SC - CookCon

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

"Laura C. Minnick" wrote:
> 
> I fall in the 'other' category- I don't do
> contests or competitions (except for SLUG Queen but that's different)
> for a variety or reasons- and I've found that even at the supposed
> 'non-comp' things like a Laurel's Tourney there's that subtle
> undercurrent... How many kudos did _you_ get? Beads? ribbons? etc....

I got a little bitty scroll the size of a postcard, but I've always had
similar feelings about competitions in the SCA. Life for me is full of
competition; I don't need to spend my weekends that way, and as far as I
can tell, I'm at least as harsh a judge on myself as I've ever
encountered in the SCA. I've been in two competitions, one because a
bunch of people, essentially, made me do it to address speculative
rumors as to why I never competed (garnering the only, as far as I know,
to date, perfect score in this particular event's history -- the little
scroll is lovely, but I don't look at it every day and say, "Yeah, I
won!!!"). The other time I competed was when a friend and I entered a
joint project we'd worked on together. We won a prize (actually, I think
I currently have the prize) but again, it wasn't a huge deal. 

> Yup- I'm currently suffering with some really Badass Bad Attitude
> Monsters. Grump grump.

Sounds like it. But I'm glad to hear you say the words, if you know what
I mean. Can't solve problems without naming them, I suppose. And I think
there is a solution to this one. What we're going to be doing this
weekend is a Laurel's Prize Tourney without the tourney. A sort of [Arts
and] Science Fair, or maybe a professional trade show for researchers
and craftspeople. Yes, the Laurels will be going around making nice and
giving out little trinkets to those artists they are impressed with, but
they'll also be talking a great deal with the exhibitors, writing a lot
in Little Black Books, hooking up people with other people, and doing a
fair amount of not only well-deserved, but also very necessary
ego-bolstering in an area that doesn't always receive much attention
from the Royalty in the Great White North (roughly 50% of the reigns for
the past three years or so have been the same king, and he doesn't tend
to travel south of Connecticut much). Morale has been low, and a lot of
the groups aren't acting like they belong to a kingdom or any other
larger political or cultural identity; this is one of the problems I'm
hoping this move will help with.  
 
> You know what I'd like to do though? Someday, sponsor a camping area at
> a tourney- kinda like Enchanted Ground but a little different. Something
> where the idea is to get out, display, and use your best stuff. Show
> off. Hey, you know, I have been known to grab people off the road to
> show them my new bed/feed them a tartlette/show off my writing desk. Can
> you imagine an encampment where you could wander through, visit friends,
> get to see their winter projects, and have the scene _look_ medieval?
> Geez- almost like I thought the SCA was about when I first got in?
> (Oops- the Monsters are showing again...)

Sounds like fun. Also sounds like what you'd most need to actually do
this is a bunch of like-minded buds.
> 
> Your Kingdom is not stuffy, Master A. It just takes itself a little too
> seriously sometimes. But too many of us run to the other extreme I
> think. (Though I shouldn't talk- last two events I went in a sarong, the
> 'dingle-ball bra', with a pile of fruit on my head. Had fun cracking up
> TRM's and hassling the Baron 3M with a turnip, a parsnip, and an
> obscenely-shaped rutabega. It was great fun.)

Well, we do have our moments. One of Ostgardr's oldest annual events is
Celtic Silliness; that can be quite surrealistic. A recent one featured
a tourney which included a cattle raid: we had a prominent local count
dressed in a list-legal cow costume; he was the Brown Bull of Cualgne.  
 
> Have a good time and be sure to tell us all about it! And not just what
> Kael's kitchen looks like!

I'll be sure and do that. I have high hopes for this to be a lot of fun
and a valuable experience for many.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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