Tag: food

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Winterfeast

Fa la la, fus roh da

Who’s smart idea was it to let the bard autocrat an event? Who’s smart idea was it to let the Viking bard autocrat an event? Vikings are known for pillaging, ravaging, and burning, not planning, and organizing, and decorating!

However, this Viking likes food. And I had an awesome kitchen staff. Despite all the hare in the stew.

I spent months planning my first event {Trust me, she did, it’s all she would talk about at fencing practice. (Shut up, Karen!)}  And I never took for granted how much work the autocrats put into their events, big or small. I had excel spreadsheets, checklists, and lists for my excel-lists and checksheets. No, wait.

And best of all, the best deputy a Viking could ask for. My deputy found my masterful feastocrats, and also helped to find the perfect location. I didn’t just want this event to be delicious, I wanted the atmosphere to feel like home. If home had servers. And live music. And dancing. And games. And a silent auction. And room to seat 120.

Oh, and two surprise guests I couldn’t even imagine would grace my small event. But that comes later.

Before I had even submitted my bid. I made sure I had beat all my ducks into submission, and they were all in a neat row. I had lined up all my volunteers, and had my menu planned, and waited several weeks anxiously to find out my bid had been accepted.

Once everything had been lined up, I had about a month and a half to complete everything on my checklists. Everything fell into line easily, almost like I had planned it to. Until two weeks prior to the event…

Dun dun DUUUUUUN!

I had received a message on the Tome of Visages from Astrid, head retainer for their Royal Highnesses. “Hey Solvieg, Guess who’s coming to visit?”

I don’t know, Batman and Robin?

Good guess, but think a little bit fancier. With pointy hats.

Batman and Robin putting on a Statue of Liberty cosplay?

Close, but still no cigar.

Their Highnesses!

*insert cursing in my brain*

My heart began to palpate. What are you supposed to do to royalty? Or is it *with* royalty? Do I also have to dress up fancy and wear a floofy dress? Gosh darn it, I don’t wanna! You can’t make me!

The realization that the event was a week and a half away, and I don’t know what to do with royals or where to put them, or even where they went on my excel sheets, I did what any insane person would do: reach out to my 50 closest friends who had run events before, and ask for their sagest knowledge. And when that didn’t cut it, alcohol suggestions.

I was blessed with copious suggestions, and my mind was put at ease.

Hooray! The day of the event!

Wait, what is all this white stuff?! Why is it snowing?!

Because it’s January in Maine. Gah.

Thanks to the presence of our Royals, the event was sold out before the doors even opened. I had more volunteers than I knew what to do with for set up. And more kept coming. The hall was beautiful, filled with everything from garlands to banners of personal arms. We even glitter bombed their Highnesses chairs (thanks Karen! {My pleasure! His Highness said I gave him craft herpes, hehe!})

The fragrance of fine food filled the air. (<– see, I made alliteration work this time!) And I had just enough servers for the tables, even with Karen bouncing in and out of the kitchen as needed. We even had a small court, thank goodness for no set up. The removes rolled in, and empty dishes rolled out. Between removes, the Malagentian Bardic Players even performed. When there were no Malagentian Bardic Players performances, solo bards got up to do their own. Some I had pre-arranged, and some were a surprise. I felt almost empty, not having performed up to that point. It was my duty to make sure the event kept running smoothly, however, my deputy advised me that for five minutes, the event would be under control with me {Oh, what a liar!} (Shut up Karen!). She encouraged me to get up and sing, and so I did just that. I performed one piece by myself, and then an improvised duet with a friend.

{Karen even got up with the same friend and sang The Feast Song with her! And Karen doesn’t sing in public!}

As the night came to a close, their Highnesses presented me each with their tokens, which were the first ones minted of their reign. On top of that, the numbers were run for the event, and we made a $750 profit {on an event that usually loses money! Wow!}, and a $450 donation to the Riding of Ravensbridge through the Silent Auction.

