Most of the regulars appeared: the Topsy Turvy acrobats, Looney Lucy and even Emrys Fleet, the cheeky rat catcher. But this year’s Hoggetowne Medieval Faire also featured a pond stocked with wildlife, dog strollers and a shirtless, electric skateboard rider inexplicably blasting modern tunes from a boombox.

Hoggetowne drifted downtown Saturday and Sunday as Gainesville city officials brought the annual faire to Depot Park. Last year’s venue, a 10-acre field in west Gainesville, generated too much traffic on Archer Road, so city officials temporarily migrated to approximately five acres beside the Cade Museum. The typically multi-weekend event of elven ears and corsets was condensed into just two days, though admission was free.

“It’s a great preview for those who may have been on the fence when it comes to paying an admission fee and coming out to Hoggetowne and seeing if they like it,” said Sunshine Andrei, city of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs event coordinator.

The city is already weighing three locations to host next year, but Andrei declined to reveal additional information.

Due to the limited space, the jousting tournament was absent, but showcases such as the Living Chessboard, the royal procession and a maypole dance remained.

Performers mostly remained upbeat about the limitations of the space. Attendee feedback proved mixed.

“The park looks beautiful, and it’s free this year, so a lot of people are probably going to come who would never come, people in downtown just walking by,” said Victoria Scuteri of Palmetto, a fiddle player with the New Minstrel Revue, a three-piece folk collective.

“Bob DaVinci” took a break from generating fart noises with his trumpet to praise the scene.

“The fact that we got moved here to this park hasn’t dampened the people who come here’s enthusiasm,” DaVinci said. “It’s been wonderful. There’s a lot of old faces as well as new people too, and it’s been just nothing but fun.”

But attendee Faith Perry, who lives near Trenton, lamented the parking options, which were sprawled across downtown, some in free locations, others not. Perry said she would have preferred to pay an entrance fee if it meant less people and a more authentic atmosphere.

“It’s kind of hard to throw a medieval festival, something that was from back in the times, (in a place) so modern,” Perry said. “And it’s a little bit small as well. It’s definitely much more crowded. There’s not a whole lot of space.”

As she has for years, Renee Dowe drove from Brunswick, Georgia, to attend.

“It seems much more crowded, but we’re still enjoying ourselves,” Dowe said. “And we’ll come back next year no matter where it is.”