Shannon CC

Well, I'm not the same Shannon, but here's the link (that the other
Shannon posted) to the SCAs webpage. You can find a local group thru
here. http://www.sca.org/

Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)



"A. Yates" wrote:
> Shannon,
> Where is this group?
>
> Shannon Brophy wrote:
>
> > From: "Shannon Brophy" <shannon@...>
> >
> >
> > We have an unusual approach to history, which covers medieval
> > history. We go
> > to SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). It is a group that
> > re-encacts the

vivrh

Ok Sandra- I'll bite..... What is SCA????? :-)

God bless
Vivian
Mom to three Happy little Monkeys
Austin 10/31/93 Sarah 8/28/95 Emmalee 8/15/00
And loving wife to Randy

**If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
-Anatole France***




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

CopperScaleDragon

I know I am not Sandra, but I can answer your question.
Sca stands for The Society for Creative Anachronism. " The Society for
Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international organization dedicated
to researching and re-creating pre-17th-century European history. All
persons interested in such study are invited to use these pages to
obtain information about the SCA. " (From their web site.)

A great way to learn European history of the time, actually. You
should browse their web site for more info.

http://www.sca.org/

Jane







Last episode "vivrh" <vivrh@...>, had this to say:

>Ok Sandra- I'll bite..... What is SCA????? :-)
>
>God bless
>Vivian
>Mom to three Happy little Monkeys
>Austin 10/31/93 Sarah 8/28/95 Emmalee 8/15/00
>And loving wife to Randy
>
>**If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
>-Anatole France***
>
>
>
>
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended
up where I intended to be.
- Douglas Adams

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/27/02 2:29:45 PM, vivrh@... writes:

<< Ok Sandra- I'll bite..... What is SCA????? :-) >>

Society for Creative Anachronism

http://sandradodd.com/SCA

(there are lots of links and articles from there)

vivrh

thanks for the link, I will check it out after the kiddies go to bed.
God bless
Vivian
Mom to three Happy little Monkeys
Austin 10/31/93 Sarah 8/28/95 Emmalee 8/15/00
And loving wife to Randy

**If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
-Anatole France***




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

gruvystarchild

"We also are looking into the Society for Creative Anachronism. We
haven't joined, per se, but we've been to some of their events and
really enjoyed those."


Hey, we are SCA newbies and loving it!!! I've actually got a couple
of outfits now, some great looking feast gear and all of my kids are
pretty well garbed for the youth combat program.
SCA has something for everyone. I think it's a really wonderful
resource for homeschoolers. Where else can you actually live history?
And there are so many opportunities to learn uselful
skills....leather making, calligraphy, manners, weaponry etc...we've
really enjoyed it.

Ren

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/23/04 4:28:32 PM, carelia@... writes:

<< Isn't it better to
try to furnish those children with some appropriate (albeit imperfect)
activities, even if it also (by extension) "helps" those who don't like
children? >>

I don't teach public school anymore, even thouth it was helping some of those
children.
When I left they probably got a teacher who was less creative and funny and
interested in their stories.

-=- If I
didn't bring things for the children, I'd be bringing things for my own
anyway, and watching them play all day. Plus my area of interest IS
children, period toys, etc. -=-

Then for that reason, it's not a bad deal for you. But what kind of feedback
do you really want from this group?

-=-Plus, when quite a few kids show up in overalls with GameBoys, and in
modern strollers, and with huge toy plastic castles, and those pop-up
tents that look like castles, and etc., plastic rings fly under the
radar for most people.-=-

Where you are is worse than some places for such things.

Have you see this? http://sandradodd.com/duckford/children

-=-Any thoughts on those little glass counters or polished stones? ;)-=-

Yeah.
"Lawsuit"

Too small to leave around kids.
And they might look like candy to babies.


-=-> Of all the learning-for-learning's-sake opportunities in the world the
> SCA used to be one of the best, and still can be for people who are
> there to learn.

<<That assumes the ones who know are willing to teach and share. -=-

No.
It assumes those who participate want to know more about what they're seeing,
what real tournaments would have been like, whether their garb could be more
period, whether what they brought for lunch could be more period, what someone
of their chosen place and time would have known about science or geography.

The SCA doesn't require teaching. It thrives on learning. The real
reasons and the framework for learning are provided. People shouldn't have to wait
to be taught.