The snow continued to fall, though my wonderful volunteers stuck around to help break down the event. I think I made it home in one piece. I didn’t leave site until 11:30. I don’t remember how I got home, I just remember crawling into bed and sleeping until noon the next day. What an exhausting and wonderful experience. The cherry on the sundae was receiving from many individuals about how much they loved the variety of bardic performances throughout the evening. 8.5 out of 10, would definitely consider running again, in a few years at least. As long as it’s not a last minute Royal Progress…

 

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The Feast of St. Nicholas in Queen Elizabeth’s Court

I’m King Henry the VIII I am!

Eight months prior to the event, I received a message on the Visage of Tomes from Mistress Aneleda. And within this message, she inquired whether I’d be willing to serve as an ad hoc choir director for an Elizabethan immersion event. Without hesitation *damn helium hand* I said sure! She quickly put me in touch Mistress Aife/Master Valentine, as well as the autocrat for this event. Most of the communication was done through email. Me, being an introvert with extroverted tendencies, I really just wanted a phone call. But I’d make this work anyway.

I was in charge of obtaining vocalists, selecting the music, and rehearsing for a one-day event. Now, you might think, this is crazy, how can you do that, why would you do such a thing, that’s impossible? Trust me, I asked myself these same things over the course of eight months. I’m sure these are the same questions I would be asking myself if I ever found myself knocked up, and some mornings, thinking about the task I had taken on, I woke feeling queasy.

Much like the first trimester, these feelings passed as this baby grew. I tried to figure out the best way to communicate with my potential vocalists: would it be via the book of faces, email, yahoo groups, carrier pigeons, messages in bottles (I felt like I needed to drink a lot of wine to get through this, so I might have some empty bottles), maybe smoke signals? And finally settled on Facebook, even knowing not everyone used it.

Four months prior to the event, as the second trimester as it were was wrapping up, my search for singers would begin. I joined EVERY Eastern Kingdom Facebook group I could find, and started to spread the gospel. The responses started to trickle in. Some committed, some didn’t, but it gave me hope.

Three months prior to the event. Huh, I should probably pick the music now, just like a parent would pick names, right? I had done my research months prior as to selecting what type of pieces — knowing that each piece had to be Elizabethan, —  but the exact pieces hadn’t been chosen until I knew what vocal range my vocalists had, and how many I would have. You can’t do six-part harmony with only two people, after all. Even Vikings can do that much complex math. I settled on five pieces in polyphony, and a few rounds. I sent out a copy of the scores, midi recordings with all the parts, as well as individual parts, for song-learning, so even if my vocalists couldn’t read music, I should have my bases covered.

A few weeks prior to the event, I kept checking in with my vocalists, to see how part-learning was going. I myself had to study the scores and be ready to assist on any of the four parts as necessary. Also, with learning the score, is looking ahead, and anticipating where there might be part difficulty. My scores looked like a rainbow. It had also occurred to me that I would need suitable garb for this event, because while Vikings pillaged quite a bit, they weren’t around to pillage the Elizabethan court. Aw, hell. Thank goodness for Fortune St Keyne. This goddess, this angel of mercy, whipped me up some spiffy threads in but a few weeks time.

A week prior to the event, I still didn’t have a final number of individuals who would be participating. It was coming down to crunch time, time to push this metaphoric baby out, and it was like we didn’t have a birth plan. Or a hospital. Or something equally important, I don’t know.

Day of event! Don’t panic. Don’t forget your towel. I’m panicking! No, don’t panic!

