[Artemisia] Event Thoughts

[osondrea at srv.net]

Master Niccolo,
 I have to agree completely with your ideas about feasts. I would like to 
gather with friends at events while we eat our meals, but as you noted, it's 
come down to either off-site or formal feast. Your idea sounds great to me.
 I would like to share one more thing about the magic of events for me. 
People have pointed out to me for years now that I do not have to spend the 
whole event in the corner working on scrolls. This is something I choose to 
do. The scrolls I work on are a big part of why I play in the S.C.A. I enjoy 
working on them and the people that I meet while doing the work. This is 
where the magic of most events happens for me-not at a particular time, but 
while doing a particular thing. Maybe it's not just a matter of timing, but 
also the activity.

                                                             M. Osondrea

LAURA STUMPP

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Padget" <bapadget at yahoo.com>
To: "Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list" <artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 10:12 AM
Subject: RE: [Artemisia] Event Thoughts


>
> --- Mistress Gefjon writes:
>
>> I would have to agree with Gregory about the camping
>> events.
>>
>> Also, my 2 cents - I don't know about the other
>> groups in Artemisia, but I
>> know that the 'core' group of people who can be
>> counted on to work on/at
>> events is not so very large in BSK.  I don't think
>> that stretching ourselves
>> even thinner by trying to do even more events is the
>> answer.  I sometimes
>> think there are too many events for our smaller
>> groups to try to support
>> without wearing out our willing workers.
>>
>> As far as how late the events run - camping events
>> are *great* in that folks
>> have the whole night (or several nights) to
>> socialize or do what ever they
>> choose. (and if need be dinner dishes *can* be done
>> in the morning)   Indoor
>> one day events are a different story.  I think I can
>> safely say that no one
>> in our group wants to be cleaning a hall at 2 in the
>> morning, any more.
>> That is the reason many of our events end by 10:30
>> or 11 pm.
>
> Concerns acknowledged, but with a question back -- How
> are we growing that "core?"
>
> When a group only has, say, four events a year, every
> event is high stakes.  One failed big event destroys
> the group's budget.  So we don't dare entrust those
> events entirely to a new feast steward.  Upshot:
> restricted opportunities for new potential "core"
> players to step up.
>
> Of course, the more players you have, the more "core"
> players you're likely to find.  I don't know about
> anyone else, but I find we really shoot ourselves in
> the foot in terms of recruitment when we have to tell
> wide-eyed newcomers that, "Oh yeah, we have feasts,
> and tourneys, and battles, and balls....but not for
> another two months around here."
>
> It's also hard to maintain the interest of the
> wide-eyed newcomer when the lights come up and he's
> shooed out just as the event gets rolling for him.
> It's easier on the "core," but it's hard to grow the
> "core" that way.  (I'm pretty sure nobody in Artemisia
> was at the First Tourney -- so every "core" player had
> to be recruited somewhere along the line.)
>
> Consider a new (but as it always happens, old as well)
> paradigm for event structure -- the event steward's
> job is to secure a site at low or no cost, be at the
> site throughout the event (or have a designee to cover
> some times), make sure the site doesn't burn down
> during the event (again, can be partially delegated),
> and make sure it's clean afterwards.  That's *all*.
> The steward doesn't make an event happen, he simply
> makes a time and place for the attendees to make an
> event happen.  Some folks call these "mini-events,"
> and back when groups were doing an event a month, this
> was the model for at least a third of the events.
>
> With smaller events, you can experiment with low- or
> no-cost sites.  If it turns out that first-time event
> steward ain't got what it takes, then it's
> no-harm-no-foul.  It he does, move him up to the bigs.
> Yes, there is a little risk.  There are no chances to
> succeed without matching chances for failure.
>
> But what of feasts at such events? When Sir Gregory
> and I spoke last night, he brought up the death of
> off-board feasting.  Somewhere, somebody decided that
> the only choices for eating at events are full-blown
> feast or off-site dining.  Nobody's fessed up, but if
> I meet the SOB, I'll throttle him :D  Best feast I've
> ever been to in terms of ambience was in Arn Hold,
> where folks had access to a kitchen for warming, but
> brought their own food.  There was no formal
> "competition," but we didn't need no steenking
> competition to spend the evening amiably one-upping
> each other.  Martha Stewart would have been a piker
> there.  And nobody had to plan, cook, or clean up for
> more than a dozen people.  I like good period food as
> much as the next three guys.  (This may explain why I
> take up the space of the next three guys. :D)  But
> feasting isn't what you eat -- it's where, how, and
> with whom you eat.
>
> Regards,
> Niccolo
> Abbastanza Buon Non E Abbastanza Buono
> bapadget at yahoo.com
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