40th Year Celebration Memories

See also 40th Year Celebration.

An Event to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the SCA

5-15 May XLI/2006

Event site: http://www.40yearcelebration.com

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8 May 2006, 10:19am

Greetings,

So the first weekend of 40YC is done. Here are a few facts from someone in the mid-level of the autocrat team for those who might be interested.

The facts:

Gate was hovering right about 1000 by Saturday morning. That is directly from the autocrat and the site owner.

The site is 95% ready. There are still a few snafu's that should be worked out by Monday or Tuesday. (see below)

The gate system is easier to navigate than was feared. 10$ SCA fee +7$/Night Camping fee. The Camping fees are refundable for unused portions if you leave early (my lady had no problem getting her camping fees back as we drove off site)

The worst of the weather is over see http://tinyurl.com/kakgo for the rest of the week weather.

The Good:

The site is amazing. As people pointed out, no telephone wires, no highways, beautiful mountains, an attractive river and trees on one end of the site.

There are MERCHANTS. A lot of them. tons of food and many out of kingdom merchants I've never seen before. Go spend money.

The Great Hall is REALLY nice. Technically this building is offsite, so it is a full service tavern and the restaurant/food section should be up to 100% by Monday. There is a shower truck onsite as well as an Ice Vendor as well.

The equestrian area looked good to me, but what do I know from horses. Also the Archery/Thrown weapon ranges seemed to be doing a good business.

We had an EXCELLENT heavy fighters forum Sunday due to the rain, and tried to discuss the finer points of Chivalry, being a squire, etc. Strider would have been proud.

The site also has some gargantuan period pavilions onsite that really add a lot to the ambience.

The not-so good:

The water system still wasn't working Sunday night, but should be up by Monday. The plumbers ran a test on Friday to test the pipes but forgot to open any of the spigots in the system. The pressure blew out the pipes and emergency repairs continued all weekend. ETA Monday morning for county water inspection to certify the water. Till then they have a few spigots working and tested upstream of the break.

The weather Sunday sucked the big watoosi.

Despite Princess Amanda's confidence in the fighters of An Tir's ability to fight in all weather, I'm afraid we failed her. Sunday's fighting was pretty poorly attended and I was a woosy as anyone marshalling mostly from under the water bearers dayshade while 4 fighters did some pickups in the rain.

I expect the fighting will be increasing as the week goes on. Saturday saw about 20 hard suits and a couple Combat Archers (all heavy)

Friday expect to see castle battles and woods battles. Ditto next Saturday (along with the Boar Hunt!)

Due to the fact that god hates me, we only have one castle, but it's an excellent one! This is no one's fault, just the universe working against us. Many thanks to those who made valiant efforts to get castle #2, but Castle #1 will serve our needs nicely this coming weekend! Thanks to all who came out Saturday morning and assembled the BAO Castle.

Finally, we need to see more volunteers. I think I have the Marshal thing covered, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Chirugeon, but the Heralds are working triple shifts and will NOT make it the whole 10 days at this rate. Anyone interested in being a herald, this event is an excellent chance for some on the job training!

So, it's a LOT of fun out there, I can't wait to head back out Thursday night.

Hope to see you all there!

In Service,

Sir Daniel

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9 May 2006 6:47pm

Just back from the site...

The Tavern is quite nice, 6 industrial heaters. I spent about 2 hours watching dancing. big tables, big benches. Soon to have flush toilets. (and a huge fire pit outside)

Showers... Showers. Something cool about hot showers on site.

I am one of the many (est. 14) blown tires. Check your spare, make sure your tire replace kit works... My jack broke (while trying to raise it to the frame of the van...), had to borrow Robbin of Windspur's car to get a new jack the only one quickly availible was a 40,000 lb. guess I shouldn't have bothered emptying the van...

After the rain and 500+ vehicle trips the sharp rocks are mostly off of the road.

The camping area is flat. Wait until July Coronation, then think about a site where ALL of the camping is flat and LEVEL.

I think people should have camped closer together, after all there are showers on site...

After the restock I will be back onsite.

Gordon.

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Chirurgeon Symposium

The first weekend of 40th year a Known World Chirurgeon Symposium was also held on site.

We had the honor of Dame Eleanor Isabeau du Coeur the current Chirurgeon General of the Known World in attendance.

Several other Kingdom Chirgurgeons graced us with their presence and I wish I could remember all thier names ( I will not list them as I do not have the entire list.)

Classes were offered and enjoyed by many in and out of the Chirurgeonate.

During the week there were only a few Chirurgeons in attendance supported by wonderful multitalented chirurgeons that were working on Merchants row. We are in their debt for the support that they gave us.

Personally I was really happy to see the additions to our ranks on the second Friday when friends arrived to assist us.

For those at Chirurgeon point this will not be an event forgotton for a long time. We had wonderful community EMS support and were even entrusted with a radio for contact if an ambulance was called. This gave us great comfort as this community is a totally volunteer fire department and we were so far driving for them to reach us when called.

