SC - Decline in members signing up for feast.... Opinions?

[LYN M PARKINSON]

A few things to think about, to see IF they might be relevant to your
area:

1.  Is your Kingdom used to sit-down feasts in a hall?  I've heard that
there are few halls available out in the Western kingdoms, and the
weather is good, so there are lots of pot lucks in parks.


2.  Feast costs.  This last week-end I paid a $7.00 site fee, because a
kingdom event is, by law, a money raiser.  You also have to consider
amount/ quality of food per cost.  Do you need to write your kingdom
newsletter a good article on economical feast shopping to help out
smaller shires/newer cooks?


3.  Travel time from event to home: can people get home and avoid hotel
costs/camping set-ups/unavailable crash space if they leave before the
feast?  And remember, as the SCA goes on, more and more members have kids
to get home and put to bed.


4.  Are you having court?  Are your Royals boring/soft-spoken/lengthy? 
Lots of people avoid Court.


5.  Have they had Platina's sauces and Chiquart's chicken until it's
coming out their ears?  What's the WOW! factor of your feasts?  (Include
the 'magic' quotient, as Anne-Marie writes so well about: candles, music,
serving, etc.)


6.  The Hall:  Space:  Do you have enough, without crowding, as the
events get larger?  Can large groups get to sit together?   Temperature
and weather:  Are your feasters too cold/hot/wet/dry etc.?


At this past week-end's AEthelmearch Crown Tourney, there were lots of
people who signed up for off-board, but when it came down to actually
feasting, there were only a few of us: the others had gone home.  Some
were old and tired, some had babies and smalls, some had 4-8 hour drives,
the hall was cold even with a good fire going, the day had been cold and
rainy and tiring.  The feast had a Laurel cooking from period sources and
people said the food was very good, although it wasn't 'new and
different' in my opinion.  I didn't get to send in my reservations in
time for them to set stuff aside before peppering it, so I didn't get to
taste, although I helped in the kitchen a bit.  It was a nice hall--a
camp lodge with high rafters from which banners were hung, the big
fireplace, lots of candles, beautiful autumn mountain scenery with which
the weather did not co-operate.   Nobody interviewed the ones who didn't
stay; I'm sure there were quite a variety of reasons.


I sat, off-board, with some people who had brought cloths, candlabra,
silver serving dishes, home-made bread, soup, rotisseried chicken, peach
pie, and all sorts of other goodies.  Mae's 'subtletie' was a completly
feathered pheasant with a wire to hold it in shape, sitting in a silver
epergne with a fresh parsley 'nest'.  She would lift the tail feathers,
and from the cavity withdraw a can of Spam to show you!  Very elegant to
look at, and clever humor.  They felt their own food was as good or
better than a regular feast.  We enjoyed sharing the things we'd brought
and having more time to chat than waving to each other at Pennsic.

Regards,

Allison
allilyn at juno.com, Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands, Pittsburgh, PA
Kingdom of Aethelmearc

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