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Ice Dragon 2013

This past weekend, we went to an SCA event that we have never before attended. It's called "The Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon", and it's held in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael (Buffalo, NY area). This event draws a large number of people every year, from all over the local Kingdom and several surrounding ones. It is well known for its indoor fighting tournaments, and its judged Arts & Sciences competition.

Obviously, we went mostly for the A&S stuff. I entered my my green linen hitatare and its hand-braided accoutrements as a cross-entry in two categories. We entered the outfit that we made (with others) for the Elevation of Mistress Roxanne de St. Luc. We don't know what our scores were yet, but it was fun to try to get everything together with display stands and documentation.

Anyway, the competition was large, and it was as competitive as we had been warned. The more popular categories had a dozen entries, but some categories only had a few. This competition is called "the Pentathalon", as participants are encouraged to enter items in five different categories. The people who do best in "the Pent" often enter more than ten items! I didn't get any of the big prizes, or I'd be ringing that bell, but I probably won the category with the kumihimo, because I think I was the only entry. I did get a number of compliments on my entries and the garb I was wearing that day, so I felt pretty good.

The rest of the day was fun, too. I watched a very small part of the fighting, toured the hospitality salons that were hosted by various groups, went to a meeting, and chatted with friends. A number of our friends (who we mostly only see at Pennsic) live up in the Buffalo area, so it was nice to hang out with some of them for a bit. There was a lot of scurrying around, so most of them got hugs and brief chats, but some got more attention. We found a nice quiet spot to put down our bag of stuff and a couple of folding stools, so we had a handy place to rest and rehydrate.

One nice thing that happened was a friend of ours was inducted into the Order of the Fleur. THL Rangnarhildr Sturrim Caithness does many beautiful scrolls for people receiving awards in the kingdom, in both Eatern and Western styles. She's a great artist and a hard worker, and it was an honor to welcome her into the order.

We decided to stay overnight in Buffalo, rather than drive all the way home after the event. We stayed in the Adam's Mark, which is a great facility but it has seen better days. It's a little run down now, though the staff was great.

2013.04.02 at 12:00am EDT

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