Category Archives: Events

Events, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

December 2019 Baronial Mini-Business Meeting

11 December 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight’s meeting includes a review and consideration of a bid for Spring Coronation, submitted by THL Piers Simmons. Usually, the local group where the new heirs reside hosts Coronation, but in this case, Tir Briste is already hosting Fools’ War the week following Coronation, so they have requested that other groups who might be interested in hosting should submit a bid (by 15 December).

Piers could not make the meeting tonight and therefore was unable to present his bid himself, so our illustrious Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, presented it to the populace on his behalf.

Spring Coronation 2020 Bid (9-12 April, 2020)

  • Co-Autocrats: THL Piers Simmons and Lord Jürgen der Vielfrass; Piers noted that he had not yet found a co-autocrat, and Jürgen volunteered
  • Site: Al Sihah Shrine Temple, Macon GA
  • Cost to attend: $40 weekend, with a $5 discount for members ($35 members, $40 non-members)
  • There were many questions from the populace, which mostly fell into three categories:
    • The site itself is no longer usable
      • THL Juliane considered the site a hard no. In explanation, she reminded everyone that, as we discovered at Castle Wars last year (2018), there are now outside people permanently RV camping within our usual camping area. The location of their encampment is impossible to keep separate from our event
      • Some tents were broken into last year
      • We had problems with the RV residents following around young women who *were* attending Castle Wars, especially those who had been drinking
      • THL Lucien noticed that $300 was budgeted for ant killer treatment. He and others pointed out that based on past events there, this will not be sufficient to get rid of the fire ants before the event
      • We really don’t need to run into liability issues
    • THL Mark mentioned that we have had serious problems with the site staff
      • There have been problems with the site staff not fulfilling contract requirements
      • The site becomes a swamp when it rains
      • If it does rain, would we be able to fit everyone in the hall?
      • His Excellency pointed out that there have been problems with the site staff not mowing the campsite as we needed it to be mowed
    • The attendance fee is very expensive, especially for newcomers ($40 for the weekend for non-members)
      • Juliane pointed out that Coronation does not usually have much structured to do, especially for newcomers; mostly ceremonies, meetings, and a couple of tournaments
      • Ximon considered that price point to be unacceptable – there was discussion about how this compared to pricing of other events.
        • Castle Wars this year was $25/$30 for the weekend
        • Magna Faire is $15/$20 for the weekend (plus cabin or lodge space)
        • Red Tower was $20/$25 for the weekend (including cabin space)
  • Other questions that were raised in the discussion included:
    • Ximon pointed out that hosting Coronation is a lot to do so soon after Midwinter (beginning of February) and Gulf Wars (mid-March). Everyone will be volunteered-out
    • Sir Iastreb (Iazzie) mentioned that as a Barony, we do need to submit a bid for a KLE (Kingdom Level Event)
      • Lady Raven acknowledged that that is true, but what if we *get* the event?
      • Lucien said that he had heard there were two other groups who were also working on bids – Shire of Phoenix Glade and Barony of The Osprey
  • The discussion ended, and a motion to vote was made and seconded. The bid was rejected unanimously (an official count was not made, but the estimate was approximately 20 people voted)

With the vote completed, the business meeting time was closed and we returned to the night’s regularly-scheduled monthly dance practice.

The next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 8 January 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center REMINDER – There will be no meeting on 1 January 2020, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.

Thanks!

–Raven

Castle Wars, Events, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S

December 2019 Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 December 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Submissions
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz – change of device
      • Lady Una Hrolfsdottir – new name
      • Lady Isabella Parr – name and device registered at Laurel
    • Awards
      • Castle Wars
        • THL Bram Halfdannarson – Legion of the Bear
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Castle Wars was awesome!
    • Practices are going well – Sunday practice continues at the incipient Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019. Everyone is very happy with the site!
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay, Lady Raven reporting)
    • Real Life™ is really getting in the way of my SCA time” (why he’s not here tonight)
    • Martial activities at Castle Wars seem to have been a success. Duke Bryce’s joint Heavy and Rapier scenarios worked pretty well. There was lots of fighting, and even some time for pickups. Other than some minor complaints about some of the scenarios running shorter than expected, it felt good.
    • Practices at the Meadery are awesome. Huge thanks to those making this happen.
    • Levetan Park may be getting too dark for Tuesday evening practices. So far, so good, but suggestions for alternate locations are welcome.
    • Thanks, as always, to our collection of rapier marshals who make it possible for practice to happen without me. Efforts to get a couple more people warranted are under way.
  • Chatelaine (THL Justina di Silvestri)
    • We had a lot of new people at Castle Wars – we were glad to be able to loan Gold Key garb to so many new people! YAY! and they had fun! yay!
    • We do have a lot of good Gold Key, so we’re not concerned about the timing for having loaned garb returned (but all the garb will be returned no worries!)
    • Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)
      • We had a great turnout and reception at ConjurationCON
      • No new demos for us on the schedule, but we’ve been asked to participate in a homeschoolers demo which is in the works for this Friday (6 December) in Marietta – see Bú for more info
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle, Lady Raven reporting)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Thank you for everyone that taught at CW. Midwinter A&S class signup form will be posted once the event Facebook page goes up – think about teaching at Midwinter please!
    • No class in Dec due to the holidays.
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
    • Mark has dibs on the January A&S class, but the rest of the year is up for grabs.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • THL Juliane added that she has the invoice from Camp Benjamin Hawkins, and will pass it along to Andreva.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • He wants to discuss several issues with the Baronial storage unit, but it will wait until later in the meeting.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website! yay!
    • Many, many Castle Wars web page updates
    • Submitted quarterly report to the Kingdom Webminister
    • Lady Zhelana agreed to serve as point person on creating the Midwinter A&S event page. An initial page has been created as a placeholder, which will be updated as content becomes available.
    • Updated profile pages:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye – apprentice to Master Lorenzo
      • Lady Anneliese Wulf – apprentice to Her Excellency South Downs, Mistress Sunneva di Cleia
    • Updated awards for:
      • THL Peryn Rose Whitehorse – King’s Lancer
      • THL Bram Halfdannarson – Order of the Bear
      • THL Emelina le Norreys – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lady Bú Feiyan – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lady Anneliese Wulf – Swan’s Grace
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • We had 33 kids at Castle Wars! Yay! (only 11 were The Scriveners’ :-))
    • The Ministry of Children has been working on having activities for all age ranges
    • The Peasant archery battle at Castle Wars was a huge hit with the kids; the adults, not quite as much lol
      • During the Peasant archery battle, Mark got to see HRH’s son Theo nail Sir Caius right in the face with an “arrow” (tennis ball), and then immediately also nail HRH in the face!
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter, Captain Brendan de Hay reporting)
    • Looking for a deputy to whom she can eventually hand over the office’s responsibilities.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Her Excellency regrets her absence, but His Tininess had to come home from daycare early.
    • Thank you to everyone who worked on Castle Wars, especially those on entourage and who volunteered with feast. Feast (and the feast hall decorations) turned out fantastic and was recognized across the Knowne World, as some of our social media photos were shared by the Society Facebook group.
    • We will host our Baronial holiday party on 14 December – stay tuned for a post on our Baronial Facebook group for organizing the potluck dinner. There will also be a Dirty Santa gift exchange for all who wish to participate.
    • Their Excellencies encouraged everyone to send in award recommendations – a lot of people worked really hard at Castle Wars, and writing award recommendations is a great way to recognize their work. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive.
    • Nikon pointed out that before you write a recommendation for someone, look them up on the Order of Precedence or better yet, our populace page
    • The populace was reminded that since New Year’s Day will be on the first Wednesday, the January business meeting will take place on the 2nd Wednesday (8 January)