If children are in and about the grownups they came with, they're learning
from the conversations they're hearing, the people they're meeting, the work
they're doing. If children are isolated in kid-land, they will learn that
children should be isolated, that they're not really part of the event.

Just because it's common doesn't mean it's good.

-=-My husband just became
authorized to be a boffer marshal. That's what we do. -=-

Another evil thing in my world.

My kids have played boffers since they were little, and we (old-timer
parents) have resisted 'boffer marshals' and boffer rules effectively until now.
Still there's a push to have them; still we push back. The liability to the
group is greater with rules than without. The fun for children is greater
without rules than with.

My kids have often provided the boffers and the ideas for hours of safe and
happy boffer play (as recently as May, Kirby who was 17, organized a castle
seige with the members of the Order of the Stag's Blood defending against 40
kids with boffers). They counsel other kids to be gentle with younger kids, no
headshots, avoid the hands, all that--but armor isn't required, because
they're not hitting too hard. Kids who are hitting too hard are told, by the other
kids, to play softer or not play.

That freedom will fall, as so many other rights and freedoms fall if people
let them, but my children grew up their whole lives being members of the SCA,
active, present, playing freely. If I defended those freedoms for 18 years
for Kirby's sake, that was 18 years of freedom for other kids too. So it's not
that I don't understand the theory. It's just that the ministry of children
and boffer marshals are things we've resisted.

Maybe you joined after it was too late where you are. That will happen to
people here too, someday.

Sandra

carelia

> << Isn't it better to try to furnish those children with some
> appropriate (albeit imperfect) activities, even if it also (by
> extension) "helps" those who don't like children? >>
> I don't teach public school anymore, even thouth it was helping some
> of those children. When I left they probably got a teacher who was
> less creative and funny and interested in their stories.

Do you ever worry about what happened to those kids? Or wonder if by
staying you could have enriched their lives at all? This is the sort of
thing I struggle with. Plus, this isn't school, and I don't have the
*same* rules. I could, in theory, run my job by eliminating it (by not
providing distinct activities, and instead having all game planners and
such allow children to participate). But I can't make their parents
want to be with them, and that's where the ultimate problem lies.

> -=- If I didn't bring things for the children, I'd be bringing things
> for my own anyway, and watching them play all day. Plus my area of
> interest IS
> children, period toys, etc. -=-
> Then for that reason, it's not a bad deal for you. But what kind of
> feedback do you really want from this group?

Well, the original question is still partly unanswered. Is there a way
to get the schooled kids to loosen up and enjoy things more? Maybe
that's too noble and unrealistic a goal. Is it a lost cause? Is there a
way to integrate schooled kids with an unschooling philosophy? Maybe
still too large. Maybe help me figure out the question? LOL I think I
am trying to figure out the cost-benefit ratio (to my family, to me, to
other children) of providing activities, and not having any luck (I
know I have to figure it out FOR ME but other's ideas do help clarify
it). I keep going back to "I can still do it better than xxx can" and
"But no matter what I do, these kids still have to go to school and
it's not enough" and "Dratted Corpora rules and lawsuit-happy country",
etc.

Is it wrong to be selfish on this? My daughter says she has fun helping
with activities, she likes the children, and wants to continue doing
it. My sons like doing boffers. Is it wrong to "aid and abet" the
schooling mentality, if my kids get to do what they want to?

Already, some of your ideas have provided some clarity (different ways
to think about the issues), so thank you for that.

> -=-Plus, when quite a few kids show up in overalls with GameBoys, and
> in modern strollers, and with huge toy plastic castles, and those
> pop-up
> tents that look like castles, and etc., plastic rings fly under the
> radar for most people.-=-
> Where you are is worse than some places for such things.

Gosh, don't I know it. It makes it a LOT harder.

> Have you see this? http://sandradodd.com/duckford/children

Yep, great article. :)

> -=-> Of all the learning-for-learning's-sake opportunities in the
> world the
>> SCA used to be one of the best, and still can be for people who are
>> there to learn.
> <<That assumes the ones who know are willing to teach and share. -=-
> No.
> It assumes those who participate want to know more about what they're
> seeing, what real tournaments would have been like, whether their garb
> could be more
> period, whether what they brought for lunch could be more period, what
> someone of their chosen place and time would have known about science
> or geography.

For the teaching, I was referring to specific skills such as weaving.
I've seen kids' questions rebuffed, because they are children.

