Ok that would be Society for Creative Anachronisms.
It all started innocently enough when my ex wife and one fo ehr co0workers wanted to attend the Sterling Rennaisance festival and do ti in costume. So the two of them sewed and we attended in costume looking all foolish in our pitiful costumes against the beautiful costumes the players were wearing BUT we had a good time for a day. We planned to go back the following year for the weekend. We went with better costumes and took some friends. We went back again teh following year took more friends and spent the weekend again. The following year we met some folks that camped at a state park near the event so we tried that. It was even more fun so for the next few years that’s what we did. About that time there was a RennFest at a local university that we participated in adn met some locl folks that did this medieval stuff too! They belonged to the SCa less than an hour away. Thsi was about teh time I was begin separated from my ex and meeting my future wife. My life was in turmoil to say the least but I went to meetings and fight practices. WOW these guys actually armored up and fought each other! Heard about “events” where you could go and learn about things and teach things and visit with folks who shared similar interests. The pinnacle of course was Pennsic War held every summer in August just north of Pittsburgh PA. Close to 14,000 people from all over the world would converge and camp for two weeks and teach and fight and entertain and sell and buy all sorts of stuff. WOW! It was a few years before my wife & I could go but we did and have been there for the last 4 years and will be returning this summer for our 5th year. We’ve taken our kids for 2 years now and they have a blast. Local Events tend to be shorter and smaller but some still can get a thousand or so folks camping for a long weekend. Most events will only draw in a hundred or two hundred folks for a day. Still lots of fun and I have done a lot of projects both research and building. Last summer’s project was building a camp bed based on an archealogical find of a Viking slat bed. If I recall it was the Goksted bed I based my design on? I halped my camp mates build a 16 foot tall tower for our encmapment and we ahve sheet walls to protect our “lands”. We all camp in tents and some have even invested in canvas tents that more closely resemble tents and pavillions in medival paintings and manuscripts. We recently invested in one such tent ourselves camping for the last few years in a modern porta garage or canopy. Last year at Pennsic I took several classes on period woodworking and on how to make convincing period looking furnitures with basic handtools available to most folks. At this point of course I’ve collected more than the basic handtools but still interesting classes. I’ve taken up the pen again and am trying to brush up on my calligraphy and my lady and I both are doing some basic illuminations (although I must say I’m quite proud of my ladies more advanced work). We both desparately need to brush up on our costumes now though.
I started being interested in performing and have done so a few times in front of “royalty” at events. Learned to juggle a little. Thought getting into armor was silly. Why would I want to hit someone with a stick or get hit? So I took up thrown weapons. Throwing knives and axes was fun and I could almost do it without practicing too much. I’ve now started to get a set of armor together and am having fun at my own speed on that. I’ll never be a top level fighter but I have fun.
I’ve met a few other large scale train folks that are also active in the SCA online and also in person as well. My current research project is the use of steam in medieval times. Yes, Steam usage does predate the middle ages and the industrial age.
Chas