What Festival Has To Offer

Arts & Sciences (A&S)

Collegia: Rowany Festival is host to a vast array of classes and workshops on all manner of arts, crafts and sciences practiced during the middle ages. These will be mostly conducted in the Arts and Sciences pavilions, with an area for artisans to come together and work on their projects (look for the A&S banners).

Timetables, location, updates and a short description of the classes and workshops will be available on the Festival website. The final collegia schedule will be available at the Gate, Officers noticeboard and outside the A&S pavilions.

If you are interested in teaching a class or a workshop, or need further information please contact the A&S Officer.

Laurel Prize: The Companions of the Order of the Laurel host this forum, a chance for anyone who makes things or performs in the SCA to display their skills. It is an opportunity to show the Laurels and the populace what you are doing, to receive feedback and to share information and skills. You may display anything at all that pertains to the SCA or its period.

Laurel Prize will be held in the Great Hall at the time hown on the Festival timetable. Viewing of the display in the first hour will be restricted to Companions of the Order only.

In addition to the display, the Laurels are running a documentation competition, with entries submitted prior to Festival. See here for details: http://lochac.sca.org/laurels/node/30

If you have any further questions please contact Master Crispin Sexi at crispin@homemail.com.au

Entertainment

The Good Friday Ball: Dance the night away at The Good Friday Ball in the Great Hall. This ball has a country flavour, run along the lines of the normal SCA ball. All dances are eligible (at least those that the musicians know or can be given music for) including SCA inventions, post 1651 dances and those listed in the playlist for the Caroso Ball. Please bring your own chair (if you think you’ll sit down).

The Caroso Ball: Provisionally this will be held on Sunday evening in the Great Hall. This ball is an attempt to recreate the sort of event implied by the description in the etiquette sections of Caroso’s Nobilta ‘di Dame, which is a dance manual published in Italy in 1600. A few adaptations have been made, but the object is to provide as real an experience as possible of attending an aristocratic dance party in the late 16thCentury.

How it works:

  • You will notice that there are chairs around the dance floor. By standing, you declare your interest in being asked to dance. If you want to only watch, please sit in the chairs. Feel free to move yourselves, and chairs if necessary, between locations.
  • If you’re interested in dancing, please study the playlist - this is what our dances for the event will be. Have a couple of choices in mind for when it’s your turn to choose. You can choose something that’s been done already if you want to.
  • The list of dances, to be provided on the day, is not exclusive. If you have any other dances that you would like to request that are not on the list, and that your can provide music for, then please bring them along. This is a “show off” event, so if your group has been practicing something wonderful then it’s a great opportunity to bring it along.
  • Note that there are no post-1651 dances on the playlist. Please keep in spirit with the period style of the event by not requesting any.
  • When it is your turn, first tell the dance master which dance you want. He will inform the musicians, while the master of ceremonies will announce the dance.
  • You should then go and invite one or more people to dance with you from amongst those people that are standing, according to whether the dance is for a couple or a set. The first person you invite is your partner, and the one who will get the next turn to choose.
  • If you choose one of the “as many as will” dances, you need only invite your own partner, as the dance master will ask the company at large to join in. After your dance is finished, please stand and wait to be asked to dance again. Your partner will now be the person choosing the next dance – they must choose another partner to begin the dance with. Once someone has danced, he or she ought not to be asked again until everyone of that gender has danced.
  • Please try to get into the spirit of participating in a dance by being a spectator; it’s how you’ll be spending much of the session!

Muscial Jam session: For all those musicians who just love to play in a less formal setting. All welcome.

Bardic circle: Singing by the fire for all to listen or join in.

Boars Head Theatre: from 8.00pm on Monday night in the Tavern after closing court. Come along and enjoy the singing, acrobatics, jestering, and oratory in a relaxed atmosphere!

Children’s Activities

Boffer Tourney: Once again this year there will be a boffer tourney held on Sunday on the List Field. It is open to children of all ages and experience levels, and is designed as a fun event for the children of Lochac. We will be running the tourney as an auction, so we need lots of you to come and buy a fighter, show support and cheer on the next generation of Lochac fighters.

Lists will open at 9.00 am and the children will be auctioned to the populace as soon as they are signed in. Once all entrants are signed in and sold to the highest bidder, the tourney will begin.

Please note, ALL children MUST have a parent or guardian to sign them onto the lists. All money raised will go towards children’s activities and entertainment for Festival.

Martial Arts/Combat

There are a variety of different styles of combat and martial arts available to participate in at Festival. For many you will need to have been previously authorized, but not all. Anyone who is willing to give their time to marshal a scenario please contact the Marshal in Charge.