Castle Wars Post-Mortem

  • We had an event! Yay!
  • WE had to file an accident report – Drogo cut his hand in the kitchen slicing potatoes
  • We had very few complaints – there were several suggestions for more parking and directional signs
  • The kitchen staff reported that there were some incidents of rudeness towards them. No details at the current time.
  • There was one incident of harassment at Castle Wars that is being investigated at the Society level. It was reported immediately to the autocrat and seneschal to get the timestamp on the event. Mark has been named the lady’s advocate as the situation plays itself out.
  • One vehicle was lost at the event – the car was inadvertently driven over a tree stump and lost its transmission.
  • All receipts have been received – several people/departments did not use their budget, so expenses were less than expected.
  • Lord Jürgen asked for clarification about who gets the till from Troll at the end of the night. He could not find any official info about handling funds from troll – this is important to clarify for anyone who works Troll at events. Updates will be provided at the next business meeting.
  • Anyone who is looking for a reimbursement check should see Lord Farouk.
  • Juliane mentioned that at both last year’s Castle Wars and again at this year’s Castle Wars, we revamped the way we market events and both years, had a great response. How can we revisit how to market next year’s Castle Wars?
  • Baroness Angharat asked who is South Downs’ meme/social media person? She would like to hire them for Blood and Roses in April.
  • Nikon mentioned how much he loved his teacher gift.
  • Master Ximon said that he had great support as the parking person; he spent the event driving the loop around the site as shuttle driver. We really need to have a shuttle driver at events at Benjamin Hawkins, since the site is so spread out and parking is mostly in specific areas.
  • Would it be possible to get a golf cart rental in the budget for next year?
  • Mistress Alessandra asked if someone could make a map of all the walking paths and interior driving areas – it would be really helpful, since they’re not marked clearly. Ximon added, regarding parking that no matter how much you mark up a site, you’ll have people trying to ignore the signage.
    • Jürgen suggested that we could make modular signposts with attachable arrows, etc. that could be illuminated (as the site at night is particularly difficult to travel through)
    • Sandwich board might be a better option since they are more flexible – they don’t need to be staked in and could still be customizable with arrows
    • Juliane added that this is a relatively new site, and as with most sites, the more we use it the more comfortable we’ll be with the layout.
    • Ximon suggested that we table this discussion for next year and is willing to lead up a parking committee/team for the site.
  • Ximon also thanked everyone who camped with South Downs, especially THL Stella who organized the camp. Everyone had a great time! Further thanks to Isabella for her great meal, and to everyone who helped break down camp on Sunday.
  • Drunk History went really well! Ximon repeated his challenge to the Barony – he is offering a prize for the winner of Drunk History, South Downs Edition.
  • Juliane will be submitting a bid for next year’s Castle Wars – stay tuned! It will be epic.
  • Bú asked if anyone had ended up with a (her) large soup pot; it’s gone on walkabout, and since it’s her mother’s, she’d really like it back.
  • Master Lorenzo followed “speaking of large soup pots…” Stella would love to have some help with the food side of being Camp Mom for future events. Please contact her if you are interested.
  • Angharat brought a tote with lost & found from the event and invited anyone who lost something at Castle Wars to check the tote. She also brought several scroll cases to return to the Barony/scribes.

Upcoming Events

  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (1 February 2020), Lady Raven Helmsplitter and Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba reporting
    • Submitted bid to Financial Committee; bid was approved by Financial Committee and was presented to the populace
    • Event to be held at Holy Trinity Parish Episcopal Church in downtown Decatur – new site, 3 blocks to Decatur MARTA station, 5 blocks to Avondale MARTA station, so it’s intown and easily accessible.
    • No feast, but there will be a fundraiser lunch – possibly by the Order of the Blade?
    • Initial staff includes:
      • Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba – co-Autocrat
      • THL Lucien d’Artois – Reservationcrat
      • THL Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle – A&S Class Coordinator
    • Complete bid is downloadable here.
    • After discussion by the populace, motion to vote on bid was made, seconded, and approved.

Other SCA Business

  • Juliane explained the process of submitting a bid
    • Bid goes to Seneschal for initial review. Seneschal has the right to accept or refuse the bid.
    • If the Seneschal accepts the bid, they forward it on to the finance committee who then approves or refuses it.
    • If the finance committee approves the bid, it is then presented to the populace for consideration and a vote.
  • Baron Piers is currently working on a bid for Coronation – as TRHs’ local group (Tir Briste) is already hosting Fools War the week following Spring Coronation, the event is being opened up to other groups. Piers mentioned he needed a co-autocrat, and ürgen volunteered.
  • Master Nikoslav offered a lyst fence to the Barony, free to a good home. Lucien confirmed that we have room for it in the storage unit, so arrangements were made to get it after it is used at Magna Faire.
  • Justina mentioned Jour d’Amour in January. The Courtesans Guild is being provided with a heated cabin and a lot of time to provide classes along the event theme (courtly love).
  • Ximon asked if we/the MoB hosts the fundraiser lunch at Midwinter, can he borrow a couple of crockpots.

Non-SCA Business

  • Mark mentioned that last Wednesday, two dogs showed up at their house. The dogs’ owner is newly disabled and can no longer care for the dogs, so Mark is trying to find a home for them. The dogs are dog- and cat- (and people!) friendly.

