[Ravensfort] AAA event stories?

Tue Jul 13 20:03:53 PDT 2004

It will be a long time before I forget the image of one particular child
on a go-cart, being surrounded by golf carts and getting "talked" to by
you and others.  :-)

Isobail

-----Original Message-----
From: ravensfort-bounces+isobail=ev1.net at ansteorra.org
[mailto:ravensfort-bounces+isobail=ev1.net at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of
Kief av Kiersted
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 2:40 AM
To: The Barony of Ravensfort
Subject: RE: [Ravensfort] AAA event stories?

Heilsa all...

AAA was a fairly unique experience for me... I spent the vast majority
of my time attached to a radio and golf cart... I did not get to fight,
shop, dance, see the A&S display, barely see the History display, do any
Bardcraft...but...I did sponsor an archer, Morganna Blackmer, in the
Nobles Archery Shoot...that was a fun experience. 

I did get to see the Ansteorran culture in a different light...as a
close, but fleeting, observer...

Arriving on-site Wednesday afternoon fairly late in the day...we started
to set up our camp... I staked out the boundaries of the Security /
Raven's Fort / Kiersted encampment, Sir Badon's encampment, and
eventually the Marshal's encampment and the Raven's Fort pavilion site
by the Field of Heroes... Sometime later we were issued our radios and
carts and got to work. Thursday morning we attended a Staff meeting in
the Great Hall and got a final overview of what was to be our life for
the next four days... Many folks arrived early to set up their assigned
areas for the various activities...and then the populace of our Kingdom
started arriving Thursday midday...and boy howdy did they arrive...
Hundreds were camped by Thursday evening... Big camps...small
camps...large tents and tiny... Very early period to quite late period
tents... "Barbarians" to "Nobility"... Every kind of tent to be
imagined...beautiful period constructs...Viking and "Celtic" to the High
Middle ages...to late period Renaissance...with all the accouterments...
A lot of modern tents some with modifications to assist them to "look
period" and some just tarp "lean to's" to toss a sleeping bag
under...plenty of RV's and some vehicles and trailers that were quite
nicely "disguised" with covers and even tents... There were single folks
camping where they could...and large Households with barrier walls and
decked out common areas... And Flags, Banners, hangings and
pennants...lots of color and display... Shields and armor
stands...weapons and chests...tables, chairs, benches, fire
containers...torches...lamps and lanterns... And A/C units and
fans...*LoL*...it was quite warm at times... Merchants galore...with
beautiful wares...and the Storm Cellar Tavern that continued on even
through the adversity of losing a trailer wheel during the trip south
from Namron...many folks from the north stopped and carried pieces and
parts of the gear in their personal vehicle...good food and drink for
the people of Ansteorra... Families with kids scattered all over the
site...and man wee some of those kiddos a real pain for Security and the
Stewards...*LoL*... Horse trailers...U-Hauls...enclosed and flatbed
trailers...single axle and dual and triple axle trailers... Little bitty
cars and crew cab "duallys"... By Saturday midday there were over
**1,500** Ansteorrans and traveling guests signed in through the
gate...and that, good neighbors, is a lot of people for a July event in
Texas and Oklahoma...

Period pavilions by the Tournament Fields...torchlight tournaments
lasting well into the wee hours of morning...dancing of many kinds...
Revels and wakes... Several Courts...the giving of Awards well earned
and, oft times, received with tears of joy and disbelief... Master
Modius being named the newest Lion of Ansteorra...with tears streaming
down his cheeks... The reading of the Rolls of the Honored
Dead...including Fredrick, one of Duke Kein's squires recently killed in
the line of duty in Iraq... I, like many others, cried tears of pride,
grief, and frustration over our many losses of friends and family over
the years... 

