With just a couple more weeks of summertime freedom for the kids before it’s time to hit the schoolbooks once again, thoughts may be turning to visiting an event of specific interest to the younger family members. Here are just a few ideas bound to spark their imaginations:

Medieval festivals

Traveling back to the times of knights’ jousts on horseback and minstrels’ entertainment is always a little easier when the setting is a castle courtyard. Several prime locations use August school vacation period as a time to host Middle Ages-themed events.

The spectacular Vianden Castle in Luxembourg is home to the country’s largest spectacle of this kind. Through Aug. 4, visitors can enjoy medieval music, the antic of jesters and jugglers, knights’ camps, battle reenactments, fire shows, a marketplace and much more. Adult admission costs 11 euros, youth pay 7 euros and ages six-12 pay 3 euros. Online: castle-vianden.lu

The Suedtiroler Ritterspiele, or Medieval Knight Games of South Tyrol, unfold in the Vinschgau Valley beneath the Churburg Castle in Schluderns/Sluderno. From Aug 16-18, knights, damsels, market folk, gaulklers and others create a picture of how life might have looked in days long past. Campfires, wooden tubs used for bathing, fortune tellers, craftspeople, pony and camel rides and birds of prey shows are bound to cast a spell on all comers. A highlight of the event is its opening parade with costumed participants, many of horseback, and evening shows to close the spectacle each evening. Adult entry tickets go for 20 euros adults, 13 euros for youth, and 6 euros for children ages 3-6. Online: ritterspiele.it

Germany’s Medieval Fantasy Spectaculum (MFS) is an intinerant festival of medieval culture, calling in at some seven locations annually. On Aug. 16-17, the show alights in Weil am Rhein to offer visitors entry into the world of nobles, archers, jesters, musicians and all the other characters needed to build a proper medieval community of the 13th century. The medieval marketplace and knights’ battle reenactments ensure no one’s left back in modern times. For many visitors, the most important element of an MFS event are its concerts featuring top names of bands playing in this specific genre of music; tickets including entry to the concerts cost more than those offering entry to the festival groups online. Online tickets offering basic entry without the concerts cost 24 euros for ages 15 and over and 12 euros for ages 7-14. Another MFS event takes place in Speyer Aug. 24-25. Online: spectaculum.de

Street artists and magicians

It’s easy to be amazed by sleight of hand when it’s carried out by a professional, and the street magicians calling in to the German city of Sankt Wendel in Saarland for its annual magic festival know their tricks inside out. Representing countries from around the world, they not only perform but compete to be named best in show. Watch these street artists from around the world razzle-dazzle as part of the Zauberhaftes St. Wendel from Aug. 2-4. Admission is free, but as the magicians only receive a small sum toward their traveling expenses, being generous when the hat’s being passed around helps them out considerably. Online: tinyurl.com/5c8tca6v

Slaying of the dragon

The German town of Furth im Wald, deep in the Bavarian forest, has had a dragon problem for centuries, but instead of dreading the beast, they celebrate him. The Drachensticht, or Slaying the Dragon, is the reenactment of a tale featuring an invading Bohemian army and love blossoming between the lady of the castle and a soldier well beneath her station. The action hits full-tilt when the high-tech beast, snorting and thundering, enters the ring. The city’s annual historical parade, with some 1200 costumed figures, takes place on Aug. 11; on Aug. 17, some 60 costumed children take to the stage to act out the show. Dates of regular performances are Aug. 2-4, 8-11 and 14-18. Adult admission starts at 27 euros. Online: drachenstich.de

Beautiful balloons

The city of Bristol in southwest England is home to what’s billed as Europe’s largest ballooning event. From Aug. 9-11, ballooning enthusiasts can enjoy events such as mass ascents in which up to 100 balloons rise into the skies at once, Friday’s night glow event in which the balloons are illuminated at dusk, and the British National Hot Air Balloon Championships, in which teams compete in fulfilling various tasks such as dropping markers in specific locations. Apart from the ballooning action, visitors can enjoy family-friendly entertainment on stage, motorbike stunt teams, model plane displays and more. Entry is free, but a parking ticket for a car must be purchased; these are available online at a cost of 11.20 UK pounds (about $14.45) and up. Online: bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

Sand sculpture festivals

Beaches are great and made even greater when someone else has already gone to the trouble of building the castles. A handful of coastal cities in Europe host festivals at which walking amongst gigantic, expertly-carved figures adhering to a common theme is an annual event. Those on at present include one in Middlekerke, Belgium, where the theme for 2024 is “Around the World in Sand.” Through Sept. 8, visitors can check out dozens of sculptures created from 5,000 tons of sand on display at the Arthur De Greefplein Beach. Online tickets for specific dates go for 12.95 euros for adults; students pay 10.95 euros, and children ages 4-12 pay 10.95 euros. Online: zandsculpturenfestival.com

Nowhere near Belgium? Other sand sculpture festivals currently running include Sand City in Lagoa, in Portugal’s Algarve region, and Sand Sculpture Søndervig in Ringkøbing, Denmark, at which “Wild Animals of the World” makes up this year’s theme.