Despite headlines about crashing websites and scalpers, tickets are available for the opening weekend of the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Renfest is in its 49th season, and going to it is like sticking your head in a time traveler’s blender, a bewildering mix of funny hats, pointy shoes and shouting fools — not all of them actors — spread across 27 wooded acres.

Some fans will go multiple times in a season, which continues weekends through Oct. 20 on Crownsville Road, just outside Annapolis. Others will go just once.

Passion for the fictional Tudor village of Revel Grove can be measured in ways beyond ticket sales. It’s a popular spot for real wedding vows, and there’s even a mass vow-renewal ceremony Sept. 28.

Admission lets you mingle with 200 costumed performers, cheer at jousting tournaments and feast on giant turkey legs or sausage on a stick.

There are 10 stages filled with comedy, music and Shakespearean plays. Themed weekends run the gamut from Children’s Weekend on Saturday and Sunday to Pirate Adventure and the Celtic Celebration of music and dance in September and Harvest Weekends in October.

If you haven’t gone, or haven’t gone in a while, here are tips.

The fair is a series of scripted plays and shows; some are onstage, but the story plays out across the fairgrounds. This year’s events unfold as Henry VIII is searching for wife No. 4 in 1539 after the death in childbirth of wife No. 3.

Who will the lucky lady be? Yikes.

At shops run by 140 vendors, you can buy the ordinary (think bubble wands) and the exotic (think leather and swords).

You can wander, but it pays to make a plan by using the changing list of shows and the map on the website.

Jousting? Yes. Music in the pubs? Absolutely. Comedic juggling? Up to you. There are 17 new acts in this year’s lineup, some only for one or two weekends.

Admission is $26 for adults, with discounts for children and adults. Prices rise to $32 for adults starting Sept. 13, when the weather is cooler and a cider or mead sounds like the perfect drink.

Here are some other great things to do through Aug. 27.

Two shows

5:30-7 p.m. Thursday

The Maryland Federation of Art opens two exhibits at Maryland Hall with artists’ receptions.

“Imprint” opens in the Earl Gallery, a juried collection of printmaking as a dynamic and versatile form of artistic expression.

The “Summer Member Show” is a non-juried exhibit of 60 2D and 3D works accepted on a first-come basis.

The receptions are free and open to the public. Both exhibits run through Sept. 25.

Chamber music reimagined

Friday and Saturday

The Annapolis Chamber Music Festival is wrapping up its final weekend with two performances demonstrating the range of its 16 artists.

In Friday’s “Steampunk: Bruce, Clearfield and Bach,” the artists reach across four centuries of music, from classical to retro-futuristic to pieces inspired by natural phenomena.

In the festival finale on Saturday, the musicians will perform a world premiere of a new commission by composer Jorge Amado, “Vitrales.”

Both performances take place at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church and start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 per concert or $50 for both remaining shows.

Many Taylor Swifts

2 p.m. Saturday

The Songbird Collective, a community of women singers, is back at Maryland Hall for “Swift & True – A Tribute to Taylor Swift Eras.”

Meg McDermott, Carly Winter, Jeanette Lynn, Danah Denice, Laura Brino, Shelby Morgan, Cameron Mae, Jen Schimpf and Callum will perform their favorite Swift songs alongside original works inspired by the artist.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 2 to 12.

A preshow friendship bracelet-making session and a post-show meet and greet with the artists are an additional $10.

Diaspora festival

Noon-6 p.m. Saturday

The African Heritage Festival returns to Laurel Park for its fifth year of African pride, unity and cultural celebration.

Sponsored by the Anne Arundel County African Diaspora Affairs Committee, the parking-lot event features music, food, art, fashion and community groups.

Admission is free.

Splash benefit

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday

Dogs get to frolic in the water, while the SPCA of Anne Arundel County raises funds at its annual Puppy Plunge.

The event at Camp Letts in Edgewater includes live music, food trucks, vendors, a pie-eating contest, a paw parade and beach access for your pet to splash and play.

Admission is $12.51 for single cars, plus fees, with all proceeds going to the SPCA. Bring a blanket or a beach chair.

Make it so

11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

More than 40 Maryland makers and artists will set up for Anchors and Artisans, a monthly market at Annapolis Town Centre.

Maryland Makers members will sell their wares near the Boathouse Pavilion, surrounded by activities, music, food and drink.

Admission is free.