The Chefs and Kitchen Crewe laboring away among burners, smokers, and
motors...under a canopy under the hot sun...all day long... The
Chirugeons answering every call anytime of the day and night to give
help and aid where needed... The waterbearers making sure that everyone
at every outdoor activity had water, pickles, oranges, and other liquids
to drink... Horses and riders...the smells and sounds of the paddock...
Society history being made with the first ever Joust...here..at *our*
25th Anniversary Celebration... Armored combatants...Rapier
combatants... Archers and Crossbow shooters, Thrown weapons
competitions, Bardcraft, and eversomuch more...

Fireworks...!...a beautiful display, custom designed for us, that lasted
more than 20 minutes...wonderful colors...thunderous reports of the
aerial bombs...the Kingdom achievement in colored burning lights...and
then the final "cannonade" of bombs and bursts that set every car alarm
within miles to sounding...dogs to barking...horses to
whinnying...*LoL*...neighbors to complaining... And causing many to
state that they had never seen such a glorious display of fireworks
*anywhere*...

The Hafla and the Revels...the Renaissance Dance...the Balls... The late
night "campfire" talks and bardic circles... The Swimming Pools and
floating "jello shots"... The tales told, memories shared, and lies
swapped....... Tales of love and hate...pain and joy shared...things
bittersweet and sad and joyous... Stories of the past and plans for the
future... Life shared...food and libation shared... Pride of being
Ansteorran shared...

The Food...the feast for **500**...fabulous. The Mead...the Ale...the
Beer...the many many many bottles of "good things" that were passed
around... Steaks grilled...stews made...breads... Breakfast, Lunch,
Supper...and Midnight raids on the food... Trips to Wal-Mart...and the
Dairy Palace... Sno-cones being made with Peach Brandy.... The
Cordials...the coolers and ice chests full of the brewers art...and soon
emptied I might add...

Emergency runs in the night...leading EMS into the campgrounds on the
golf cart...carrying injured folks back to camp...assisting those too
drunk to stand to recover their senses... Chasing down
intruders...Trailriders from the outside galloping through the
campgrounds...kids on go-carts...Policemen assisting in "corralling" the
interlopers... Gate crashers...firecrackers thrown into camps and the
tavern... Dealing with frayed tempers and frayed nerves... Lost
parents...lost children...dogs and cats...horses, parrots, and
hawks...and more...eversomuch more...

The sights, sounds, smells, the heat of the sun...the sound of distant
thunder... The cool breezes at night...sometimes the buzz of
mosquitoes... The feel of sand between the toes...grit in the
air...dust... Humidity...the rustle of the leaves as the winds blew...
Blue skies and white clouds... The shimmer of light on steel...banners
snapping in the winds... Crickets and cicadas chirping and a-hum in the
night... The touch of hand clasp in hand...comrades in arms... The taste
of your Lady's or Lord's lips at day's end...smiles shared in the
night... The cry of babies...the shouts of children at play... The clash
of arms and the exclamations of victory and dismay at defeat... The
pounding of horses hooves...the twang of bowstrings... Seeing old
friends for the first time in years...and the making of new acquaintance
and new friendships...

Music from period instruments echoing in the Hall...and drifting through
the encampments... Bards and Skalds and Troubadours... The clink of coin
and mail...the clank of armor...the distant shimmer of light on coronets
and crowns...

What it means to be **Ansteorran**...was in the air...like the smell of
good food wafting on the breeze...the tinkle of laughter...the sight of
armored men and women vying for Honor on the field of combat... The
sight of Pelicans, with beaks and webbed feet, and the "great egg"
hatching a new Pelican...

These things and more did I see and witness... I cannot find the words
to tell all here and now... Find me at a fire some where and ply me with
drink...*LoL*...and surely I will tell you tales and stories of those
things I remember about our Kingdom's 25 Year Celebration...

I am proud to be a part of Raven's Fort, proud to have served at
Ansteorra's 25th Year Celebration, and very proud to be Ansteorran...

Your good neighbor...

=====
Wæs Þu Hæl in FriÞ through TroÞ
Kief
"Better the Hammer than the nail..."
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