Ok, we're college students, first things first....how much of a time commitment/ $ commitment is this organization?

We have no club fees, so the short answer is: as much or as little as you want it to be. Our weekly meetings are from 7-9pm on Mondays, and you don't have to stay the whole time if you've got stuff to do. There are soooo many different things you are able to do in the SCA (the categories to your left are the broadest I could think of-- and those are just for our group!) You can do as much or as little as you like. You can be like some of our members, who fight, sing, dance, do crafty sorts of things, and I don't know what else, or you could be like some of our members who don't come often to our weekly meetings but loooove fighter practice, or you could be like your webmistress, who likes archery when she gets the chance, occasionally fiddles with yarn, and generally just enjoys doing English country dances in swishy dresses. In other words, it's up to you.

As a group, we're serious but not uberhardcore. If you'd like to make this the focal point of your life, that is fantastic for you, but first and foremost, we're busy college students. The SCA strives for historical accuracy in reenactment, but we also believe in exciting new advances in technology, like washable fabrics, sewing machines, and Simplicity patterns. You will not be expected to be a clone of someone from the Middle Ages; we're here to have fun.

Back on topic.... different activites require different $; for instance, if you want to get into heavy combat in a big way, you can go pretty far with loaner armor, but you'll probably want your own at some point, which can be made fairly cheaply. Dancing, on the other hand, doesn't cost anything. Our big moneymaker and your one tentative commitment is our spring event, which is one Saturday in the spring. But we're college students too, and we understand things like papers and exams. We plan as much as possible in the fall so it's not such a big deal in the spring. If you can't help out before the event, you're welcome to help out for as much the day of as you can. If you can't help out that day, you can help out as much as you can with planning, etc. And besides, it's madly fun :)

Right. So now that's squared away, what exactly is the SCA?

We're an international reeactment organization that focuses on the period of history between 600 CE and 1600 CE. We're divided up by location into nineteen Kingdoms (We're in the Kingdom of Atlantia) which are further subdivided into baronies, shires, etc. (We're in the Barony of Tir-y-Don.) The College of Rencester is a group that functions within the Barony.

Our activites center around events, which take place most weekends in different parts of the area. You can go to as many or as few as you like. As far as events go, think Ren Faire. But everyone's dressed up. And the fighting isn't choreographed--and you can learn to fight. And the merchants aren't so ridiculously overpriced. And there's dancing, and singing, and games, and storytelling, and all sorts of competitions that you can enter (including things like archery and throwing-weapons.) And in the evening, the hall's all decorated and there's an amazing five-course feast of famously good medieval food. Some events involve camping, if you want to do so. Each event has a theme, like Piracy, or the New World, or the Far East, or The Mongolian Horde Vs. The Barony. Check out the links on the left-hand side of the page to see what activites interest you.

Um, will there be alcohol at these events?

Each event site has different rules about alcohol. Some events are completely dry (no drinking), some are discretely wet (a glass of wine with dinner is ok if you're over 21), and some are wet. Even if you're underage, you can still go to wet events, unless otherwise speicified. If you are over 21 and at a wet site, you can partake, but nobody will push you to if you aren't inclined. There are quite a few people (like your webmistress) who are 21 but aren't so keen on the stale grapes. Even at a wet site, you won't be alone if you don't want to drink. If you're not comfy going to an event where there's drinking, there's no pressure to go; there are plenty of dry events that are tons of fun.

Ok cool. But I don't have any medieval clothes to wear, I don't sew, and I don't want to fork over an arm and a leg to the Ren Faire to get some.

No prob! We have tons of loaner garb that you can use for as long as you need to, and usually several times a year we have a couple of our Monday night meetings focusing on making garb and showing you how to do it for yourself. Garb can be really easy to make, a lot of us love to sew, and several have sewing machines. It doesn't have to be expensive, either; our local fabric store has broadcloath that is cheap, easy to work with, and makes really nice garb. No worries! You won't be left out in the clothing department.

Any other questions? Let us know!