Midsummer in the Hollow

Date

June 27, 28 ,29, 2008 AS XLIII

Branch

Appledore (Okanagan Valley)

Autocrat

HL Keinna de Savage

Site

Skunk Hollow

Co Autocrat - Lady Isabella of Wyndhaven

Judging Coordinator - Sevrin Lord de Savage

Championship Coordinator - Sayyid 'Abd al-Hakim al-Bahr ibn Da'ud al-Ghazis

As Spring heralds the joys of Summer, Appledore calls forth all good friends, present, past, and future to join us for Midsummer in the Hollow. This event will be the venue for the Appledore Championship, Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the annual Feast of Fellowship.

Appledore's Championship ...

seeks a well rounded Champion. Candidates will be challenged to accumulate points by competing in all or some of a variety of contests. This year’s theme is; The Siege!

For AS 43, the Appledore Championship categories are determined to be:

Bardic - a song or poem to lift spirits during the Siege, or perhaps to taunt the barbarians at the gate?

Science - can you prepare a dish for your Lord from the mean pickings of the almost bare larder?

Art - is your dish a feast for the eyes as well as the palate?

Archery - can you pick off the enemies half hidden in the wood?

Armoured - how long can you defend the parapet against the barbarians scaling the wall?

Rapier - how long can you hold the postern passage to keep invaders from the gate house?

Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas ...

is a persona development challenge for male personas. The purpose of Scholars is to foster knowledge of the lives of men in the Middle Ages. Prospective candidates must enter 10 categories; 7 are required; Persona Creation, Calligraphy/Correspondence, Costuming, Daily life/Livelihood, Handcraft, Skills/Scholarly Pursuits, and Courtesy & Etiquette. 3 of the Optional categories must be chosen; Dancing, Games & Pastimes, Bardic/Performance, Food, Habitat, Survival Techniques.

Follow this link for complete information on the Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas persona challenge.

Feast of Fellowship ...

on Saturday night will see the annual Feast when Scholars candidates and Championship candidates will present their Bardic or Performance entries. All are welcome to entertain in the spirit of Fellowship.

Site opens at 2 PM on Friday, June 27, 2008 and closes at 4 PM on Sunday, June 29, 2008.

This is a discretely wet site.

Site Fees

Adult Member - $12.00

Adult Non-Member - $15.00

Youth (6-17) - $8.00

Under 6 - Free

Family Cap - $40.00 + NMS

Day Fees

Adult Member - $8.00

Adult Non-Member - $11.00

Youth (6-17) - $5.00

Under 6 - Free

Family Cap - $26.00 + NMS

Merchants are welcome at no additional charge.

Site opens at 2 PM on Friday, June 27, 2008 and closes at 4 PM on Sunday, June 29, 2008.

This is a discretely wet site.

The Site Skunk Hollow has a feast hall and kitchen, plenty of grassy areas for camping, outhouses, a fire pit, and potable running water.

Site address: 34231 91A St., Oliver, BC.

Message from the Autocrat

Unto all does Appledore send its warmest greetings and well wishes,

As Autocrat of Appledore's Midsummer in the Hollow this past weekend I wish to thank all of Appledore's friends, cousins, brothers and sisters from near and far who attended and made this event a success, tripling our gate count over last year!

It was a very active event with Scholars of St Thomas Aquinas, Feast of Fellowship, and Appledore's Championship all rolled into one ... So, where to begin?

Our male persona candidate this year, Rajpal Ganeshan of Rajastan, 1570 was remarkable and most entertaining throughout the Scholars of St Thomas Aquinas challenge. All of the Judges spoke of experiencing those magical moments when modern reality is suspended and our game becomes real as we gathered in the cool shade of the Linden tree and learned of Rajpal's life as an incense maker in Jaipur. Rajpal and his dutiful wife Asha, joined us for our annual Feast of Fellowship where along with other performers, Rajpal enchanted us with the legendary tale of Prince Rama rescuing his wife Sita from the evil Ravenna with the help of the Monkey King Hanuman. ("Why are we all throwing food?" Hanuman said to Rama, "We're monkeys - it's what we do.")

The Feast of Fellowship this year was held outdoors in the shade at the edge of the forest with feasters providing dishes from their country of origin and being entertained by our Championship candidates, shire members, Rajpal Ganeshan, and the shire hounds; Boo, Shadow, and Guido (mka Zeus) who lent a truly medieval flair with their enthusiastic presence. Heartfelt toasts were made to Our Royalty, Lands, guests, and absent friends.

The Championship saw two members declare; Lord William of Ramshead and Bartholomew Archer, with others testing their skills in the individual contests. For two days the candidates competed against all comers in Rapier, Armoured, Archery, Arts & Sciences, and Bardic. The Arts & Sciences category of Siege Cooking was the most hard fought with contestants creating meals with ingredients from the almost bare larder of the castle and what sparse ingredients they could forage from the lands of Skunk Hollow. Their creations were truly fit for a King's table; fruit in a sweet syrup of rose petals and mint; eggs poached in a vegetable broth; carrots with ginger garlic glaze; skewers of glazed beef roasted over an open fire; hearty vegetable stew with flour dumplings, and amazingly; delicate crepes with berries and mint. At closing ceremonies after a hard fought competition, Bart Archer won out as Appledore's Champion for AS XLIII and was presented the Champion's pennon.

Individual contest winners were; Lord Payton for Armoured; Lord Cormac MacAenghusa of Avacal for Rapier; Lord Thorgeir Ingvarsson of Avacal for Archery; the team of Ara, Magni, Aziza, and Kib for Arts & Sciences (Siege Cooking); Rajpal Ganeshan for Bardic. All received prizes donated by merchants and shire members. Don Enoch won the prizes donated by Bart Archer for the evening Ironman Rapier Tournament.

Heartfelt thanks to the all the members of Appledore who helped make this event a success, and a special thank you to Cerridwen and Thorgeir for their kind donations and helping hands, and to all who attended from far and near to make Midsummer in the Hollow a success and for creating the memories that bind us in our Service to the Dream.

I remain ...
Yours in service,
HL Keinna de Savage
Autocrat - Midsummer in the Hollow
"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast." ~ William Shakespeare