, fairies, and castles. I found one that I thought represented me pretty well. It was a drawing of a dragon reading a book. Amy also found two that she really enjoyed and the shop worker even held our purchases for the rest of the day so we could enjoy the festivities.

Next, we ventured into a jewelry shop where I found some earrings, which do not require ear piercings. The workers there were super helpful in showing me how to put the earrings on and answering any questions we had.

In the festival there are also several stages set up that have different shows (some of which are not appropriate for children). These shows range from Wedding Wars to comedy shows.

This year, Amy and I watched the belly-dancing competition. This was especially fun because we got to vote on the winner, which was determined by who got the most cheers. There were different categories of dancers: solos, groups, and professionals. I was happy that the people I liked best won.

Although I wish I could have stayed until closing, which is 7 p.m., I had to leave to go to work.

The one thing that I enjoy the most about going to the Renaissance Festival is how generally nice everybody is. I also like the fact that people can wear whatever they want and will not be judged for it (although I do think it is more fun to dress up).

In the end, the purpose of the Renaissance Festival is to make people laugh and to give them a break from reality, at least for a little while. The Renaissance Festival will be open on weekends until Sunday, Oct. 4.