I will not forget my first experience at this beautiful site 4 mile past the pavement.

Krystene of Blatha An Oir

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Memories of 40 year

• Omg its cold
• Wow what a view
• Its raining..and windy
• Moving half of merchant row on Tuesday -- or was that Monday? days run together
• Watching heavy fighters run! Yes RUN! Through the campsite looking for Torquil (apparently he was a bore..no that’s boar..and they thought they could corner him and kill him)
• Silverstone’s tent -- omg Silverstone’s TENT! Its 40x40x40! I so wanted to see how many helpers they killed taking it down. But I had to leave.
• 50’ across roads -- way to wide by the by.
• Cell phones don’t work
• LET THERE BE WATER!
• Biffies were close and clean! And having wash stands at nearly every one. Clean hands good.
• Shower trucks!
• Good looking men!
• Hugs!
• GOD it’s hot
• Drums
• Wow what a view -- worth saying twice..or more
• Very cool tavern
• I hate that road
• Watching the mists rise over the encampment as the sun rose over the mountain
• Watching the moon rise
• Sunrises are beautiful
• Driving everywhere cause its to far to walk
• The friendly people

Did I like 40 year..you bet

Would I go to any event there again .. you bet

Was it worth going? You bet. I had a blast, I love the site, and though the populace was not in attendance at the numbers we hoped for..I gotta tell ya..you missed one hell of a party.

Genevieve Barbota

Who is looking forward to going back there for Autumn War.

Ps - I woke up on Tuesday morning and totally freaked out. Where am I? This aint my van (I have a camper van). How much did I have to drink last nite and where did I -- oh..oh now I remember -- I am home. This is my bed. OH what a letdown.

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Cirque du Sylverstone took about 20 people (of various amounts at any time) to put up and getting it down wasn't as simple.

We got it down with the help of Sushi Sam's rental van.

Unfortunately, part of it broke.

But as the old TV show went... "We can rebuild it. We can make it better. Stronger. Faster. Easier to put up and tear down!"

I was really worried with those winds that last day that it was going to take off with the four pole holders hanging on for dear life! Yes. I was one of them.

My second memory of the event (I have lots) was about the kids. On Saturday, I showed up at gate and just as I was about to get asked to fill out their waivers, I handed over a packet of them all filled out. The lady at gate was astonished that I had everything ready for her. I had made photocopies of their waivers so the kids had an identical set in each of their waiver pouches and they weren't allowed out of the encampment without them. I figured that 10 minutes of my time was worth my childrens' safety in case something happened.

So, at one point on Saturday, I realized that my son had dropped off my radar. Our daughter was asleep, Aeric was 20 feet from her, so I told him I was going to go look for our son. Last place I saw him was heading towards merchant row. I began my leisurely stroll, looking for him without making it look like I was looking for him.

At the center road, I met up with her Excellency Melissa Kendal and Her Highness Amanda. Melissa told me that the constables had them and were looking for me. I wasn't too worried. My son had his waivers on. I figured if they took a good look at the pouch that I had made that had the populace badge of Tir Righ on. The constables had found the princess of Tir Righ, Amanda, and had gotten the names of the parents since the pouch didn't have the waivers from what they could see view, but it did have the populace badge of Tir Righ on it so they at least had a place to start. Melissa also told me the wrong thing. Instead of just that the constables had my son, that Kaidu had him.

See, my lord and I know Kaidu and I knew my son was in safe hands if he was with Kaidu. I also knew that sooner or later, they'd find the waivers which were in a secondary pocket that couldn't be lost by the kids on the same waiver pouch that at first glanced looked empty. If you squished the pouch, you'd hear the crinkle of paper in plastic. But you wouldn't be able to retrieve it unless you worked at it. I designed the pouch that way so that the waivers wouldn't be lost in the act of normal play.

I asked Her Excellency where Constables' Point was and made my way there at my own pace. There were no constables in attendance so I made my way back. Halfway back to our encampment, I met up with Kaidu and his lady and they told me the story of how they had found my son who had been wandering looking for "Dada" and how her Highness had identified him at a glance and how he was safely returned to our encampment behind the Dew Drop Inn. We also discussed how that yes indeed both kids had waivers on them, how the waiver sets were identical and that I had designed the pouches so that the waivers wouldn't be lost and even had an extra piece of paper saying where we were camped and who to contact in an emergency in case something happened.

Since then, I or my lord have been asked to provide those same type of pouches for other kids at events. I'm considering making them to sell which will include a set of minor waivers to show what the kids should be carrying on them for an event. My lord and I figure that it is far safer to spend the time making sure the kids have the right forms on them in case of emergency than not. We have spent far too many hours at events heralding for lost parents that we'd rather err on the side of caution than not.

