East Kingdom Royal at Pennsic
A message from the Pennsic Steward and East Kingdom Royal Major-domo:
With the permission and support of the Royalty, we are embarking on a grand re-invention of the space at Pennsic reserved for the use of the East Kingdom, commonly called EK Royal.
The purpose of EK Royal at Pennsic is not only to be a home for the Royalty to camp in, but an activity hub for the East Kingdom that is beautiful, functional and welcoming. A camp that is bustling with activity – meetings, salons, bardic performances, vigils, dinners and teas – where the subjects and friends of the East feel welcome and valued. Some of these activities are private by necessity, such as Order meetings, commanders’ meetings, and State dinners and some are public, such as classes, performances and casual gatherings.
EK Royal is overseen by a team, led by the Pennsic Steward (kingdom officer appointed for a 4 year term) and the Pennsic Major-domo (appointed each year for a single Pennsic). The Steward is responsible for Land Grab, for providing the infrastructure and facilities in EK Royal, for maintaining all Pennsic-related EK property and is the interface between EK Royal and Pennsic staff. The Major-domo is responsible for scheduling of all spaces, for hospitality and gate guards, and is the interface with the Royalty.
We will have a “Queen’s Garden” – a casual gathering place in EK Royal to go with the formal meeting space we currently have. The garden will be located to the right of the current gates, in the shade around the base of the first tree and and the first RV hookup. This garden area will be supplied with benches that could be grouped for various activities and will be decorated with such temporary plantings/statuary as were appropriate/available each year. The Queen’s Garden can host bardic performances, salons, individual meetings, or simply be a place to chat with friends in the shade.
Located in the Queen’s Garden is the Vigil Chapel, a small decorated tent can be reserved for vigils, handfastings, or any other function for which an intimate venue is appropriate. This beautiful space is being created for the kingdom by House Strangewayes and paid for out of the EK Royal Maintenance Fund.
The current kitchen facility is being upgraded into a full “State kitchen,”with sinks adequate for keeping up with the dirty dishes generated by a State Dinner/Queen’s Tea/Knowne World Party and stoves, grills and prep tables suitable for the same. When the State Kitchen is not in use for a royal function it may be reserved for a cooking class, or to cook for a vigil or similar event.
The Royal Hall (formerly known as the “big tent”) is a space decorated with painted tapestries and chandeliers, lighted at night, available for large gatherings that require more restricted access than the Garden, such as Order meetings, commanders’ meetings and the like.
The greatly expanded courtyard will be available to host East Kingdom Court (weather permitting) and parties in a location more easily accessible and at considerably less cost to the kingdom than the battlefield tent.
The battlefield tent will remain available for functions, though at a reduced size and without the generator.
Improvements
The wind wall supports are being rebuilt to both reduce the amount of manpower necessary to put the walls up and improve the appearance. The current system of posts put in place when the block was changed to a “no dig zone” a few years back isn’t working out. The existing six foot tall panels will be used for screening along the east side the meeting tent and along the State Kitchen, grilling area and showers. A new, half-height set of wind walls will be constructed along the Queen’s Garden. These new walls will allow for more breeze as well as an open and welcoming feel to the new area. The Steward’s office is grateful to House Thanet for taking on this enormous project.
Interior dividing walls within the camp are being created by Mistress Astrida and Master Stefan to replace the plain canvas drop-cloths. These will both define and bound the courtyard area and provide a measure of privacy to those camping in EK Royal.
New camp showers that take up less of the useable camping space and require fewer man-hours to set up are in the design process. E06 is a no-dig block; all grey water must be drained into the existing RV drains. Households that move to E06 to support the Royalty are unlikely to own any sort of shower arrangement that does not require a sump and so the Kingdom provides one for the use of the residents of East Kingdom Royal each year.
The dags that were left unfinished on the gate pavilion ten years ago in the first round of fundraising have been sold and a large work crew is organizing to get them painted up with the heraldry of the groups that sponsored them. Additionally, Baroness Ilulia Baebiana is making painted silk pennants to adorn the peaks of each side.
Labor
We intend to significantly reduce the number of man-hours necessary to set up and tear down EK Royal each year. By dividing the work to be done into “areas of effect” each with a person to lead setup/teardown, organizing the storage trailer differently, and staggering the work parties it should be possible to get everything set up/put away efficiently. The crew chief positions for Pennsic 47 (2018) are:
Pantler (state kitchen): Mistress Siubhan Wallace
Sacristan of the Vigil Chapel (vigil tent): Baroness Fortune St Keyne
Castellan of the Walls (windwalls): Mistress Sylvia du Vey
Warder of the Baths (camp showers): Baron Duncan Kerr
Co-Captains of the Garrison (gate guards):
Baroness Astridr Sigrun Ulfkelsdottir & Lady Anne de Basillon
Queen’s Gardener (garden): VACANT
Sewer of the Royal Hall (meeting tent): VACANT
Harbinger-Martial (battlefield tent): VACANT
Serjeant-Warder of the Barbican (gate pavilion): VACANT
Royal Cartwright (trailer): VACANT
Head Ostler (hospitality): VACANT
Our goal is to take up no more than 2 hours of any one person’s Pennsic, with the exception of the crew chiefs who may need to put in 4-6 hours total over the war. Crew chiefs are responsible for, at a minimum, coordinating the scheduling of work teams with the Steward, for overseeing setup and takedown of their areas.
We are currently accepting applications for all positions above listed as vacant. To apply please send a letter of interest to pennsic.steward@eastkingdom.org by Coronation (April 7, 2018). Teams of two or three are encouraged to apply to ensure that at least one lead will be present at both setup and at takedown.
Many of the items needed to create this new version of EK Royal are in progress but the wishlist remains vast, especially for the State Kitchen. Wishlists and work party dates can be found on the Steward’s website (http://steward.eastkingdom.org). Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome and encouraged – if you want to be involved, we’ll find you a role!
All of the above information and more can be found at https://steward.eastkingdom.org
In Service to the East,
Mistress Eleanor fitzPatrick, Pennsic Steward
Baroness Medhbh inghean Ui Cheallaigh, Major-domo for Brennan III & Caoilfhionn III