Today's Photo Portion - And now! The Pennsic 37 Album!


Most of the photos are mine, but a few have been repeated from the photo albums of Avenel, Oliver, Kolfinna, and Lorissa (with credits and links to their collections). Photos by Kara and Caius were emailed to me, and credited in my photo album. And there a few photos from out-of-kingdom, credited to Liam St. Liam, Skorri Einarsson, Alaxandr MacLochloinn, and my dear friend Ianuk Raventhorne.

The Pennsic Stories - This is THE largest camping event in the entire SCA. It's officially 2-weeks long, but many people attend for just the 2nd week (like yours truly). My friend Bill has been going for years, and he arranged our flights from CA to PA, plus our rides to and from the camping site and the Pittsburgh airport. When I entered the competition for Kingdom Bard in January, I had two major goals: Travel to as many outlying groups as possible, ideally each geographic branch in the kingdom and Go to Pennsic with the King and Queen.

We flew out oh-goodness-gracious early-dark-thirty, and arrived in the afternoon, PA time. I slept most of the way on both flights (we had a connecting flight in Vegas), which reset my internal clock from day one. The campsite was well laid out, so it was easy enough for me to figure out where to put my tent and rain/sun-shade. I've never actually set up every piece of my equipment alone, and I managed to figure out how to tighten the roof of the sunshade by myself, so go me! My pup-tent fits neatly under my dayshade, so with the walls to obscure the tent and the roof and walls to manage the (likely) rain, I knew I was set.

I was fully setup and dressed by nightfall, which was a huge blessing, and then I could just hang out and enjoy the evening with friends. My final text message that evening reads, "Camp is setup, now enjoying lightning and lightning bugs." I sometimes forget what the weather and the world was like, growing up in Akron, OH. Lightning storms are *so* beautiful, and lightning bugs are the quintessential memory of my childhood. *contented sigh*

My first full day on site included a couple of runs through merchants, shading the Queen with my parasol. I saw almost nothing while concentrating on keeping Her in the shade, but I went back later to see the sights on my own. One of the perils of having been in the SCA so long (or is that a blessing rather than a peril?) is that I've become a shopping snob. I know exactly what I like, (what I can afford), and I'm really only interested in merchants with uniquely historical items that fit my interests. But still, the shopping was nice. Maybe not as =astonishing= as I've heard in the stories and reports from Pennsic, but nice.

We sat around the campfire in the evening Saturday, singing songs and telling stories. We got a little bit silly, writing new/joke lyrics to some of my compositions -- by the end of the event, we joked that it wasn't really a song written by me, if we hadn't written a joke verse where Kolfinna could just sing "Drink!" as one of the lines. You can imagine how silly we got with "Fight for Caid" when it turned into "Drink for Caid." And we weren't really drinking all that much, barely anyone had even so much as one or two beers or other equivalent drinks. It really just was filled with good-natured fun and camaraderie.

Opening Ceremonies - My text message summary for Sunday was a simple, "Opening ceremonies: Caid marching and singing to the envy of other royals *grin*" remark. My photos start here. In fact, pages 1-4, through photo # _067 are all from the beginning of the trip.

We lined up near the Kingdom of the Middle, and then marched out to the main fighting field. We sang on the way over to the staging area, we sang while waiting in line, and we sang all the way out to the field. We were lined up next to Ansteorra (mostly Texas) in the staging area, and three peers stopped to ask my name, introduce themselves, and compliment all our music. After I introduced myself as the Current Bard of the Kingdom, one gentleman actually bowed his head and said, "Hi, um, I'm embarrassed to introduce myself, because I'm the Premier Bard of Ansteorra." It seems he was embarrassed because he didn't have a Kingdom marching song as nice as ours, and now he was good-naturedly jealous. And one lady took a beaded hand-made wire pin off her outfit, and gave it to me as a gift, for her love of our music. *beaming smile* Wow. And my hat is off to all my friends who sang along with me, especially Disa, Kara, Feia, Nonne, and Trianna, and everyone who sang with me.

I also ran into Posadnitsa Ianuk Raventhorne, after Opening Ceremonies. I first met Ianuk at KWHSS in Caid, where her best friend Cecilia was wearing painted dresses. Inspired, I painted this dress. Then Ianuk and I both went to the Griffin Dyeworks Fiber Retreat, and I was able to tell her about my dress. At Pennsic, Ianuk took this photo to show Cecilia what she's inspired others to do!

My Week at Pennsic - The rest of the week followed a similar pattern. The way I summed it up on Wednesday, "My Pennsic day, wake 6, coffee bar til 10, sing for muster, A&S classes, dinner, friends, shower, sleep at midnight or 1." It was amazing. I'd wake early, straighten my hair after sleeping on it wet (and clean), re-braid in the extensions, get dressed, and be out at the Royal Camp kitchen by 7 am. I'd put on the coffee and hot water, and entertain folks over hot drinks as they stumbled out in pajamas and tunics. Mathius would have breakfast served within the hour, and everyone would eat at their own pace.

By 9 am, folks were getting dressed, getting their armor on, weapons fixed, and wagons loaded. I'd sit around the courtyard (looking a little bit like this most mornings), singing marching songs and other inspirational music until everyone was ready to march on the field. I'd sing like a drill sergeant, with call-and-response songs, as we marched two dozen armored fighters and a support staff of another half dozen, out across the green. Most days, fighters from other kingdoms and units would fall in with us, learning to sing our songs, and getting to meet our folks. It's always a matter of "hurry up and wait" once you get on the field, so we'd fill the time with song, chatter, and companionship until it was time to "go to war."