I was early. I’m always early. I hauled my feast gear, my keyboard, my music, my pitch-pipe, my garb, my piano-bench, and other assorted things needed for the event up the stairs of this decommissioned church. I set my things up in my rehearsal space, and slowly began to decrease my heart rate. Don’t they talk about breathing in those birth classes? Something like that. In all my years of being a choir director, I had never been in this situation before. I didn’t know what levels of experience my vocalists had, or if they had even learned their music. Heck, I didn’t even know if anyone would show up. I asked my vocalists to show up at 10am, so we would have a good two hours of rehearsal time all together. In typical musician manner — or maybe it was Scadian manner? — they were tardy. Circa 10:30, we finally got down to working on the music. My vocalists were surprised that I insisted on warming them up, like I was a professional or something. In my own turn, I was pleasantly surprised that I had a well balanced and versatile group. And they had all learned their music!!! If I could work with them every time I had to choose vocalists in the future, I would in a heartbeat.

I was also pleased to find that every section of music that I anticipated difficulty with came up, and I was able to nip it in the bud quickly and efficiently. Proper planning prevents poor performance, right? The only surprise in the rehearsal was the sheer delight and ease of this experience. Every single one of my singers were prepared and respectful. It was beyond anything I could have even imagined. I even got to twirl in my dress.

The autocrat, Lady Olivia, had done a beautiful job with her dream, though through no fault of her own, had difficulties the day of the event, with kitchen mishaps beyond her control. The only reason I bring this up, because it affected performance time. We didn’t know when we would perform, but at least we had prepared a signal. What happened next was also incredible, performance time.

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My angels took to the loft, and we assembled in the planned formation. Song after song, beautiful harmonies echoed throughout the hall. I got so excited throughout one piece, I lost control of my baton, and it left my fingers. I *think* it missed my vocalists, and landed somewhere in the pews next to us. I was saved the embarrassment of trying to climb beneath the pews by one of my angels, who retrieved said baton and returned it to me. Could a director get any luckier?

Video by : Anna Elisabetta deValladolid.

 

Even during one of the pieces, where it had slightly derailed, they continued to sing like nothing was wrong until we could get it back on track. They were true professionals in my eyes that day. There was downtime for soloist performers as well, which I had arranged, a few of my vocalists had asked me if I would sing that day. At first I refused, because that day was not about me, but I finally decided it was something I should do, if only to stop them from asking.

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Photo by Lady Olivia Baker

I sheepishly approached the front of the balcony and waited for the moment to feel right. When it did, I sang the only Elizabethan solo piece I knew by heart. When I was done, I was glad I had performed, because soon after, I was approached by five individuals who presented me with their tokens. One was chocolatey and delicious.

I am also pleased that after this performance that I gained so many new friends and performers, that I would not give up this experience for anything. Okay, maybe the Elizabethan dress. If I could have done the whole thing in my Viking, the day would have been MUCH better!

 

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Malagentia Winter Feast

When I was your age, I used to walk to school uphill, both ways, barefoot, in the snow!

Because, winter!

Winter Feast was my first event in Malagentia, WAAAY back in 2011. I can remember it back in the Grange hall, and the warm feeling of families feasting together. Since then, Winter Feast has always been a special event in my heart.

With my passion for the feast, I made sure I would attend this year. The Malagentian Bardic Group had been on the newer side of things, and was looking for an opportunity to perform. With their numbers small, and my need to be a ham, I quickly raised my hand to be part of this production. It was discussed at the monthly bardic brunch that they would be performing a piece about the local champions; with my connection to Stonemarche — being my second home after all — I quickly volunteered to play their champion, because Viking, right?

Feasting and festivities filled the night, as well as food, fun, friends, family, and [fr]alcohol — hey, I tried! I was lucky I didn’t go comatose after the copious amounts of food I consumed, after all, a sleepy champion wouldn’t make much of an impression upon the stage. We even roped in unsuspecting volunteers — poor Sir Ivan, what a good sport.

We had made cue cards for our volunteers, as well as actors who might forget their lines; we had makeshift costumes, and fun props as well. You might say we gave ourselves “mad props” for our props, yo. Hey, I’m a bard, this is what I do.