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 8 January 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

A&S, Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

November 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 November 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Submissions
      • Robert Throckmorton. Reblazon of device. Sable, on a plate a Latin cross formy azure, a bordure parted bordurewise indented argent and azure. Registered on Aug 2019 LOAR
    • Awards
      • Red Tower
        • Una Ulfrdottir – Award of Arms
        • Lady Una Ulfrdottir – Cygnet’s Nest
        • Tryggvi Tryggsson – Award of Arms
        • Alessandro di Lorenzo – Cygnet’s Nest
        • Lady Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle – Velvet Owl
        • Lord Mark de Wytteney – Velvet Owl
        • Lord Mark de Wytteney – Court Barony
        • Melusine La Pucelle La Fayette – Argent Comet
        • Lady Mairghread Ragnhild Wilson – Red Raven
        • THL Juliane de Vivonne – Scarlet Star
        • THL Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain – Court Barony
        • Waelwulf – Award of Arms
        • Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba – Meridian Majesty
        • THL Rhiannon verch Madyn – Meridian Majesty
        • Baron Seric of Marston – Grant of Arms
        • Captain Brendan de Hay – Grant of Arms
        • Lady Stella di Silvestri – Grant of Arms
        • Captain Pietro di Conti – Grant of Arms
        • Lord Quintus Valarius Gracchus – Grant of Arms
        • Lady Justina di Silvestri – Grant of Arms
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Sunday practice has moved to the Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019. Everyone is very happy with the site!
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)
    • Hi! Welcome! and thank you!
    • Sunday practices are now taking place at the Meadery; Tuesday evening practices will remain will continue at Brook Run Park (no change)
    • A continuing thank you to all who have been helping out with practices
    • Come to Castle Wars! There are some awesome scenarios in teh works, including those with audience participation!
  • Chatelaine (THL Justina di Silvestri)
    • Will be bringing Gold Key (loaner garb) to Castle Wars; if you know you will have need of loaner garb, please let Justina know so she can make sure she has garb in the sizes needed.
    • She is preparing her quarterly report – if you have anything you’d like to contribute to Gold Key, please let her know.
    • Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)
      • We have the maker space arranged for monthly project nights (yay!). The address is 675 Metropolitan Parkway SW, Atlanta. If you are interested in working at the space for project night, please contact Bu for further details.
      • ConjurationCON (15-17 November 2019)
        • We will have tables in two separate areas, so we will need volunteers to help staff the tables
        • We have space for dance practice/demo, if anyone can lead this
        • We have a set schedule for the fighting demos (two periods on Saturday), as well as an open field on Friday afternoon.
        • This event will run on a typical Con schedule (nearly 24hrs/day), so there’s lots of time and opportunity to volunteer and take part in the Con
        • This is a great Con for the SCA – lots of crossover in interests; we have had several new members come from past ConjurationCONs
        • Bú is working on getting a hotel room onsite for crash/downtime space. If you would be interested in accessing the hotel room, please let Bú know.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • October’s A&S class on bookbinding, taught by Mistress Margavati, was a big hit! Check out our Facebook group for pictures of the class.
    • Due to the upcoming holidays, there will not be a class offered either in November or December. We will regroup in January with Marks medieval gaming class.
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • We received the PayPal check from Red Tower.
    • The quarterly report was submitted today.
    • We are currently in a little bit of a hole due to the increased costs of our meeting site and storage site, but we are in good shape overall.
    • Mistress Alessandra and Andreva are working on getting re-warranted so they can take over/continue (respectively) the Reeve office.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated Sunday fighter practice location to Viking Alchemist Meadery
    • Added November and December dates for live weapons practice
    • Changed deputy armored marshal from Lord Jarec Markov to Lord Jürgen der Vielfrass
    • Lady Zhelana agreed to serve as point person on creating the Midwinter A&S event page. An initial page has been created as a placeholder, which will be updated as content becomes available.
    • Updated Baronial Champions with latest info:
      • Master Davio de la Rouge – Baronial Rapier Champion
      • Baron Robert Throckmorton – Baronial Armored Champion
      • THL Stella di Silvestri – Baronial Arts Champion
      • TBD – Baronial Archery Champion (need SCA name, only have modern name)
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • Castle Wars flyer, linked to Castle Wars Facebook event page
      • Schedule
      • Fighting scenarios
      • Feast menu
      • Live weapons schedule
      • Map
    • New profile pages for:
      • Alessandro di Lorenzo
      • Sir Kytte Meliora Stevenson
      • Lord Tryggvi Tryggsson
      • Lady Una Ulfrdottir
      • Lady Waelwulf
    • New profile photo for:
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • THL Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle
      • Lord Jarec Markov
      • THL Juliane de Vivonne
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson
      • THL Mark de Wytteney
      • Lady Melusine la Pucelle la Fayette
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz
      • Captain Pietro di Conti
      • Baroness Rhiannon verch Madyn
      • Baroness Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain
      • Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
    • Gearing up for Castle Wars!
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We are really excited for Castle Wars!
    • We are still in need of courtiers – if you are interested, please contact Juliane
    • We are out of Red Raven medallions. Her Excellency has contacted the manufacturer and has an invoice ($20 each); this was voted on and approved.
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.

Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October 2019), THL Justina di Silvestri and Lady Isabella Parr reporting
    • Red Tower report is done; we made a profit of approx. $1071.92 (yay!)
    • What are we going to do with all these balls (marbles)?
  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (1 February 2020), Lady Raven Helmsplitter and Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba reporting
    • Submitted bid to Financial Committee; planning to present bid to populace at the next meeting
    • In the meantime, will take the time to get more info from the church site
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019), THL Isabetta de San Marco and Baroness Angharat merch Morchant reporting
    • The Order of the Bear is the only polling order who has requested to schedule a meeting
    • The feast menu is available! It is AMAZING
    • Please let Isabetta or Angharat know as soon as possible if you need anything from the storage unit
    • Need volunteers to help with Troll, especially in the evenings and Saturday morning
    • Will it be possible to get a backdrop or drapes for the children’s activities pavilion?
    • Will we need propane for heaters? It is possible that the site will provide it – Juliane will check
    • We might be able to use the maker space to help get things done for Castle Wars
    • There was a discussion about how many tables we will need for Castle Wars – for feast hall, lyst field, etc.
    • Her Grace mentioned who thankful she is that we are able to have the memorial night archery shoot at Castle Wars; apparently, night shoots were illegal in Meridies not that long ago.
    • Ximon gave THL Stella mad props for all her work organizing the baronial encampment – yay! If you want to take part in the encampment, please contact Stella directly, and join the Facebook encampment group for the latest information.
      • Meal plan – we’re not doing an official meal plan, but we are organizing potluck meals throughout the weekend (for example, volunteers will cover the main dish at dinner, and the side dishes will be potluck from those camping with the Barony). What about lunches and breakfast? Site is offering breakfast on Saturday, included in the site fee.
      • Justina asked about Drunk History on Friday night – with a onesies competition, with prizes!
      • Her Excellency will be taking Lady Anneliese as an apprentice at the encampment Friday night, with a German dessert and hot chocolate bar reception
      • Master Lorenzo will also be taking Lady Agnes as an apprentice on Saturday night after Feast
      • Even if you don’t want to help out with cooking or bringing anything for the encampment meals, there’s still a lot that can be done to help out
    • For castle wars, come volunteer for troll! it’s right next to our encampment!
    • Get your reservations in!

