A few years ago I would have said that our martial activities could use
a boost. But we've had a resurgence of fighting and martial activities.
I think things like the newbie fighting practice and the newbie fencing
class have done a lot to bring in people and keep a fair percentage of
them. This proves to me that settings where people can learn things
without intimidation can only be good and ought to be further
encouraged.
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All of our guilds and activities have cycles. They grow when there is a
core of enthusiastic individuals willing to teach others, they shrink
when there aren't as many. I don't know to what extent the baron can
directly influence this, but I believe one of the most important roles
of a baron is encouragement -- being open to people with ideas and
encouraging them to act on them.
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I would like to encourage more opportunities for people to share
knowledge that doesn't fall into a specific guild role. The History
Seminars are a step in that direction, and some of the good ideas people
have come up with recently for a series of garb workshops.
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I also like to encourage authenticity, but I believe that this is
something that is best done by example and not by lecture. Carolingia
has a reputation as a land of A&S snobs, and I would work hard at trying
to dispel that. One of the ways to do that is to show people that
authenticity can be fun :), and by not forgetting the basic rules of
courtesy that we all should live by. Courtesy does not include judging
others and discouraging their efforts. And "authenticity" covers a huge
amount of ground, in terms of time, space, culture, and range of
studies. It doesn't come as a complete package (e.g. "now I am a
completely authentic 9th c. Viking,"), but in very little things where
we can show a slightly more historical thing that is fun and ends up
raising people's expectations and standards. For example, the Coeur du
Flamme has done a great job of making a more authentic style of
tournament combat more fun for everyone, and thereby increasing efforts
in heraldry, banner-making, and just all-around style. We've had an
increase in interest in period table serving, too, which adds to our
feast experience. I recently had a request from someone in Bridge to
train squires to serve at Twelfth Night -- a sign of a trend spreading
beyond our borders.
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One of the things I think we could address is how our neighbors in the
East Kingdom perceive us. I think we're actually very welcoming to
people, but outsiders think we are cold and stuffy and don't like to
travel. I think that attitude has softened a lot under Johanna and
Aquel, who are excellent ambassadors for Carolingia. But I would still
want to keep working on our image and diplomacy. One of the ways a baron
can help (besides being gracious and welcoming to anyone who visits us),
is to visit them. We have a rich baronial schedule, but visits to our
neighbors for more of their events might help to dispel some of the
Carolingian stereotype.