At festival this year every person participating in any combat must first be inspected by a Marshal logged in the Festival Marshal log book (Marshal section of the Officers Pavillion). Your inspection must be logged in the Inspected Fighters List before you participate in any combat. As we operate in a world of chivalry and courtesy, there will not be any stickers, or pieces of string to indicate inspection. Anyone found to be participating in combat of any form without being logged will have their Authorisation suspended and card taken by the MIC. Marshals may inspect in the campsites.

Archery: Festival has two permanent butts at the far end of the campsite and there will also be organised events. If you wish to use the range outside of the organised events please ensure that you have an authorised marshal present. Bows for combat will need to be checked at the start of each activity. All arows must be wooden, and the target arrow points may have sharp points but not sharp edges (ie. Bodkins, broadheads are not permitted). All combat blunts must comply with the Kingdom of Lochac Combat Handbook (KOLCH).

  • The IKAC is the Inter-Kingdom Archery Competition. IKAC is a shoot of 12 rounds, 2 rounds of 6 arrows and two thirty-second timed rounds each at 40, 30, and 20 yards.
  • The Royal round is smaller, shot at 40, 30 and 20 yards, with a timed round at 20 yards.
  • The King’s round is a progressive round. Each archer who has hit the target with any of his/her 6 arrows, from a starting range of 15 yards, may move on to the next round which will be shot from 5 yards further back. The last archer standing wins.
  • The clout is shot at a small target on the ground over a long distance. Points are scored for target hits as well as near misses.

Rapier: Festival is a great time to display your skill in the fencing arts. A number of tourneys, melees and/or demonstrations will be run for the enjoyment of all. The Rapier List field will host the rapier tourneys as well as Practice and Guild collegia. Check the timetable for all tournaments and classes.

Heavy combat: The battlefields will host the war scenarios, as well as rapier melees, archery combat and a host of other exciting things while the list field will be used for events such as fighter auction.

Fighter Auction Tournament: As many of you know, one of the major activities of the Rowany Festival is the Fighter Auction Tournament on Monday. What you may not know is what happens to all the money raised.

The money from the Rowany Festival Fighter Auction is not held by the Kingdom (as is often assumed), but by the Barony of Rowany. The funds are available to all applicants, provided the Senate thinks the proposal is of benefit to Festival or the Kingdom. If you have a project that needs financial backing, you can send an application to the Rowany Baronial Senate.

Past beneficiaries include the College of Scribes, Pegasus, Cockatrice, Kingdom Regalia and Award tokens. Following an application from Count Hugh the Little, the Rowany Senate have instituted a permanent fund for the Crown to come to Rowany Festival, with reimbursement of travel expenses up to $800.

Should you have a suggestion your application should outline the aims of the project, an estimate of how much money is required, and account details for a cheque. Applications should be sent to the Rowany Baronial post box address:

Barony of Rowany
PO Box 603
Strathfield NSW 2135
AUSTRALIA

Or to the Baroness and Baron of Rowany: rowany@sca.org.au

Merchants and Market Day

Permanent Merchants: The permanent merchants’ pavilions will be set up around the village green as in former years.

Market Day: This is the traditional Saturday activity at Rowany Festival. The markets will be held in the Tavern, with stall holders also setting up blankets on the Village Green (weather permitting). Set-up time for merchants is from 8.00am, and there is no trading before 9am. Please be patient as we set up.

Traditional usage decrees that one gold piece is a $1 coin. So if you hear prices such as 50 gold, that means $50.

Other Activities

Court: There will be Royal court at their majesties discretion as well as Baronial courts. The timetable lists when courts are expected to run, however, please listen to the heralds announcements for times and venues. These courts will also provide a forum for official announcements. If you have any business or announcement to make at either court please conduct this with the appropriate herald; the stewarding team is not responsible for court business.

Please ensure that at least one member of your campsite attends each court.

Meetings: A number of meetings will take place at this year’s Festival, including:

  • The Companions of the Order of the Pelican
  • The Companions of the Order of the Laurel
  • The Companions of the Order of the Chivalry
  • Lochac Company of Archers
  • Order of the White Scarf of Lochac
  • Festival Officers’ Meetings
  • Seneschal’s Meeting
  • SCA AGM
  • Guild Meetings

… and many more. A timetable is available on the Festival website, however please check the timetable at the officers noticeboard and listen to announcements for when and where these meetings will take place.

Soup Kitchen: This year the Soup Kitchen will run Thursday night at the Village Green. A choice of delicious soups (meat and vegetarian) will be provided. Please remember to bring your own bowl and spoon!

Activities Offered By Glenworth Velley: Glenworth Valley site is surprisingly large and specialises in Outdoor Adventures and sports. We encourage you to go exploring, and take in some of the beautiful sights it has to offer. For more information go to www.glenworth.com.au. Always remember to tell someone in your campsite where you are going before leaving on any walks around the site, and take drinking water with you

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