Other SCA Business

  • Kingdom-level Events (KLEs)
    • We need to think about what KLEs we want to bid on in 2020, as every group is required to bid on at least one KLE. RUM/Fighters Collegium? We need to look at sites.
  • Melusine took Xander to the Atlanta Food Bank to volunteer and talked to them about the SCA. They suggested that we could do a baronial volunteer event to volunteer at the food bank. Volunteer schedule is set on a 90 day basis. Juliane suggested that we volunteer at a time when they really need the help (January?
  • Brian at the Meadery will need help with work-related projects in the upcoming weeks. Please contact him if you can help. Mark described the site in detail, and mentioned the possibility of the next-door warehouse opening a brewery as well. Everything is dependent on licensing and permits
  • Justina mentioned Jour d’Amour in January. The Courtesans Guild is being provided with a heated cabin and a lot of time to provide classes along the event theme (courtly love).
  • Justina asked if anyone would be interested in taking part in an SCA yard sale at a meeting.
  • Juliane is willing to organize a yard sale at Fools War as a merchant’s tent.

Non-SCA Business

  • Margavati had a whole bunch of Christmas decorations she gave away to any who wanted them.
  • SERFO! Master David Twynham is running this annual HEMA fencing event at Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus. We are expecting more than 100 fencers from all over the country to attend for a full weekend of tournaments. A lot of SCA rapier fighters take part and do well in the tournaments, so register to take part, or just come by and watch a lot of great swordfighting!
  • THL Andreva’s chamber vocal group will present a concert of period music. Please contact her for more info and/or tickets.
  • Margavati is getting rid of her full-size futon, free to a good home.

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 December 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

October 2019 Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

2 October 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Captain Brendan de Hay, Baronial Rapier Marshal, and Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards
      • Crossroads
      • Lord John Kirikov – Argent Shield
      • Cellach ingen Oengusa – Award of Arms
    • LOAR not returned yet
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • There is no practice this Sunday (6 October 2019), due to Red Tower
    • We will likely move Sunday practice to the Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019.
      • Free indoor space, non-fighters can hang out in air conditioned rooms
      • Mead likely served after 1 January 2020 (depending on permitting)
      • Practice can run as late as we want
      • Near I-285/I-75 interchange
    • Called to a vote, seconded (only Sir Iazzie dissented 😉 )
    • (Seneschal vote: water nozzles for drinking bottles have been 3D printed by Lady Bú – super cool!)
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Hi! Welcome! and thank you!
    • Arrangements for Sunday practice at the Meadery are in the process of being finalized (Yay!); until then, Sunday practices will continue at Brook Run Park, and Tuesday evening practices will remain there (no change)
    • A continuing thank you to all who have been helping out with practices
    • Nothing to report for Red Tower
    • Come to Castle Wars! There are some awesome scenarios in teh works, including those with audience participation!
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Getting ready for Red Tower!
    • Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)
      • Bú organized a booth for the Barony at the Maker Faire on 27-28 September at Georgia State Stadium
        • We got a page and a half of names from visitors to the booth who were interested in getting more info about the Barony! IT was great to watch the kids as they asked about what happens in the SCA
        • All our business cards were handed out
        • We are hoping that some of those who visited our booth may come by Red Tower
        • Our booth neighbor was Freeside ATL, who has offered us a free day every month (at our convenience) to use their equipment (industrial sewing machines, metalworking and woodworking equipment, etc.). They used to have a group come in regularly, but they stopped coming by. The Freeside ATL people would love to have another group come in regularly.
        • THL Andreva asked Bú if she could set up a poll on the Baronial Facebook group to see when would be the best time to get us set up there.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • It’s the end of the third quarter – please let Alisandre know about what projects you’ve been working on (yes, you!) so she can include it in her quarterly report describing all the cool stuff the Barony is doing
    • This month’s Arts and Sciences class topic is bookbinding, and it is a make + take class taught by Mistress Margavati. Please note that class size is limited, so if you’d like to participate in the class, please register via the Baronial website. However, there is no limit on those who would simply like to observe the class.
    • Alisandre discussed with Lord Einarr about teaching a weekend-long A&S demo on LED lanterns – the primary challenge is trying to schedule it around Red Tower and Castle Wars, so stay tuned for updates!
    • Interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • As it is the second day of the fourth quarter, she has not had a chance to look at the statements yet, so she doesn’t have a report at this time.
    • The Barony has a lot of expenses this quarter due to Red Tower and Castle Wars, so if you have a receipt, please submit it as soon as possible for reimbursement.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated fighter practice page with live weapons practices for September and October
    • Updated Red Tower event page with latest info:
      • Armored fighting, rapier, thrown weapons, archery, and overall event schedules
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • Castle Wars flyer, linked to Castle Wars Facebook event page
      • PayPal registration
    • New profile pages for:
      • Countess Gwenhwyfar Mwynn
      • Lord John Kirikov
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Cellach ingen Oengusa
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
    • We will have great social media coverage at Red Tower this weekend – we would love to have a picture of everyone in the Barony
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • We have kids! Yay!
    • Melusine is excited about the kids’ activities at our upcoming events
    • The Ministry has received several fantastic donations
    • We will have lots of activities to offer the children attending Red Tower; however, children’s activities will start a little late as Melusine is helping with breakfast first
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.
    • (THL Juliane, Deputy Seneschal, takes over the reporting…)
      • We have two issues, both involving money.
        1. The meeting site has raised their rates again, to $100 for the first two hours
        2. They are not taking any more reservations after December, and we don’t have a reason why – Juliane hopes to have more information on this tonight. (ETA: this should just be a formality, as there will be a new Mayor of Doraville in January; we don’t need to be concerned, but she will continue to monitor the situation.)
        3. The storage facility fees are also increasing, to $289 per month (+$114/quarter)
      • Andreva is confident that we can swing the cost increases, especially given that the site is so convenient and awesome. The storage unit also has a lot of conveniences. Both are also already paid up through the end of the year.
      • Master Lorenzo pointed out that if we have project night at Freespace, that would make up the cost difference for the meeting site.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We still have a baby! yay!
    • Props to Lady Bú for running Our Maker Faire presence – she rocks!
    • Interested in being a courtier (assisting Their Excellencies at events)? Please contact Baroness Sunneva – they’ll need a lot of help at Red Tower. Serving as a courtier is an easy way to learn about how events are run.
    • Mark commented that serving as a courtier during Court gives you a great view of everyone who receives awards during Court.
    • Baron Wistric thanked the gentle who brought them beaded bracelets as prizes for Their Excellencies’ tournaments.
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Has everyone seen Lady Ellerete’s (Illy’s) updates? She’s building some great things for the event!
    • We need to spray the field for ants tomorrow – can anyone help out during the day (before 5pm?) Please let Lady Isabella or THL Justina ASAP
    • We need help loading out from the storage unit 8am Friday morning!
    • Reservationist reports that feast and cabins are sold out and both have waitlists (don’t hold your breath, tho)
    • Speaking of liquor (???)… donations of money and booz are welcome for the revel
    • Site tokens – blue marbles in the ziploc bag are for A&S voting, and the clear ones are for the baronial bebbeh
    • Speaking of Troll, Andreva reminded everyone that there were a bunch of people who took her recent How to Troll class, and Mistress Alessandra needs help!
    • Gold Key will be available at Troll – there is plenty available
    • Baby tokens will be brought to the field for the marshals to distribute
    • We are expecting a good turnout of armored fighters at Red Tower, in honor of an elevation that will take place at Red Tower
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • Do we want Count Sinclair’s tavern at Castle Wars, since we have the feast hall available for revel
    • Baroness Irina had a golf cart at Fools’ War, but they had priced out golf carts for 40 Year and got some good pricing. This will help with getting people out to parking. We need to decide on whether to go ahead and pay for the insurance and will get hard numbers for golf cart rentals.
    • Ximon offered to help with his truck as back up if necessary
    • Isabetta asked Juliane to see if they can schedule a walkthrough of the site sometime soon to scope out parking
    • Equestrian has found their own space at the camp that works better for them – we can use their original space either for fighting or more camping
    • Sir Bryce posted his scenario ideas – they are really fun!
    • Andreva clarified – Red Tower is CABINS ONLY and NO PETS (service animals OK); Castle Wars, on the other hand, is tenting only, pets ok (with rabies documentation)
    • There will be doggie bags at troll, so there is no excuse to not clean up after your puppers
    • The site has zero tolerance for:
      • Taking a picture of you with alcohol or a cigarette and they see it, we could lose the site
      • NO SMOKING, NO ORIGINAL CONTAINERS
    • Ximon will be organizing the baronial encampment – yay! This includes organizing dinners during CW. IF you want to help, please contact Ximon directly.
    • For castle wars, come volunteer for troll! it’s right next to our encampment!
    • Get your reservations in!