I can't comment on wars, I don't go to them (medical reasons). Most of
our events are single-day tournaments, and this is what I have
witnessed. Many in our area have no chosen persona, or don't function
within it. Garb is showy but in many cases, inaccurate. Kids aren't
always garbed in any case. Tournaments are 99.9% of the time fought
"standard double elimination", there is not much to learn there (plus
it has no historical precedent, from what I have gathered). Lunch is
frequently Burger King (not MY lunch, but the stuff you frequently see
people eating at an event - except in my own Barony where my Baroness
is an EXCELLENT cook and frequently offers a lunch - but that's not the
norm at all events). There's not much for anyone to learn FROM. It's
largely a dress-up party in the park. Maybe it's one of those
downswings, but how would we know? I agree in theory, this should be a
GREAT place for this, to soak up atmosphere if nothing else, but the
reality is, at the events I have attended, it just doesn't happen.

> If children are in and about the grownups they came with, they're
> learning from the conversations they're hearing, the people they're
> meeting, the work
> they're doing. If children are isolated in kid-land, they will learn
> that children should be isolated, that they're not really part of the
> event.

They aren't a part of things anyway tho, and I agree it's not
appropriate. The conversations are not (from what I have heard)
anything medievally related, they're about work and traffic and partly
about SCA matters (which officers didn't come to xxx meeting, that sort
of thing), but not "persona" matters (I know those conversations would
have some value also, but they aren't exclusive to the SCA). At least
in "kid-land" (LOL) they ARE learning and exploring and playing, if
they choose to. They don't have to come to where I am, they WANT to (or
are possibly coerced by their parents, or provided no other options).
I've had kids (7-10 yr old age range, and older) who don't even know
their own mom and dad's SCA names, or what Barony they are from, or in
some cases, their OWN SCA name, if they even have one, what time period
their garb is from, or any other number of things you'd think they
might have picked up from their adults, if the adults were discussing
them. And FYI in our area (I know this varies), we're not really
*isolated* as such, we're in one of the many sunshades parked around
the eric, we're not off in some corner or a separate room or something
(I know we're still apart, but we might be right next to the Baronial
pavilion for instance, we're not in some way-off spot). And I don't run
a timed program, so kids do come and go and presumably spend at least
some time with their adults, tho I don't keep track of where they are
when they are not with me.

There are of course exceptions and some wonderful people and some
events with things to do and learn, actively and passively. But it
seems the exception rather than the rule.

> Just because it's common doesn't mean it's good.

I know. :) But when it's the "norm" and the Powers That Be say it's
Right, it's hard for us lowly peons to fight the system. I haven't been
as active as you've been, or in as long, and I don't have the titles to
give me any sort of backing. And I am sure you know it's MUCH harder to
get a rule eliminated once it's made, rather than fight its creation.
The rules are already made, here.

> -=-My husband just became authorized to be a boffer marshal. -=-
> The liability to the group is greater with rules than without. The
> fun for children is greater without rules than with.

I agree, but if we choose to play, we have no choice but to follow the
rules, as the law has been made here.

> It's just that the ministry of children and boffer marshals are things
> we've resisted.
> Maybe you joined after it was too late where you are. That will
> happen to people here too, someday.

That's probably true, about joining too late. We can't have ANYTHING
boffer-related (or boffer-like) without an authorized boffer marshal
present and witnessing, and all sorts of other rules. Not even a
practice. That's one reason my husband authorized, because our boys
love boffers and we didn't have a marshal in our area. We don't like
the rules, but the boys want to play badly enough that we deal with
them.

Thanks for your ideas. It's helping for me to clarify the problems.

C.

Ren Allen

" It's just that the ministry of children
and boffer marshals are things we've resisted.

Maybe you joined after it was too late where you are. That will
happen to
people here too, someday."

We did.
I think it's one reason my kids got tired of the SCA fairly quick.
Not that we were ever super involved...we showed up for occasional
fighter practices and the big yearly event here.
But all the rules and formality really turned Trevor off to the
whole thing. The archery was pretty good, the guy in charge of that
showed them period stuff and kept it safe, but they came and went
from it as they wished.
The boffer fighting was WAY too serious and high pressure. They were
preparing young ones to be great fighters. Noble perhaps, but it
didn't allow for the learning to happen...there was too much
teaching going on.

