Category Archives: SCA Life

Event Strategies – Fun or Not: Part 4 – Keeping it Real and Being Honest With Yourself

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No matter how much we try to plan for an event, stuff happens. Only you can decide if your mental and physical stamina is sufficient to be able to deal with an event, especially if it doesn’t really work out the way you had hoped that it would. Do you have an exit strategy? Are you heat sensitive or cold sensitive? Do temperatures over 90 degrees, especially if it is humid, send you into a physical downward spiral that can end at the ER? Is rough ground a problem? How long a distance can you walk? Only you can evaluate the facts and make that decision.

I have friends who no longer attend camping events, or if they do, they sleep at a hotel or cabin. Bad backs, CPAP machines, the inability to deal with temperature extremes, and a lack of physical mobility are just a few of the reasons that they made this decision. When the stress of camping takes away the fun of attending an event, you need to reconsider your options.

Switching to a camper trailer or small RV has allowed several of my friends to keep attending events. Using an RV at SCA events, can be good and bad, depending on the event site. If there are electrical hookups available it can create a rather luxurious situation, with most of the comforts of home. But the downside is that you may be camping a much longer distance from the center of the event. Camper trailers and RVs are often shunted off on an edge of a event, so check ahead of time with the autocrat. Many event sites do not have any sort of hook-ups, electrical or otherwise, so you will need to understand exactly what your camper is capable of doing. Our old RV could easily do a two 1/2 day “dry” camping trip without running our generator. Generators are prohibited at a lot of sites. You also need to check for additional fees. RV’s often have to pay an additional fee at some parks, especially if there are hookups.

And then there is the Gypsy Wagon, or Vardo. They are towed like a trailer, but they are usually acceptable in camping areas and still provide a greater level of comfort than a tent.

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And sometimes things just get messed up even when you have done all the planning that you could possibly do.  A friend had been looking forward to a hands-on embroidery class. The teacher showed up to class without any supplies and announced that she would order in supplies and then teach the class again on a day that that my friend could not be at the event. Major disappointment.

Another teacher showed up for what was supposed to be a hands on nahlbinding class with no kits or notes, no class limit (she expected 6 and 30 showed up),and no note in the schedule about bringing your own supplies. In this last instance we have to question whether the teacher came from an area with low class attendance, was inexperienced, or was she suffering from a data entry error. Data entry error? Yes. I once had one of my Viking Knit Chain classes appear in the schedule as “Viking Knit Chairs”. Oh, and the class limit had magically disappeared, too. Fortunately I had enough supplies.

Assessing your ability to deal with an event is all about being honest with yourself. In 2015, when it looked like Pennsic was going to be a giant bowl of mud, several folks that use scooters decided not to attend because of the mud. Only you can decide if temperature, rain, terrain or other factors are going to make an event just too difficult. Plan it out, be prepared, and have a great time!

Event Strategies – Fun or Not? Part 3 – Distances & Other Challenges

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I was listening to a conversation on Facebook the other day about handicapped accessibility and transportation at an event. One of the people who requires occasional transportation stated that they were told the site was “extremely compact” and it would only be about “1/2 a mile” from where she was to be camped to the main activities area. But for a lot of people, old and young, 1/2 mile is just too far to walk. You are the only one who can make that decision. But get real about it. A cane, a walker, a small portable stool for rest breaks, or an electric scooter are all possibilities at events. I was once confronted by someone who told me that our small baronial event (usually less than 400 people) should provide a golf cart for transportation for those who can’t walk. I was blunt and said it would not happen. It was just not likely to ever be in the budget.

In the past when I have recruited a helper for my booth at Pennsic I have warned any prospective folks that it is a comfortable twenty minute walk from our camp to my booth. We are by no means the farthest away camp, and our walk does not include any large hills. If you are planning to go to an event you really need to try to understand just how much walking you are going to be doing. I always told my helpers to make sure that they had at least two, and preferably three pairs of shoes with them so that they could trade off shoes if their feet got sore, and so that if their shoes got soaked from rain and mud, they would have dry footwear. I have even been known to change into flip flops or rubber muck boots  to keep my shoes dry. Several of my friends who have rather sedentary desk jobs start a walking program a month or two before Pennsic to build up their stamina. Sore feet or exhaustion from too much walking can really spoil your fun. And this doesn’t even count the weather. This is just a small portion of our “just in case” collection.

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For a solid month before I attend a camping event I add that event location to my weather.com feed and check the weather there every day. I also look at the national forecast to see if there are any trends or major weather events that are likely to impact the area that I am camping in. Two years ago the forecast for Potrero war was cold and foggy. It had been that way for two solid weeks before the event, and it was forecast to be that way for the event. And yet people were totally shocked when it was cold and foggy. I warned my helper to bring her long johns, because it was likely to be cool. We were fine, but a lot of people were totally unprepared. No cloaks, no warm socks, and not enough bedding = less fun.

Next Time: Keeping it Real and Being Honest With Yourself

Event Strategies – Fun or Not: Part 2

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So last time we were talking about timing your arrival at an event in order to get the most out of the activities, and understanding the difference between the mindset of longer and shorter events.

At shorter events most people set up a fairly minimal camp because the attitude is “it is only for a few days”. At longer events, like Gulf Wars and Pennsic, people will take the time to set up much more elaborate camps, complete with gates, walls, showers, and other amenities. Some larger households have “teams” that come for set up and spend several days just building the infrastructure for the rest of the camp. As someone who has been a part of one of those teams, I can tell you that for the folks who come in later  it is almost like “hoteling it”. All you have to do is set up your own tent and all of the communal facilities are already in place. But none the less, whether you are with a larger household, or a small encampment, if you are camping you have this “base of operations”. A place that you can go back to on site, that has some comforts like cold water and a snack, and a comfy chair. You can decide to take a short nap, or do some crafty thing, and if you are camping with others, there is a significant chance that you will bump into a camp mate and have someone to chat with.

Hoteling it without an onsite base of operations means that you have to haul everything that you need with you at all times. If you drove to the event you can still bring a fair amount of “stuff” with you – like  chairs, a cooler, and a wagon to haul it all in. You can use your car as a storage locker, which obviously has  its issues if it is particularly hot, or if the security at the site is not great. Parking is also often “out in the north 40”, which can make those trips back to the car a serious chore.

If you fly to an event you either have to rely on the good will of friends who are at the event, or buy things that you will leave at the end of the event, or do without. As you can imagine, all of these options have issues. If you have a rental car you can still use it as a storage locker to keep spare drinks and crafty bits so that you don’t have to carry everything all of the time. But again your parking spot may be a long distance from where you want to be for activities.

Next Time: Distances and Other Challenges

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