Other SCA Business

  • Sites
    • Juliane encouraged everyone to keep an eye out for potential sites, especially for events like Midwinter Arts & Sciences and RUM

Non-SCA Business

  • Mistress Mara is having a baby shower for their baby at Red Tower; Countess Thorkatla is hosting it from 12-1
  • Decatur Makers is putting together a forge, and is looking for wood ash – let Bú know
  • Margavati heard on NPR that the Fernbank has an Silk Road exhibit through 5 January 2020

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 November 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 September 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Mark also announced that we have a lot of business to cover tonight, including the South Downs baronial awards nominations and voting, and Red Tower.

Officers Reports

  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Mairghread announced that her marshal warrant has been renewed for another two years.
    • At Foxes, we will have an all-women armored team, and are looking to field a second team for the Barony. Rapier will also be fighting for Her Excellency at Foxes.
    • The Shire of Owl’s Nest will no longer host a Tuesday practice after Castle Wars, so we may move our own Tuesday night practice back to Brook Run Park in Dunwoody.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Ben has been absent lately and thanked all who helped cover “his slack butt”
    • Practices are continuing at Brook Run Park on Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoon, and as Lady Mairghread mentioned, it looks like armored practice will join us again on Tuesdays later in the fall
    • THL Piers will be coordinating rapier teams for Foxes
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We totally rocked DragonCon (yay!)
      • Because we didn’t have a booth this year, we were able to focus our efforts on the panels we worked on – everyone thought that worked really well
      • Already thinking about next year’s DragonCon – she would like to coordinate efforts with the middle ages historical panels, and has been brainstorming on class ideas.
      • The organizers have asked for the “darker part of history” (pre-1800s)
      • If you are interested in taking part, please contact Justina
    • Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)
      • Bú has put in a request for the Barony to have a booth at the upcoming Maker Faire
      • She was looking at a possible demo at next year’s Decatur Book Festival, but it is the same weekend as DragonCon, so there’s not much interest (since most will be at DragonCon). May revisit later in the year as everyone’s DragonCon plans shape up (or not)
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Labyrinth Challenge at Red Tower – to clarify, this is for fun, it is not a judged or regional A&S faire. Take the image of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral and create something inspired by it. It can be anything (bake a pie, for example!), Innovation and creativity are key! Her Excellency finds the labyrinth inspiring.
    • Thanks to the response from the populace, Baronial Arts & Sciences classes are nearly completely scheduled for 2019, but there’s still opportunities to share you knowledge! If you are interested in teaching a class, please fill out the form or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Posted 15th Century dinner pictures, mask decorating pictures, block printing pictures
    • Set up web site logins for Alisandre (A&S) and Emelina (Social Media)
    • Updated Red Tower event page with latest info:
      • event flyer
      • site rules
      • instructor signup
      • feast menu
      • A&S competition
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • staff list
      • feast menu
    • New pages for:
      • Lady Aelia Bassina of Veii
      • Lady Isabella Parr
    • Updated pages for:
      • THL Isabetta de San Marco
      • Lord Jürgen der Vielfrass
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz
      • Master Ximon Martillo de Córdoba
      • THL Mark de Wytteney
      • Baroness Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain
    • Moved the lists of Heart of South Downs and South Downs Chivalry recipients to their own pages
    • Updated site and all plugins and themes to WordPress 5.2.2.
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • Baronial Instagram has 17 followers
    • Thanked Her Excellency, Captain Brendan, and a bunch of others
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We still have a baby! yay!
    • Fielding teams at Foxes for Her Excellency! Yay! If you want to be on a team, let the relevant marshal know and they can set you up!
    • Awards voting tonight – description for how things will be run at the end of the meeting
    • Will ask each group to define itself going forward – what virtues, qualities do we want to focus on for each award? How do we want to see this going forward? Start a conversation 🙂
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive
    • DragonCon is 12 months away – we need someone to organize the parade. Will discuss after Castle Wars
    • The baronial bebbeh loves bananas, his toes, and falling on his face.

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Need volunteers, like yesterday!
    • Mistress Allesandra is putting a signup sheet on the troll page
    • Need someone to sponsor a fundraiser lunch – if no one, then it will be a BYO picnic lunch. Should we reach out to other groups to see if anyone would like to do it?
    • Need a herald – Master Mathias said “sure!”
    • We’re going to have another project night (masks, tokens!)
    • We will have a scavenger hunt with little dolls wearing Toby clothes hidden around the site. The fate of the baronial babe is in the populace’s hands (!!!) Votes will be determined by those who earn marbles via the various activities throughout the event. HOW MANY MARBLES?
    • There are glass beads/tokens at the storage unit, but they are not clear, which is what Justina wants for aesthetics. THL Lucien offered to paint them clear :-D.
    • It was suggested that you can get a large bag of glass marbles at the dollar store
    • Need people to teach classes! We currently have no one teaching classes. Lorenzo is writing up a class that he wants to teach at Red Tower, regarding codpieces
    • Armored tournament- championship is a bear pit. AMiC will be someone from Owl’s Nest
    • Bryn Madoc is managing the live weapons activities at Red Tower
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • Still looking for some volunteers
      • Sanitation
      • Herald
      • Parking
      • Revel
    • PayPal opens this Friday
    • Feast – above the salt feast has 24 seats, below has 75?
    • Working on getting the insurance set up
    • Possible golf cart for facilitating parking?
    • THL Juliane – will start hyping the event on Friday;
      She is working with Garrett to see what options we have for siege weapons, if it’s at all possible
    • Can we get Mike Moulton’s boom stick display if the BSA will allow it
    • Ben clarified the new BSA rules – only impacts things that scouts themselves can take part in
    • We know that archery and live weapons are good, since we have the same contract as we did for Coronation
    • We don’t want to scare the site off
    • Master Lorenzo – are we doing a baronial camp, and if so, has anyone considered coordinating it? Everyone looked at THL Stella
    • Encampment will be the same as at Fools War, near troll
  • Midwinter Arts &Sciences (1 February 2020)
    • Lady Raven is contemplating submitting a bid, but needs to find a site (will work with Master Ximon?)

Other SCA Business

  • Mara – is archery marshal for Crossroads in 2 weeks. It will be fun!
  • Also at Crossroads – Lorenzo will be hosting a little shindig at the front porch of his pavilion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Laurelling
  • Fall Coronation – there is going to be another scribal challenge, and there will also be a naughty challenge sponsored by the courtesans, with naughty goodies as the prize! And Fame! Glory! (Not much fortune, though)
  • There will also be a middle eastern contest at Coronation

Non-SCA Business

  • Andreva is going to be performing with her vocal ensemble – tickets are $10! Come support her group
  • Makers – starting a woodworking meetup on 9/20 at 7pm in Decatur
  • Mathias – if you went to DragonCon, Viking Alchemist is offering 10% discount in September with your badge
  • Possible special DragonCon brew for next year? Yay!

 
Business meeting is closed; voting for Heart of South Downs and Chivalry awards will now take place.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 2 October 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Events, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

October 2019 Mini-Business Meeting Minutes

23 October 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Captain Brendan de Hay on behalf of Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight’s meeting includes a review (“post-mortem”) of our Red Tower event that took place 4-6 October 2019.

Officer Reports

  • Deputy Chatelaine for Demos (Lady Bú Feiyan)
    • Anyone available for a demo on 31 October? Demo is a Reformation-themed event for students aged 5 through 11 at Providence Classical Christian School in Oxford, GA. Possibly because it takes place on a weekday (and Halloween), there wasn’t much interest.
    • Milton Library, Saturday, 26 October, from 8:30am through 6:00pm.
      • Start talk with “Dream” video.
      • 1-2 hours of talking time slots.
      • Lots of space for dancing, fighting, outdoors (different types of outdoor spaces, so weather may be a factor)
      • Possibly a big indoor room for activities
      • Would love to have hands-on activities for children (possibly calligraphy?)
    • ConjurationCon, 15-17 November, Hilton Atlanta Airport
      • We are invited to take part all three days
      • Two outdoors tables and one indoor table
      • Fighting on Quidditch field all day Friday and Saturday
      • Outdoor space available 2-4 Saturday and 12-2 Sunday
      • Deadline for passes will be at least one week out; if interested to take part, please contact Bu directly

Upcoming Events

  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)(
    • Memorial shoot for Mikael at CW. (Countess Gwenhyfar). Fynlow will run it, but when & where in the schedule? Has to be in daytime, because Meridian rules don’t allow night shoots. Autocrat will contact Countess Gwen. Need volunteers. Shoot and ceremony may be long.
    • Minister of Children: Pavilion was really too cold. THL Juliane says different location AND tarp walls and heaters will be available. However, tarp walls need to be purchased by Barony. Juliane will address… Expect to purchase something we can use for long-term, possibly at other sites too. Juliane will call Ranger John and get measurements on space. Lady Agnes made a long-term suggestion for a collection of children’s cloaks
    • Lady Justina volunteered to be revel coordinator, and is looking for volunteers and ideas. Juliane said the hall is already planned out.
    • We need teachers!
    • Lord Jürgen requested volunteers to help with Troll – he needs a Barony member who has taken the PayPal class to be at Troll at all times.
  • Red Tower (4-6 October 2019)
    • Lady Justina and Lady Isabella, autocrats for Red Tower, thanked all the volunteers. General Approbation from the populace (the autocrats did a great job!) It was agreed that silly-themed Red Towers are memorable.
    • Amanda reminded future autocrats to make sure you print the baronial inventory and re-check on re-pack.
    • Seneschal suggested we need to do an inventory before CW, and do or re-do the lists for each bin
    • The Barony needs hand soap!
    • In the future, we need more volunteers for pack out
    • The autocrats felt that site management was unresponsive. (Fire alarms were chirping.) Site visit was confirmed several times and then still got over-booked. Plumbing issues. Not enough lighting, many existing lights not functioning. No trash cans (we had to buy some). Flooding and broken pumps at main bath house.
    • Site is booked for next year. Alternative sites are being looked at for future years. Deposit is refundable.
    • Need signs on cabin doors.
    • THL Mark suggested a “landcrat” even for the cabin site. Autocrats received complaints about first-come-first-served cabin assignments. Several groups wanted to camp as a group, and wanted to reserve a group site. Mark says it’s not really possible to pre-reserve the map for cabin-only events. Exceptions on a case-by-case basis if there are special circumstances (Bloody Ridge, for example, had an elevation).
    • A better map would be really helpful.
    • Friday evening fighting is likely to be sparse at Red Tower
    • The Marshal in Charge (Lady Mairghread) and Lord Jürgen agreed that they should have marked out bigger spaces for the fighting field. Mark suggested that a site steward would be a good idea (different from landcrat?) General comments were positive, though.
    • Jullianne says We need job descriptions for our jobs… We need to write it up. Her Ex suggests a committee to write individual descriptions, then a project night meeting for input. Count Sebastian recommends that it be a living document (changes between events). Julie and Mark both talking about project shared document.
    • Need more signage to get people into the site (within the park). Mark says we need a policy about how signs are placed. Juliane suggests a project night for MORE SIGNS. Mark says all self-standing (not staked). Someone else suggests that the signs which are black & blue are hard to see.
    • THL Alisandre sent in comments while out of town (in the Midrealm’s scenic Marche of Winged Hills), also suggesting more signs would have been helpful. She and Captain Pietro drove around the park for close to half an hour lost that morning.
    • Signs for all the “standard” building sites (troll, main hall, etc.) should be in baronial colors, but visible. Mark wants to make them more reflective. Money will be an issue. (Isabella suggests that those paints do go on sale.)
    • Mark received email complaints re: spiders and general lack of pre-event cabin cleanliness. Group acknowledged that only so much can be done. Agnes (arachnophobe) volunteered to be the spider hunter.
    • Mark received comments about where court is held at that site – there was no parking or access at court location. Perhaps court at the field where cars are parked? Lucien ointed out that court on the field would lengthen load-out (personal pavilions would be left up later). We seem to be outgrowing the site.
    • Jürgen heard complaints about high event fee ($20). Mark commented that people need to learn that sites are more expensive now than many SCA members remember – this is just something people need to learn. Juliane added that comparisons with other groups who have lower overhead are not fair.
    • Mask sales didn’t work out so well – perhaps sell at or adjacent to troll instead of later in the day? Mark suggested that we could advertise sales more.
    • Countess Gwen reminded us that it WAS a really good event – South Downs people do a great job. Side note: Learn to turn the price complaints into market research. Get them to be specific about feedback—what do they want or are willing to pay for?
    • Merchants were all really happy. One was back after a long absence, one new, very happy.

Other SCA Business

  • Count Sebastiannos and Countess Morgan thanked everyone for all their help during their reign. Morgan then distributed some last minutes kids’ and scribal items.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 November 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

Conjuration 2019

Greetings to everybody we got to meet at Conjuration! Thanks for stopping by to talk arts and watch the fighting.

Check out our “About Us” page to find links to our Facebook groups, other nearby SCA groups, and the Kingdom of Meridies website where you can find your local group wherever you are in Alabama, Georgia, the Florida panhandle, and eastern Tennessee.

We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Announcements, Events, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

June 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

5 June 2019, 7:30pm

Meeting site for June – we’re back at the Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA, 30340

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight, we started with a brief review of the two bids for Castle Wars, and then the populace had the opportunity to vote on their preferred bid. The votes will be counted by His Excellence and the results will be announced at the end of the meeting.

Castle Wars Bids

  • Bid #1: Battle of Agincourt
    • Co-autocrats: Baroness Isabetta de San Marco and Lady Angharat merch Morcant
    • Feastcrat: Countess Thorkatla, offering an above- and below-salt feast
    • Site: Camp Benjamin Hawkins, Byron GA
    • Cost to attend: $25 weekend, $15 daytrip (both with a $5 discount for members); Feast: $15/$8 (above the salt/below the salt)
    • Site tokens will be leather and made by Lady Angharat
  • Bid #2: The War at the End of Time
    • Co-autocrats: Baron Piers Simmons and THL Maire Dhocair inghean Chiarain
    • Feastcrat: Mistress Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragon
    • Site: Camp Benjamin Hawkins, Byron GA
    • Cost to attend: $26 weekend, $13 daytrip (both with a $5 discount for members); Feast: $10

After each presentation, slips of paper were passed around for the populace to vote. A box was provided at the side of the room to put the votes in during the meeting.

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards
      • Kingdom Arts & Sciences (Artsy Crown)
        • Master Wistric Oftun – Order of the Velvet Owl
        • Lady Emmelina le Norreys – Order of the Velvet Owl
        • Emmelina le Norreys – Meridian Arts & Sciences Champion
      • Spring Crown (Artsy Crown)
        • Isabella Parr – Award of Arms (AoA)
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Mairghread announced that her marshal warrant has been renewed for another two years.
    • Lord Brendan has agreed to step up as youth rapier marshal and is undergoing his background check.
    • Black Axe is this weekend and many members of the populace are planning on attending. Mairghread asked if Sunday’s fighter practice should take place, weather permitting. Several people said yes, so stay tuned to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group for the latest updates.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Weather is improving, so practices are more frequent and back at Liane Levetan/Brook Run Park. Practices continue to take place on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, weather and event schedules permitting.
    • There have been anywhere from three to 15 people showing up at any given practice.
    • The park has finally fixed the lights near the practice field – yay!
    • We’ve had several newcomers out for practice – yay!
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • Mistress Mara sez “We’re still doing the PEW PEW PLONK PLONK” (direct quote)
    • Acquiring (more) kids’ loaner gear is becoming a priority, since there’s a lot of kids coming to practice.
    • She does have receipts from the past two years, and once she gets Fynlo to sign off on them, she’ll submit them for reimbursement.
    • This June marks the second anniversary of the live weapons program in South Downs! Yay!
    • At last June’s (first anniversary) practice, the Baronial Live Weapons Championship was held. She suggested that this championship could be held each June as an annual event.
    • Practices for the next several months have been scheduled and are posted on the South Downs and Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Facebook group. Current averages for Royal Rounds and tassels can also be found here.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We had several newcomers come out to Artsy Crown, and several of them came back! yay!
    • With all the newcomers coming to events, Justina realized that we need more summerweight garb available in Gold Key. Chitons are a great option – pretty much one-size-fits-all, and very lightweight. She’ll research cost to purchase fabric to make several chitons; Bú mentioned that Fine Fabrics recently had linen on sale for $3/yd, and Mara mentioned that she has a lot of old bedsheets she acquired a while ago specifically to make chitons. Once she’s finished unpacking and locates the sheets, she’ll donate them to Gold Key.
    • Reminder: we (the Barony) have been invited to present panels at DragonCon this year; this would be a great and fun opportunity for us! If you are interested, please contact Justina or Bú (who will follow up with our contacts at DragonCon about this)
    • Reminder: Mark mentioned that we should try to get involved with some of the events (Lemonade Days, Cherry Blossom Festival, etc.) at the park(s) where we practice to see if we could do demos.
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Alisandre thanked everyone who took or taught classes at Artsy Crown.
    • With the end of the quarter approaching, she will be submitting her report for baronial Arts & Sciences activity for the past three months. Please let her know what projects you have been working on so she can add it to her report.
    • Mark has a friend who is interested in teaching a blacksmithing class, perhaps on making tent stakes. This class would need to be offered on a weekend.
    • This month’s baronial A&S class will be “Introduction to Middle English,” taught by The Honorable Lady Wenyeva atte grene. This class counts as RUM class HIS-2110, toward the Literature HIS requirement, so if you’re working on getting your RUM credits done, you won’t want to miss this. July’s class “A Tour of Online Linen Sources,” will be taught by Lady Alisandre herself.
    • Thanks to the response from the populace, Baronial Arts & Sciences classes are nearly completely scheduled for 2019, but there’s still opportunities to share you knowledge! If you are interested in teaching a class, please fill out the form or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • June’s report has been submitted, and Andreva announced that the baronial bank account has a balance of $9,301.75 right now.
    • With this report, she can move forward with submitting site deposits for upcoming baronial events.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • We need a couple more keys for our storage unit. Ximon offered to meet up with our locksmith, since the locksmith is out in Covington and Ximon works in Conyers. Iazzie offered he can also meet with the locksmith if necessary, as he games with him.
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Added Bú Feiyan as deputy chatelaine for demos
    • Added a link to guided documentation forms to the A&S page
    • Updated Kingdom of Meridies links to the Kingdom of Meridies website.
    • Updated pages for:
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
    • Updated awards for:
      • Mistress Mara Palmer
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri
      • THL Lucien d’Artois
      • THL Maire Dhocair inghean Chiarain
      • THL Mark de Wytteney
      • His Excellency, Master Wistric Oftun
      • Lady Emmelina le Norreys
    • Submitted quarterly report to the kingdom webminister reporting deputy
    • Pietro announced that our website’s domain needs to be renewed with our service provider, GoDaddy. He is working with His Excellency to take care of this, but will need approximately $21 from the reeve to pay for another year.
    • Mark thanked Pietro for all is excellent work as webminister.
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • Lady Melusine and her deputies have been busy, running children’s activities for both days at Artsy Crown. It was a very successful weekend, had lots of kids take part.
      • There were some minor problems at the event, in particular there was little to no signage directing attendees to where the children’s activities were taking place, so it was difficult to find them.
      • There was also a shortage of water available at the children’s activities location.
      • Really important lesson learned: Work with the event autocrat to make sure children’s activities are held in a central, visible location; not only does this make it easy for parents to find the children’s activities, but it also allows the kids to see what’s going on overall at the event.
    • The local groups’ Ministers of Children met with the kingdom MoC to discuss how best to run children’s activities, and how best to respond to the range of ages involved and their range of interests.
    • She is looking for volunteers to teach classes for the kids at events; she is particularly interested in classes that reflect on the event theme and not just busy work.
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Lady Raven is beginning to work on the next issue of the baronial newsletter, The Read Tower and has received a couple of articles.
      • Raven is always looking for more material – articles, photos, artwork, etc., so if you have something you’d like to contribute, please contact Raven directly.
    • Agnes thanked Lady Raven for her work as Chronicler, in particular how enjoyable she makes reading the business meeting minutes.
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Her Excellency mentioned that we had four members of the populace entered pieces at Artsy Crown: Emmelina, THL Veronica da Lucca, Agnes, and Mistress Alessandra. She is particularly pleased to announce that Emmelina received a perfect score for her work! yay!
    • They were glad to host a first-time baronial Memorial Day cookout at baronial homestead 🙂 and it was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who was able to come out.
    • They also thanked everyone who helped out with Carver, the Baronial Bebbeh, at Artsy Crown. As His Excellency’s folks are moving to the barony
    • They also announced that the baronial champions will be chosen at Red Tower.