The bad word plays were plentiful, as were the laughs. I even got my Paul Reubenesque death, which was all I really wanted. This was the first real experience for the Malagentian Players to perform, and it would be the birth of their stage performances.

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Bardic around the Fire

Now you all know the bards and their songs…

This is the year I won Baronial Bard for Stonemarche. I had made it my mission to make more bardic opportunities, and not just at events. Conversing with Kythe and Sine, they had opened their home at Bard’s Rest if I wanted to run any sort of event. They have a spacious backyard with a bonfire cleverly disguised as a fire-pit, a deck with table space, and ample parking. I decided we were going to have an open Bardic Circle. What attracts Bards more than food and booze?

Okay, maybe bling…

But fire is pretty, and beer is foamy, so two out of three and all that, right?

We set it up for a warm night in June; we prepared by raking the yard, and sending out e-vites about a month prior. We expected maybe ten folks to show up, and that would be enough for me. But lo and behold, 25-30 showed up, far surpassing my meager ideas of success. Thankfully, the table overflowed with food, and the cups *almost* overflowed with beverage, because anything more would be alcohol abuse, and there was enough for everybody.

When it began to grow dark, be gathered around the fire to begin. The format of Pick, Pass, or Play was instituted, and the night really began. We had song, story, and instruments played, and everyone of all skill types and levels had an opportunity to shine. This roared until one in the morning, I’m really glad I had planned on staying the night.

The next morning, not only did my hosts ask for this to occur again, but my Facebook and email inboxes were flooded with similar requests. I made a mental note to not let Cedric tell stories after midnight next time.

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Stonemarche Yule

Season’s greetings! And all that falala. Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza have all passed, but now it’s time for us to celebrate with some logs and hidden babies in cake!

The household of Bard’s Rest, like it’s name, is notorious for making sure there’s entertainment at events, whether it’s alcohol, story, or song. This event would be no different. I had been told there was a need for performance, so I did what every good Jew does for Yule, and brings their Christmas songs. The room was filled with an array of homemade treats, chatter, and cheer — especially the alcoholic type. But what it didn’t have was music. I was still shy about performing in public, but with a little help from my friends, I had mustered courage enough to get up and perform. First I picked a few ditties of my own, then I received requests. Luckily, I brought my choral music as well, because then everyone wanted to sing.

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It wasn’t the prettiest arrangement, but the experience alone was enough to bring smiles to everyone’s faces. There was even a photographer there, singing out of the corners of her mouth while she captured everyone else having a great time. We would later reunite, she as Photographer-Girl, and me as That-Bard-Who-Sings/Hey Bard!

It was then I realized how much music could bring a family together, and this, of course, was meant to be a family event.

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Winter Feast

Home, Home at the Grange,

Where the knights and the laurels all play…

Where Bards are all heard

Not a discouraging word,

And our plates are all covered with food!

 

This feast almost didn’t happen. The autocrat was a last minute decision, as was the location. But this didn’t take away from the delicious potluck feast which dwelled on the bottom floor of the grange hall. Scadians are terrible at famine. And I’m terrible at not eating Scadian food. An incident with a near-comatose Viking — though I promise I survived, or else these would be post-mortem stories…

Earlier this year, I had taken on the responsibility of becoming the musical director of Voce di Sonata, the vocal group of Malagentia. We rehearsed bimonthly, at different homes in Portland and Saco. We had been working on general medieval music as well as holiday themed medieval music. It was decided that we would perform at Winter Feast, to give us a goal to work towards.

When the food dissipated, and people were mingling, it was time to present what we had been working towards. It was interesting, because half of my group was sick, and two of my three bases canceled last minute. Eh, we could handle it.

One of my friends from Endewearde happened to be in town, and also happened to be a professional musician! She offered to join us, and would have no problem sight-reading the music. So we gathered in our typical horse-shoe choir shape, and let the music flow. This had been my first time conducting since I graduated college in 2009, and it was just like getting back on a bike, as long as you put the training wheels back on.