After singing the fighters to the field, I'd head back to camp, clean around the kitchen and coffee bar, make sure everything was in order for lunch later, and head off to class. I took several classes while there: Some music, some general arts, some on research techniques. All of it was fantastic, and even if the course material didn't teach me something directly, I had several research epiphanies from the experience. I met some musicians and leaders I'd been hoping to meet, and made a few friends.

Monday afternoon, I spent my time in the main food court area, composing a new fighter song. That afternoon and evening, most of the Royal Camp helped me test the song, refine some lyrics, and fully memorize the piece so we could have something new for the field the next day. So far, I've only managed to upload the lyrics to my new song, The Queen's March, but I'll work on a recording and sheet music soon. And Monday night I went out with Cassandra and Reymund, meeting their friends, and having a fantastic time seeing Pennsic at night.

Tuesday there was a Champions Rapier list, and Oliver won his point. We had rain twice, in short bursts, but mostly the weather obeyed Lorissa when she shouted "Seriously!?" at the sky, and it would stop raining. I was bone tired by evening, and Ceridwen, Samara, and I went offsite to do laundry.

Early in the morning (the 4 am hour) on Wednesday, the rain started again. I woke and Lorissa joined me in the rain, closing up the Royal Camp, pulling wagons of weapons into the tent and latching all the walls to keep the rain out. It tapered off after we were done, of course.

Wednesday night is "Midnight Madness" in the Merchants. Before we went out for the evening, many of us were showering, putting on prettier clothing, and having hair re-braided around camp. To pass the afternoon, Nonne got out her violin, Disa her recorder, and I my drum. And "the magic happened" around camp. The ladies played music for us, for nearly an hour. I only played along on a few songs, and the rest of the time, I just listened and watched them shine. It was other-worldly, it was so pretty.

After dinner, a large group of us went together for ice cream (and lots of in jokes about Moose!), then decorated ourselves with glow-sticks (I know, not very medieval, but very silly and very fun), and went out walking together for more night-time fun. By the end of the evening we were playing silly games that involved speaking in the 3rd person, and a few of us snuck off for coffee at one point.

Thursday was my 5th day singing the fighters to the field, and attending classes in the afternoon. I also spent some time hanging out with some of the Caidans who worked as merchants, and sang them some of our songs. They have to remain with their merchant booths all day and all night, so I like being able to bring some of my experiences to them, if they're interested.

By Friday, I finally found the limit of my voice. I've always wondered how long it would take to tire out my singing voice. Apparently the answer is "Six days of singing 2-3 hours in the morning, and then at least another 1-2 hours in the evening." Now you might think that doesn't sound like a lot, but when I say I "sang the fighters to the field" that means I sang in my biggest Broadway musical voice, top of my lungs, *WHILE* marching quickly across a field. I've never worn out my voice before, whether acting as a herald all day on the field at a tournament, or shouting camp announcements for a 2-3 day weekend event. But 6 days of singing and full-voice work, and I finally had just a raw edge to my voice. Good to know. And hey look, I should "rest on the seventh day." (giggle)

On the field on Friday, we had court and awards. Around 15 fighters were given the Corde du Guerre, including 2 of our rapier fighters. Nonne was awarded a Harp Argent for Musical Performance, Asa Ironjaw was given a Crescent Sword, and both Mathius and Reymund were elevated to the Gauntlet of Caid. It was quite moving to see Their Majesties give war awards on the war field, and just as much fun to arrange to time for Their Majesties give Oliver and Avenel their Corde's before they took off for the Rapier Woods Battle.

Closing Ceremonies were on Friday. Ianuk and I ran into each other one last time. We gathered on the field before marching over to the barn, where we continued a fine tradition of singing to pass the time. And after we marched in singing "Fight for Caid..." our King joked to the grand assembly, "I hope we've left you with a song in your heart." We heard people singing OUR kingdom's fight song, on the field, in merchants, and all around camp. It was astonishing. And the King of the Middle joked right back, "...even if we are singing other kingdom's songs now." There's nothing quite like that.

I had a brief terrifying moment, when I thought I'd lost my camera's memory card, the first one gig of photos. I was in tears. But it turns out that one of our own folks had found it on the grass at the staging point before we marched in to the closing ceremonies, and all was well. Eep! I really need to make a secure drawstring bag for all my camera accessories. That's happened once before, and I never want it to happen again.

My final text message summary was, "Last words on Pennsic ("seriously"): Wow. Every year." I finally get why some people go out of their way to go to Pennsic every year. It was amazing. From the size, the numbers, the classes, the fighting, the scenery, the evenings, the shopping, and even the weather: It's an experience worth having. And if I could, I would never miss another one. I thought this was a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip. I hope it's not my only time there.

Clean-up and Tear Down was on Saturday, but Bill and I had to fly out of there early in the morning. So I broke down my things while everyone else was off having breakfast, and I didn't really get to say goodbye. But we had an uneventful trip to the airport, flight home, (lots of sleeping on the plane), trip back to Bill's to get the rest of my things, and trip home to my place. It took a good 3-4 days to really get caught up on sleep and feel like I was home again. And it was 2 weeks until I got my boxes from the Pennsic truck after it returned. And I *still* have laundry to finish tomorrow morning. But I'm home, the photos are up, and I'm done with this tale for now.

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Finished Objects: My Pennsic journal entry and my photo album (that's 681 photos)!

Today's Blessing That I'm Thankful For: The folks who contributed to my photo album: Avenel, Oliver, Kolfinna, Lorissa, Kara, and Caius; plus photos from out-of-kingdom from Liam St. Liam, Skorri Einarsson, Alaxandr MacLochloinn, and my dear friend Ianuk Raventhorne, Baroness in Barony of Tir Ysgithr, Atenveldt