At the personal request of Queen Margaret and King Henry, the Jordan Independent attended an exclusive preview of the 2008 Renaissance Festival in Louisville Township, between Shakopee and Jordan.

The free event included: free beverages, turkey legs, shepherd's pie, corn on the cob, and other food; henna tatoos; face painting; palm and Tarot card readings; a king of the log game; and numerous interactions with the king, queen, belly dancers (who happen to double as the caretakers of snakes), jesters, musicians, fairies, and other actors in medieval garb.

The Renaissance Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 16 to Sept. 28 (rain or shine, open on weekends and Labor Day). It is located east of Highway 169, north of Jordan. Regular prices range from $10.95 to $19.95, and parking is free. For more information, go to www.renaissancefest.com or call 952-445-7361.

Here are a bunch of videos from the preview event:

This is episode 5 of the wedding planner's diary, in which Jordan Independent Staff Writer Brandon Otte details the nervousness that comes with the final week of bachelorhood, one of his first honey-do lists, and his bowtie.

Shakopee Valley News reporter Shannon Fiecke shot this video of Preston Nielsen and Spencer Gunnell explaining how they built their raft for a trip on the Minnesota River.

The Scott Carver Threshers festival took place last weekend in St. Lawrence Township. Here are some videos of just a few of the sights and sounds from the event:

Here are a couple of videos from the Sunday, July 27, draft horse (hitches) show at the Scott County Fair in St. Lawrence Township, near Jordan:

Jordan Brewers first baseman Cullen Bahn drives in the winning run in the 10th inning in the Brewers 5-4 victory over the Shakopee Indians on Friday, July 25 in the Section 3B playoffs.

This is episode 4 of the wedding planner, in which Jordan Independent Staff Writer Brandon Otte describes a pressing disagreement with his fiancee about whether to include the word vomit in their wedding program:

Here’s a look at some of the riding from the 4-H horse show:

Here’s a look at the 4-H Arts in Performance show of “Dream Big:”

Two doughnuts and a ruby red grapefruit juice does a Brandon good. Or so the staff writer for the Jordan Independent says. Check out a vlog shot by your local newspaper yesterday morning: