Here's how to have the most fun at the L.A. Renaissance Faire

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I decided that, just this once, I was rooting for evil to win — mainly because I liked their energy more.The wereboar growled next to Black Pudding, a hulking vicious monster, both focused on ripping Puck and Cordelia to shreds.

Oberon, an Archfey god, stood alongside them, concerned.But only one thing would decide the fate of everyone on stage: the D20, a 20-sided die.For 45 minutes on Saturday morning, a rambunctious audience of elves, fairies, gnomes, wizards and more was transported to another land, far away from any concern for modern life, as they watched the “Dungeons & Shakespeare” live show at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area in Irwindale.

Before Saturday, I’d never attended a renaissance fair, a reenactment of the English Renaissance in the form of an immersive festival (i.e.why the Irwindale fair is based in the 16th century village of Port Deptford).

Although I was not entirely new to fanciful make-’em-ups.My family had been members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval-era living history organization.

We frequently dressed up to visit our local kingdom.Once, a wizard gave me a cape.

Another time, I won a plague-themed frog toss.I’d long forgotten what a blissful escape those weekends had been for a young queer kid living in rural America — until Saturday, when I looked around the fair and realized it was a diverse crowd in every sense of the word.

At the “Dungeons & Shakespeare” show, host Willy Nilly encouraged us to lean into the welcoming atmosphere we found among our fellow outcasts.“Let’s stop worrying about whether we seem weird and make our stories amazing,” the actor, who grew up in conservative Midland, Texas, told the crowd.And with that same energy, my wife and I trodded further into the fair in hot pursuit of merriment and wonder.I should note: The Irwindale fair is pac...