As far as what you "owe" the world's children...I think my
responsibility is to my own family first. If an activity is
contributing to our peace and happiness, while benefiting other
children..great. If not (as in the case of Sandra's teaching job) my
priority is MY children. I can change the world better by living my
life the best way I can. NOT by trying to fix other families.

Ren

[email protected]

Hi all! This is my first post to this list but I have been lurking for a
couple of months. I have been very impressed with the way the list is handled. I
like seeing people be able to debate but end the silly jibes when it gets to
that level. I am addressing this topic because I do have some insight into the
world of "medievel period living". Before I ever joined SCA, and then quickly
"unjoined", I worked for 2 years at the Ren Faire in Colorado. I was the dead
fish trainer. If you want to know more about that let me know but I want to get
to my view.

As you all know, a title does not an organization make. Although SCA is
supposed to be against all things "mundane" (boffer not being a word used when I
was there 12 years ago), if the people in the group choose to allow Gameboys and
plastic toys, they pretty blew the whole point.

In my own experience, if you would like the children to really be exposed to
the land of Knights and Kings, see where your closest Ren Faire is held. Get
ahold of the director and ask if you could be a part of it. Although most
faires require auditions, if you are willing to work for free or even hire one or
two of the regular participants, you will most likely get the "in" you need to
truly explore the world of jousting and courting and all the rest. Even if
your nearest faire site has been opened and closed its gates already, it is
highly likely that several of the people who work the faire are local. Although
most of the merchants and large acts travel from state to state, some of them
only work the one faire with regular "mundane" jobs keeping them home. I
guarantee that once you have met a few of them and proven your interest, you will be
introduced to all the learning you can handle. Many of the faires require that
the goods sold onsite are made with only the materials and level of technology
available during that period in history. California is especially known for
the authenticity of it's players, dress and goods.

On the whole, I believe that you will find that Ren people are generous,
open, and eager to teach anyone who wants to learn. And they are also a group that
I would consider an assortment of unschooling families. Rather like modern
day gypsies, the ones that travel all year take their children with them and
teach them on the road. These children always caught my attention as being smart,
swift and mature (although often dirty and underfoot, LOL).

Okay anyway, this is my two pence worth as far as your best source of
learning Renaissance period crafts and well, all the fun stuff from that time. They
don't dwell too much on the not so great stuff, but it can help give some
perspective when you have to hit the library.

SCA is very fighting oriented, which is indeed, the pivotal part of that
time, but I feel that if you are interested in more one on one experiences as well
as a more rounded experience as a whole, the Ren Faires are your best source.

Of course this is just my opinion, LOL!

As a side note, we just got back from a trip visiting the inlaws in Las Vegas
and stayed at the Excaliber and saw the "Tournament of Kings" with wonderful
performances by all. If you ever get a chance to get out there - and avoid
those casino floors, yuck - that is wonderful place to take the children and also
learn much about that time in history.

All right, pretty long entry for my first one. Thanks so much for all of the
wonderful things I have learned from all of you!

Heather Baker
Wisconsin


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

carelia

> The boffer fighting was WAY too serious and high pressure. They were
> preparing young ones to be great fighters. Noble perhaps, but it
> didn't allow for the learning to happen...there was too much
> teaching going on.

This is something we (personally) are moving away from. Yes, we have
the rules we have to follow (sigh) but within those, we're allowed to
do whatever. Unfortunately no one has taken advantage of this, but we
will. Except where we can't, we're eliminating double elim from our
area, and going with more period styles. We're moving from the point
being the win, to the point being playing and participating.

> As far as what you "owe" the world's children...I think my
> responsibility is to my own family first. If an activity is
> contributing to our peace and happiness, while benefiting other
> children..great. If not (as in the case of Sandra's teaching job) my
> priority is MY children. I can change the world better by living my
> life the best way I can. NOT by trying to fix other families.

I agree, my priority is ALWAYS my children (I probably wasn't clear in
stating that, but I assumed it was obvious that we all held that belief
here. :). As far as the other kids, I know I can't change their
families, but if I can nudge their attitudes so *I* can get along with
them better, that's more what I am striving for. It helps me, it helps
MY kids, and it might even help them a little.

Thanks for the comments. :)

C.

Robyn Coburn

<<<On the whole, I believe that you will find that Ren people are generous,
open, and eager to teach anyone who wants to learn. >>>

I'm laughing with delight at the unintentional pun. You do realize we have a
"Ren" on this list - and this exactly describes her!

