Without a doubt, "Did you just see that?" was the most overheard phrase Saturday at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville.
Every year, thousands of people participate in the festival to varying degrees -- from dressing up and adopting period speak to enjoying massive turkey legs and pints of mead.
When it comes to Douglas and Andrea Henke, they go all in.
"How many times have we been? You mean this year?" asked Andrea Henke, laughing about the couple's commitment to the fall festival.
Andrea Henke happened upon the festival when she visited on a high school trip in 1989, and Douglas Henke wasn't far behind. He was persuaded to check it out by classmates at Rice University around 1991.
"I've dragged my parents here, a few friends," he said. "For the most part, they have a better time than they thought they would."
Dressed as an English goodwife, Andrea sat down to enjoy an apple dumpling with a scoop of ice cream. Douglas, in a costume from the same social class, joined her.
"I was told this morning that I should dress down in an effort to match," he said, adding that he normally dresses as nobility. "We have a whole closet of fair garb -- there's probably more there than there is everyday clothes."
About 130 actors are scattered throughout the 54-acre fairgrounds, and they frequently interact with patrons.
"How might your fair day be going?" one actress inquired. "Do you know the hour it is?"
The festival adopts a theme every weekend during the season. This weekend, the theme is Pirate Adventure -- one of the most popular, according to Travis Bryant, a festival employee.
Texas A&M University student Jonathan Bryant, 21, a senior mechanical engineering major from La Porte, has been to the event at least a dozen times. He's never dressed up, but said he keeps coming back for two things: Steak on a stick and people-watching.
"The people-watching is great," he said. "Especially at the more mature, adult shows. If you come here, you definitely have to go to a show."
For 35 years, people have gone back in time at the fairgrounds. Linda Hughes has been present and dressed for the occasion for about 20 of those years.
Hughes has about eight costumes, all made by hand.
"I make my costumes so I get to come out here and be in my element," she said. "And my element is fantasy land."
In 20 years, she said, she's noticed that more and more people are embracing the festival in its entirety and dressing up.
She was visiting with a friend, Laurie Elliott, whose daughters and husband are actors at the festival.
"It's just so easy to come out here and get inspired by what you see," Elliott said. "You think, 'Oh, gosh, I could do that.' It makes you want to come back again."
The Elliotts live just seven miles from the fairgrounds, but they prefer camping out anyway.
"For one, the traffic is bad getting out," Elliott said laughing, holding an infant and keeping an eye on her older daughter. "And secondly, it's just a hassle, and quite tiring, to pack everything back up at the end of a long day."
Hughes had some advice for those considering dressing up for the festival, which, she said, everyone should do.
"It's easier to use the rest room as a fairy than it is in a hoop skirt."
This year, the festival runs through Nov. 29. Tickets at the gate are $23 for adults and $11 for children. Weekend passes can be purchased for $32, and camping costs $20 a night. The festival opens at 9 a.m. and closes after the fireworks show at dusk.
For more information, visit www.texrenfest.com.
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