[Steppes] An informal poll and February Populace

[Constance Elizabeth Campbell]

Greetings unto my friends from your hostess of Steppes February Populace:

First off,  here is information on the location that I sent out last week
(yes, Faelan lives here too.  *grin*) :

My Lord Husband and I are honored to host the February Steppes Populace
Revel in our new home on February 23.  Please feel free to bring a dish to
share.  Our address is 8920 Yosemite Trail, Crossroads, TX 76227.  If you
get lost please call 214-257-8174 or 972-979-8642 (Constance's Cell phone).

Below is a link to the Mapquest page to our development (Cross Oak Ranch).
Those who are attending the brewing classes, this is the same place where
classes are held. :)

Once you enter the development follow Cross Oak Ranch Blvd to Liberty (there
will be a sign that says "Future Home of Denton ISD").  Turn Left on Liberty
and follow it to Yosemite Trail (it is the next to the last road with houses
on it) and turn left.  Our house is 8920 (on the Right side of the road) and
we are the 3rd house before Round Up Street.  We'll have signs out directing
you to us.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=&city=Aubrey&state=TX&zipcode=76227%2d2212&country=US&geodiff=1


Note to those with allergies, we have two indoor cats.  We have some extra
chairs, but please feel free to bring your own to help with seating.  We
have plenty of space.

Faelan says that if the discussion on the Warlord site gets too heated,
he'll have the erik set up and armor ready out in our back yard for those
who would like to "duke it out."  :-)

Next onto pros and cons of Canton:

Disclaimer:  Warlord 2006 was the first Warlord I've attended, granted we
lucked out with beautiful weather, and I think the stewards did a great job
coordinating it (Thanks Robin and Serena, and the rest of the team!).  So, I
have nothing to compare it to.  I have been to Canton for two events
(Coronation and Warlord) and Hawkins for two events, including Three Kings
2005.  My comments are coming only from what I've experienced.

Please note that whatever is decided, not everyone is going to be happy.
This comes with growing paines.  My request is this:  Please keep an
open mind with people's ideas and please don't shoot them down at the first
suggestion of doing something different.  I've heard a lot of negative
comments when it comes to changing sites (not just for Warlord, but for
other events too) comments like: "We can't use this site for this reason, or
we can't do this at this site, so it just won't work."  Why can't we just
try and give it a chance.  Who knows, it might just work, and people might
even have a good time.

Mundaneness:
Yes, I believe that Canton is extremely mundane, inside and out, but I
honestly think you're going to get this at 90% of the sites, but we can
always get around it in some form or another.  Look at the decorations at
12th Night (Thanks AnneMarie/Viviane and Deb for your hard work!).  We were
told you can't get away from the ugliness and accoustics of the stage.  I
think it worked well.  Of course comparing these two events is like
comparing apples and grapes. They're two different animals, but I'm just
making an example.

Equestrian/Archery:
I missed the Equestrian and Archery competitions at Warlord last year.  So,
I can't comment on location effectiveness at Canton, because I honestly
don't know where those were held.

In regards to the Hawkins site in 2005, I helped out with the EQ event at
that Three Kings.  I remember they split an area down by the lake in half,
one part by the sand volleyball for the EQ and the other area for archery.
Would the entire lenght be long enough for archery if we were to do archery
on one day and EQ on the other?  Just a thought.

Showers:
My lord and I were going to camp, last year at Warlord, but at the last
minute, decided to stay in a hotel (for A/C and hot shower).  It was my
understanding at Canton that shower facilities were very limited, and if you
weren't the first to get one, you were stuck with cold water.  So that would
be a big time Con for both sites with lack of shower, or hot water.  I heard
someone mention about building portable showers, these could be a long term
investment for the Barony..  I know Faelan was recently looking into an idea
for a "bath house" with on demand hot water that is run on propane and
batteries.  He can point out the particulars, but when broken down he
basically said that the size would be about that of a cooler,
large depending on how many we wanted to get.

Idea:
What if we all worked together somehow to tackle the mundaneness/or other
issues of a site.  Warlord is a Steppes event, and in my eyes Steppes
includes it's Cantons/Shires and households..  What if each group stepped up
and said "OK, we'll be responsible for decorating the hall or addressing
this issue and work with what we've got."  The mundane stuff can be covered
with cloth or something...We could make walls, and an entrance to camp (Look
at how Clan Falcon Rose has their camps set up sometime.  My lord made a
really cool gated entrance to our camp for an event we had in Japan, and it
added so much to the atmosphere, and at times you can't get more mundane
than on a military base.  I can show pictures if anyone wants to see).
Please note, these are just ideas and I am not trying to volunteer anybody
or any group for anything.  I'm just saying that instead of complaining, we
should take a proactive approach.

I have some more ideas, but I need to get them organized, before putting
them out on the list.  I'm sorry this took so much bandwith, I'm really
enjoying this conversation and I think it will be very productive as we move
forward.

Regards,

Constance