Authenticity, philosophy, and advocacy (was Re: SC - questions)

[david friedman]

At 2:12 PM -0600 6/15/00, UnruhBays, Melanie A wrote:

>  My reasoning is that, with the smaller size of the feast, I
>might want to use foods and recipes that are more expensive to make. The
>chance to provide a real spectacle, a creative license. If people expect an
>"over-the-top" feast, I'd like to have the $$ to provide them with something
>*really* spiffy.

You could do that, of course, but note that you are now talking about 
an especially fancy feast, not an especially authentic feast. People 
in the SCA often confuse the two issues, and end up arguing that they 
can't afford to be authentic when what they mean is that they can't 
afford to be fancy.

>Also, my figures include site fees. Often, too, in our Barony, the smaller
>sites cost more per person than the larger ones. A large site that seats 450
>may cost $750, or under $2 per person. But the smaller church that we used
>last year that seated 50 was $250, or $5 per person.

Fair enough. Although if the feast gets small enough, you may have a 
member with a large enough room or collection of connected rooms or 
(weather permitting) back yard to put it on.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/