Robyn L. Coburn

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.740 / Virus Database: 494 - Release Date: 8/16/2004

Ren Allen

"On the whole, I believe that you will find that Ren people are
generous,
open, and eager to teach anyone who wants to learn."

Well, Robyn caught the funny before I did, darnit!! I was going to
say Yeah, I think that fits me. LOL.

I have to say though, we've really enjoyed our Renaissance Faire
here in Pensacola. It's newer and not-so-big, but we've had a GREAT
time the last two years. They have things the SCA could never
afford, like falconry and equestrian events (we live in a rather
poorish shire). We feel so immersed at the event, with all the
booths, entertainers and demonstrations...so much more authentic
than our SCA experience.
I think the glory days of the SCA may be gone. I could be wrong, but
I think it's just not the same anymore....and in the poorer areas,
they cut too many corners that make it lose authenticity.

The great thing about the Ren Faire, is we get to see our SCA
aquaintances doing fight demonstrations. It's a lot of fun.

Ren the not-so-Faire

carelia

> California is especially known for the authenticity of it's players,
> dress and goods.

I have never worked Ren Faire so I can't comment from experience from
that angle.

We did *go* to (So CA Renaissance Pleasure) Faire one year recently and
we won't go back. It was horrible. It was like Renaissance Disneyland,
maybe 10% was anything authentic and the rest was a waste of time (and
tho some merchandise were well-crafted, period type items, the bulk was
Faire t-shirts and cheap felt flags and fairy wings and the like).
Around every corner was someone trying to sell us some kind of
overpriced junk, or modern food (pizza, french fries, etc.). I'd been a
few times many years ago, and it was about the same.

It's fun for some people (and if someone wants to go just for fun,
great!), but I did not see the level of authenticity you say is there.
My kids did enjoy commenting on how unauthentic everything was (but
they asked not go ever go back, they enjoyed nothing else about it).

We intended to go to some of the smaller local Faires, but didn't get a
chance to this year. Some of those are supposed to be good.

C.

carelia

> I think the glory days of the SCA may be gone. I could be wrong, but
> I think it's just not the same anymore....and in the poorer areas,
> they cut too many corners that make it lose authenticity.

A lot of the pageantry and atmosphere is gone, at least where I am.
We're not exactly a poor area either.

The problem I have seen with authenticity is not so much that it's
GONE, as that's it's not easily accessible. We have very active guilds
in many crafts, and things of that nature. There are many people who
are VERY concerned with authenticity and research. It's just not very
available to the children. It's done behind the scenes, as it were,
rather than being out in the open at events. And not everyone is there
because of the historical aspect, it's like there is no longer a common
vision. People have "fairy" names and sponsor fantasy-themed events. I
know everyone gets different things from it, people have different
things they want to focus on, but it seems, frequently, that people
take a modern interest and try to stuff it into the SCA framework
somehow (or don't even BOTHER, and just do the modern thing, put a
dragon on it, and call it authentic), instead of discovering what is
fascinating about a specific time-frame, or craft that existed then.
It's backwards in a lot of ways.

Our current Kingdom level children's officer took the position because
it had been vacant -- she is mundanely a schoolteacher. She is a nice
person, but clearly school-y. Our current boffer program was started by
a fighter who wanted his sons to be able to do combat (rather than by
someone who just wanted them to be able to play safely). This probably
explains a lot. ;)

Not that this really furthers the discussion much, but these were
thoughts I had as I've been reading all of the messages. :)

C.

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/25/04 5:23:56 PM, starsuncloud@... writes:

<< I think the glory days of the SCA may be gone. I could be wrong, but

I think it's just not the same anymore....and in the poorer areas,

they cut too many corners that make it lose authenticity. >>

Had the pro-Renfaire recommendation been 25 years ago, I would have defended
the SCA and told some tales of lame Renfaires. But...

Over that quarter decade, Rennaisance Fairs have improved extremely, while
the SCA has become rulebound and complacent.

I knew the SCA in its glory days. I was seneschal of Atenveldt when there
were only five kingdoms, soon after Meridies split from Atenveldt. When the SCA
was only ten years old and people were really doing their own research
joyfully and not expecting others to teach them it was vibrant.

