Best Bets: Mid-Winter Renaissance Faire

Experience the mischief and magic of the Renaissance at the site where history and literature come alive. All ages are welcome to visit with the King and Queen and wander among jugglers and pirates, against a background of live Renaissance music. Listen to 'Shakespeare from the rafters” while a sword fight runs through the Commons. Attend Pirate Comedy Hour, make a pirate hat or learn calligraphy. Festivities begin with the Grand Procession of Royalty and Scalawags at 10 a.m. in the Commons, with more activities there, as well as in Whipple and Beems auditoriums, the Children's Library and on the Mezzanine.

Mid-Winter Renaissance Faire

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (1/12), Cedar Rapids Public Library, 450 Fifth Ave. SE; free