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Lady Justina and Lady Isabella Parr will co-autocrat, with an event theme of Labyrinth: The Return of the Goblin King.
    • Hard Labor Creek State Park has already been booked for the event.
    • We have been planning things and are very new at autocratting, so we will need a lot of help with this. We need volunteers! Will post volunteer positions online in the near future.
    • Attendees will be divided into two teams: followers of the Goblin King and those protecting the Baronial Bebbeh.
    • Would love suggestions for Labyrinthine things to do at the event.
    • Iazzie is interested in having fighters help for the Friday night Labyrinth; he’ll need four fighters (at least) who can commit to being at the event Friday night and play Labyrinth gods. Suggestion: can HRM play the Goblin King?
    • The nastycrat (the person responsible for keeping the portapotties in good condition) will have a special princely title.
    • Mara has three to four novelty shoots planned, but is open to additional ideas.
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • His Excellency, having counted all the ballots, announced the winning bid: THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT! YAY!
    • Mark thanked both bid teams and said it’s always great to have multiple bids for an event, so let’s get started to get a great event going together!
  • Midwinter Arts &Sciences 1 February 2020)
    • It’s still a little early, but no bids have yet been received.
    • We don’t have a site yet, it will be proposed as part of the bid.
    • Given the way classes are taught, it will be important to have a site with easily accessible electricity and projectors.
    • Iazzie is interested in directing a short play that would be presented just before court.

Other SCA Business

  • Mark reminded the populace that the barony is required, per kingdom law, to submit a bid for a kingdom-level event each year. If you’re interested in autocratting, please feel free to contact someone who’s already done the job to see what you might be interested in taking on.
    • As we make our way through our own baronial event bids, it was noted that event sites for Midwinter would also work well for RUM, so we could submit a bid for RUM based on the info we’d develop for Midwinter.
    • We only need to *submit* a bid each year – it doesn’t have to be a winning bid to fulfill the requirement – but we would be very likely to win a bid we submit so the bid needs to be seriously developed.
    • Here is an unofficial list of kingdom-level events (pulled from the kingdom website):
      • Meridian Challenge of Arms (February)
      • Spring Coronation (April)
      • Artsy Crown (Memorial Day weekend)
      • Royal University of Meridies (RUM) (July)
      • Meridian Grand Tournament (September)
      • Fall Coronation (October)
      • Fall Crown List (November)
  • His Excellency asked “who is going to Pennsic?” and reminded the populace that online paid registration ends 19 June.
  • Black Axe is this weekend! Marianna is cooking feast and there are still feast spots left!
    • Mark can’t make it, so he would like those attending to let him know about anything important that might happen
    • Nine Lives Fundraiser will take place at Black Axe
  • DragonCon
    • Duke John is not sure he’ll be able to attend DragonCon this year due to ongoing health issues, but he can guarantee that the chariot will be there.
    • Justina reminded the populace that this year, we have access to a room where we can host panels and more importantly, get on the schedule. This will allow us much better visibility as well as a way to present all the info we want. We really should take advantage of this opportunity.
    • Master Lorenzo has volunteered to serve as default coordinator unless/until someone steps up
  • Master Mathias and Mistress Mara will be headed to Scarlet Guard in Aethelmarc and will be representing the Barony.
  • Reminder: Maire announced that this year’s Knowne World Costume and Fiber Arts Symposium will take place this June at the University of West Georgia. She is serving as class coordinator, and there are still spaces available to teach. Baronessa Isabetta is serving as troll coordinator, and they both encouraged anyone who could to volunteer.
    • Master Ximon is serving as event coachman, coordinating rides to and from the airport.
    • Mistress Margavati will be co-hosting a non-European salon on the second-floor landing of Pafford Hall (the main building where the classes will be held). Books, ideas, snacks, and hangout space will be provided, so if you want to come talk about things that are outside of Europe in period, stop by!

Non-SCA Business

  • Lorenzo has lots of moving boxes and materials in his truck, free for the the taking!
  • Mairghread mentioned that Lord Guillaume Sinclair of Thor’s Mountain and known to many in the barony has been diagnosed with cancer and has undergone surgery. He is home now and recovering – everything is so far, so good.
  • Andreva’s choir is hosting a fundraiser cabaret at the Northside Drive Baptist Church next weekend – broadway music, desserts, and coffee will be featured. For more information, please contact her directly.

 
Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 July 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven