Get ready for a rollicking good time with food and drink a-plenty and rip roaring entertainment. Beginning this weekend and continuing weekends and Memorial Day through June 4, locals and visitors alike will enter the gates and enjoy The Georgia Renaissance Festival.

Now entering its third decade of entertainment, the magnificent 15th century kingdom features a king and his court, castles and cottages, cheery pubs and over 150 elaborately adorned shops offering an array of unique treasures.

Because the Festival’s opening days fall on Easter weekend, The Georgia Renaissance Festival presents several special savings as well as a special appearance by the Easter “Drabbit.” Tickets for the Grand Opening weekend are two for one, and can only be purchased at the Festival box office. Guests can get one adult ticket free with each full price adult admission during this special celebration on Saturday and Sunday, April 15 and 16.

What do you get when you combine an Easter bunny with a dragon?  “We call our creation a Drabbit and he will appear on Easter weekend,” said Jack Sias, president of the Renaissance Festival. The Festival’s 12-foot tall dragon puppet will sport specially made oversize floppy Easter bunny ears, whiskers and more than a foot wide cottontail while he hands out colorful Easter eggs filled with candy and prizes to the first 500 children through the Festival gate on Easter Sunday.

The Georgia Renaissance Festival will feature several new attractions this year including several special events weekends like the Scots & Kilts Weekend, May 6 and 7, and Celebrating Spain Weekend, May 20 and 21.

Three new shows will debut at this year’s festival as well. The “Animals of the Wild” show will allow audiences to join Earthquest in an informative show that incorporates high-flying birds of prey, reptiles of the field and desert, giant hissing cockroaches and an assortment of strange and bizarre creatures that share our world!

It’s “all for one and one for all” in “The Adventures of the Three Musketeers: The Queen’s Necklace” as the swashbuckling heroes work to prevent the evil Cardinal Richelieu and his sidekick the Count De Rochefort from stealing King Henry’s gift to his Queen: a costly necklace in this brand new show.

For the more adventurous guests, Dextre Tripp’s new thrill show “Fire and Water” is the place to be. In an explosive comedy, find out what happens when Dextre straps thousands of firecrackers to his body and then arms the audience with water balloons.

Of course, there will be plenty of favorite Festival features returning this year as well.

Enjoy craft demonstrations and discover distinctive items like blown glass goblets, perfumes, leather goods and hand-turned pottery crafted by world-renowned artisans in the 32-acre Artisan Market.

You’ll feast like royalty on a huge variety of delectable delights including the enormous roasted turkey legs. Food booths are manned by community organizations who work the booths as a fundraiser. The Festival has helped organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America raise thousands of dollars toward their educational programs.

Experience a full day of fun with ten stages of non-stop sword swallowing, rope walking, juggling, music, dancing, comedic storytelling and interactive shows. Don’t miss the “original” extreme sport, a full-contact joust on horseback and the magnificent “Birds of Prey” show. Ride thrilling rides and play games in the medieval amusement park or mingle with the cast of nearly 1,000 colorfully costumed characters.

Since 1985 the Southeast Tourism Society has published a listing of the “Top 20 Events.” The best events across the Southeast compete to receive the prestigious Top 20 designation, and The Georgia Renaissance Festival has been chosen as a Top 20 event in the Southeast for the month of April 2006. The Renaissance Festival is a previous Top 20 event and has also been voted a Top 250 event in the United States from Events Business News Magazine, a Top 100 event in North America from the American Bus Association and Best Festival for Families from “Our Kids” magazine.

Regularly priced tickets include tax and are available at the festival box office. Adult tickets are $16.95, senior 60+ or AARP card holder’s tickets are $13.95, tickets for youth ages 6 to 12 are $8.50 and children 5 years of age and under get in free. Buy discount admissions on-line at www.georgiarenaissancefestival.com or at Kroger checkout registers with your Kroger Plus card.

The Georgia Renaissance Festival is open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays plus Memorial Day, April 15 through June 4. The festival grounds are located off Ga. Highway 74 in Fairburn. For more information call the Festival hot line at (770) 964-8575, or visit www.georgiarenaissancefestival.com.

You’re only a short distance away from the experience of a lifetime. Visit The Georgia Renaissance Festival, where the good life is festive and the parking is free! To take this trip you need just one ticket and a sense of adventure.

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