The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a 25 acre renaissance themed amusement park and one of the largest Renaissance fairs in America. The Festival is set in a fictional storybook village of "Fairhaven" and nestled within 325 acres of autumn woodlands. The open air village and artisan marketplace contains cottages and bungalows of 16th century European architecture. Inside the village gates are over 140 merchants, crafters, and artisans. Sixteen outdoor stages are used for theater, comedy, music, dance, magic, circus entertainments, swimming mermaids, and live falconry demonstrations. Hundreds of costumed villagers and fantasy characters roam the lanes offering additional interactive entertainment. The Festival's premier attractions feature knights on horseback jousting three times daily inside the Queen's tournament arena, Falconry presentations, and Swimming Mermaids. The Festival is held annually on Saturdays and Sundays in October and November and three consecutive week dates in October as a field trip destination for area schools. The Festival is located just north of Charlotte, North Carolina between the towns of Huntersville and Concord near the intersection of 73 and Poplar Tent Road and with equal distance access to I-77 and I-85. An average of 195,000 visitors time travel to the Festival during its fall season.