There's no getting around the fact that it's different from town to town, and
that regions are different and kingdoms are different, but I've learned the
sad lesson that the longer a political entity exists (club, church, town,
state), the more laws they have. Laws are created, but rarely taken back. And
one place I see that is in newer western states' laws compared to some of the
NE original 13 states' laws. Pennslvania, New York and such places have TONS
and tons of laws. Picky little rights-limiting laws. They had a 100 year
head start on lots of other states.

The SCA lost its lustre for me within the past few years, but I feel I gave
more than my share and don't feel guilty about quitting while I was ahead.

I care more about learning than I do about the Middle Ages. I loved the SCA
because I loved medieval social history and I loved being around people who
were learning for fun.

I still have those interests!

Sandra

Cindi

--- In [email protected], carelia <carelia@e...>
wrote:

>
> The problem I have seen with authenticity is not so much that it's
> GONE, as that's it's not easily accessible. We have very active
guilds
> in many crafts, and things of that nature. There are many people
who
> are VERY concerned with authenticity and research. It's just not
very
> available to the children. It's done behind the scenes, as it
were,
> rather than being out in the open at events. And not everyone is
there
> because of the historical aspect, it's like there is no longer a
common
> vision.


We are also in the Barony of Gyldenholt and have just recently
attended our first newcomers meeting. The next meeting is this
Friday. We did have a discussion about the two types of SCA people,
the authenticity mavens and the "hey,let's party" crowd. They did
emphasize that it kind of misses the point to attend without getting
into the authentic aspect of it. Everyone does it for fun of course
but you must respect the original intent of the group.

We went to a couple of tournaments this last spring and met the
Baroness of Calafia at one of them. She told us we should attend a
war before we decided if we really wanted to get into the SCA. We
attended the Potrero War over Memorial Day weekend and had a great
time.

I think that during the longer events like a war there are more
opportunities for learning and participating, for kids and adults.
We learned so much just from the merchants alone. There was a guy
that was selling woven belts and looms and primitive weaving
instruments and he was also giving classes on ropemaking at specific
times. When we approached him and expressed an interest in what he
did, he was happy to talk about his craft and he showed the kids and
I some simple weaving/ropemaking techniques right then. We had
similar experiences with the natural fabric dye people, the middle-
eastern drum guy, the belly dancer ladies, the guy that was making
arrows by hand, etc.

My kids also had a great time boffer fighting with lots of other
kids, free roaming, no rules and they were fine. Occasinally one of
the adult fighters would be around to show some technique or even
join them, but mostly the kids did a great job of governing
themselves.

One night I went back to our campsite for a while and the kids were
off with some of their new-found friends. I caught up with them a
couple of hours later and they had been to a dance and learned 3
folk dances.

During the day we watched some of the fighting and it was much more
exciting than a tournament. My son was very interested in the
trebuchet and since then we have been researching and planning to
build one.

My daughter and I plan on joining the costumers guild. I understand
that they have a place to meet once a week and large tables for
cutting fabric and good sewing machines that we can use. We have
been doing some research on the internet and at the library on
period costumes.

My son is interested in making his own armor. I am hoping that he
can join the armorers guild.

If you want a great authentic SCA experience for you and your family
I think you can make it happen. That's what I'm trying to do.

If you want a great SCA experience for all the INTERESTED kids in
your (our) Barony, I have an idea. What about inviting different
guilds to do demonstrations of their crafts at events? Preview what
they are going to do and come up with different things that the kids
can do depending on their age. Encourage the guilds to point out
that they are open to all SCA members and would be happy to instruct
new people that are truly interested in their work. It doesn't have
to be kid only, just kid friendly. Faciltate the kids hooking up
with the adults that share their interests.

I think the crafts are more compelling if they are grown-up,
authentic things. Making a banner is more interesting if you have a
real herald there showing you what some of the symbols mean,
accurate color combinations and layouts and such.

It has been my experience that if you get someone that is passionate
about what they are doing, they are happy to talk about it and show
others how to get started. Their enthusiasm makes them interesting
to learn from. I think there are many like that in the SCA.

How about planning a simple authentic dish (food) that the kids can
make? Gently show the kids that being authentic is what it's all
about. Maybe the kids can influence some of the not-so-authentic
parents to be more-so.

I am new, so this is just my idea of how it COULD be. How I hope it
will be. So far we have had a great time but I can see how people
could be lazy and attend with a different attutude. We won't.

Just my 2 cents. OK more like 20:)

Cindi