If you are not part of the Society for Creative Anachronism, there will be a lot of terminology in this post that may be confusing. Head over to the SCA official website to learn more!
The November event in the SCA is my anniversary event for so many things. On November 5th, 2016, I attended my first event in Montengarde (Calgary) where I watched my now Laurel, be elevated to the order. They were one of the first people I met in the SCA, when I walked into a cooking night and listened to them talking about mummies. (The mummy focus has continued, much to my delight). So this past weekend, was Feast of the Hare, the major event for the Canton of Caldritihig. This particular event has so much more meaning for me, since it is the first event where I was event steward, in 2023, right after I moved to the Kingdom of Ealdormere.
I will start at the beginning and see if I can remember and include all the amazing things that occured that day.
We arrived to the site early, since my spouse was setting up to run a rapier tournament after the Baronial Rapier Tournament took place. I had been preparing to compete in the Baronial Arts & Sciences Competition with my reliquary purses entry. The theme for the event was "The Five Senses" and my primary focus was the sensation of touch, with multiple different textures and fibres for everyone to experience.
Most of the day, however, was spent doing Turkish Coffee Readings. By the time my display was up, I had ten people set to have their fortunes read in the delicious grounds of coffee. While I was making the coffee and everyone was enjoying it, we discussed our medieval personas. One of the coolest experiences I had with this was Master Rigel's persona, I learned so much and was blessed to be able to do their reading in their persona. It was a lovely experience and was a high point in the day. For those that enjoyed the cookies I made, these are the links to the recipes I used, for the Almond Flour Cookies and the Rice Flour Cookies. One of my guests took a picture of me in my new garb, one hand on my ibrik while I was waiting for the coffee to boil.
After my readings were done and Sebastian had won his rapier championship, a truly wonderful moment took place. In the Society, we have mentorship relationships when we have a particular area we want to focus on. My Laurel, Monna Caterina di Alessandro di Guglielmo Franceschi is my mentor in Arts and Sciences. They are my supporter, cheerleader, and a resource as I create art and study the sciences. They were the first to support me on my coffee journey. In late 2023, I reached out to the community looking for a mentor in the art of service within the SCA. I keep receiving service awards and I discovered that I love putting together and running events. When I ran my first event, I put the whole thing together in a manic six weeks. One of the volunteers who supported me in that first event reached out and we began to develop a friendship. They have been a wonderful, supportive, and caring individual over the last couple of years and, a few months ago I asked her if she would take me on as a protege. We settled on Feast of the Hare to be the event where I take my oath to her service and she takes on what is likely to be the very entertaining task of mentoring me. In front of friends, family, and the people closest to us, I became protege to Viscountess AElfaeda FitzAlain of House Blackcloak, receiving the legacy belt that her first, and only, protege wore. I can't even put into words how I feel other that gratitude and joy. And the first and best piece of advice she has given me has been "It's okay to say no." Which is likely going to be the one lesson I will struggle the most with.
After that memorable moment, the event wound down to court, where I witnessed the elevation of Duchess Breyla La Viennette to the Order of the Pelican. The speeches were beautiful and moving, and seeing the joy on her face lit the entire room up.
Court also included another service award to add to my collection (I have service awards across three kingdoms now), as I received the Baronial service award, the Order of the Hare Salient, and a scroll so stunning and unique that I cried. (Sorry, no picture yet). Sebastian received a grant level award for rapier, The Order of Thorbjorn's Hammer, and a scroll that reflects the Spanish nature of his persona. On top of both of us receiving awards, we also won our respective Baronial Championships, so I get to spend a year as A&S Champion with my wonderful spouse as the Rapier Champion. By the end of the day, I wasn't sure what people were congratulating me for, becoming a protege or a champion. Both still have me grinning from ear to ear.
Feast of the Hare is the event that has come to mean so much to me, being the anniversary event for all the important moments in the SCA for me. And the event team that ran this one set the bar for events so high that it's an inspiration for what an event should be.