Lady Yolanda de Guelph MI

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Greetings,

I second that motion. 40 year was so much fun. The weather was a bit unpredictable at first (blessed are the covered canopies) then it warmed up... a lot (blessed are the covered canopies). The nights were rather cold, but finding good people around a warm fire having tales told by an amusing Frenchman made them rather enjoyable.

I was delighted to see, and hear, Samurai Sam back in action. The commercial announcements were greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

'Stone, the pavilion was indeed spectacular. The impressive part also being that it is not yet finished. I am excited to see the finished product as it is rather grand already. Felipe also gives you much good press, I think he won most of the members of The Keep over in one night. Not to mention a good number of the populace in attendance with his 'antics.'

The showers were a blessing through the heat, cold and dirt. *whisper* Can we have those at every event?! Pure bliss, I'm tellin ya.

Cell phones work if you have Sprint/Nextel. I have Cingular... didn't work out so well for me there (drove about 20 miles off site before I had a usable signal). But an excuse to be cut off from outside civilization by phone is a delicious experience. But that could just be me.

The storytelling and sing alongs were wonderful. Special thanks to James the Obscure, The Crimson Rose, The Keep, and of course The Pirate Captain who Tangos (and company) whom I never caught his/thier name. The drums were out en masse and the evenings went on into wee hours of the morning. Being a drummer and dancer, that is one of my favorite parts and I enjoyed that immensely.

The site was large.... though that is a mild understatement. The turnout was good, though I did expect a larger crowd. We had at least one person who drove from as far as Texas to attend!

Additionally, this was a great event for our first house event... and while waiting in line before gate opened for the Pre-Reg folks I found that a few other houses were taking the first steps too. Huzzah!

The Tavern on site was good fun, and heated. Blissful to the frozen parts on the rather cold nights. The staff was friendly, the ale was tasty (wine and mead also). You have to eat "The Wyrm!" There was plenty of room for socializing and room for the dancers, bards and drummers. Additionally, there was a fire outside that was going every evening that kept one mighty toasty.

I made many new friends at 40 year and got to see many old faces I hadn't seen in awhile. I am most definately going to Autumn War as is the rest of my crew from the sounds of it. The lack of noise curfew warms my young heart. The site is also wonderful and the nearby river is rather picturesque too. The townsfolk in Randle were some of the nicest townsfolk I have had the pleasure of meeting in an SCA setting in quite some time. Randle gets two thumbs up.

Thank you to everyone that participated in this event to make it happen and all the hardwork. Thank you to the merchants for making merchants row a delight I haven't experienced in some time as well. Thank you to all that attended, this event has hit my 'all time favorite' events.

I am hopeful at the prospect of us using this site to possibly give Pennsic a run for it's money. Pennsic of the West anyone?!

Revving up for JuneFaire now,

~ Somadina the Questionable House Dar Tarik

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I would have to agree, the event was well worth going to and I would do another one there.

The road surface needs some work - two flat tires in our party and I heard of many, many others. (BTW: Thanks again for the loan of the floor jack, 'Stone! beats hell outta those stupid ones the car comes with)

The new and improved Dew Drop Inn was truly spectacular! That is the biggest pavilion I have seen this side of Barnum and Bailey! Made for a nice spot to "hide out in plain sight", too.

The camp seemed a bit too spread out, but I guess I am used to much smaller sites where you are crossing guy lines to camp. I just thought it lacked the camaraderie of a closer camp. The upside is you could hold one helluva huge war there!

The low turnout was too bad, you all missed one great event, but now that the word is getting around the crowds will grow with each successive event held there, so in years to come we elite few can always look back and say "Remember 40 year? We had tons of room!"

Arnora

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I was there the final weekend and must say that it was a blast! I was camped over between the equestrian arena and the court pavilion. During court on Saturday it was really cool hearing cheers from the pavilion echo off the mountainside behind us before the next cheer started.

Miranda

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The (attendance) numbers I got from folks who were working around the gate was just over 2K.

Anne

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What a fabulous event it was! The site is absolutely gorgeous and *huge* - plenty of room for whatever sort of expansion in the future. The water is in and tastes fine. The Great Hall was hopping, the mead and ale flowing, the food tasty. There were loads of merchants, a really good selection of wares. (I'll never forget my first taste of pickled herring sushi - heh!) The children seemed well occupied and happy (albeit the pipers were exhausted - seems something more should be done to help them, yes). The first couple of days were a bit wet and chilly, but there's unfortunately nothing Baron Emiel can do about that... yet.  :)

Thank you to everybody who helped make this happen! I can't wait for Autumnwar!  :)

--Hjordis Olvirsdottir Ravenstead Household

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One of the most amazing things about the site, I was camped about in the center, and still I could hardly hear the loud parties going on in the NE corner, the noisey camping. The quiet camping about a 1/4 of a mile further down the way would have been very quiet indeed.

Gordon Redthorn

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