Youth Allthing Pictures

Greetings from the Shire of Midhaven,
 
I want to again THANK everyone who was in attendance at the Youth Allthing this past Saturday.  I am very interested in your thoughts about the event.  Please e-mail me at moniquemoran@verizon.net and let me know what you and/or you children liked, or did not like. What ideas would you like to see implemented for next year.  Any class ideas?  Is there anything we could have done differently?  Of course I cannot promise that the weather will again bless us as it did this year. (Could you believe that it was February?).  Instructors, I would love to hear from you as well. Those of you who are willing to do this again, please let me know. Please everyone, let us know your thoughts.
 
We will see you all again next February!!!
 
In Service,
Mericke

 Greetings and good evening to everyone,
 
 It has been 24 hours since the end of the first-ever Youth Allthing, and I am sitting here reflecting over what a resounding success this unique event garnered. Our beloved Queen Elizabeth said in her opening words that she believed it was the first event centered entirely on the youth of An Tir ever to be held. So, first I want to thank the leaders of the Shire of Midhaven for having the foresight and the fortitude to attempt this ground-breaking effort with no prior history from which to draw. It just plain takes guts to go out on a limb and put your effort and money where your heart leads you instead of continuing to join the constant chorus of: "We need to do more things to involve our kids in the SCA." And second I want to thank Duchess Angharad and the Barony of Aquaterra for having the faith and trust to back the vision that became the Youth Allthing.
  
 Attendance was greater than hoped for in the early planning stages. Parents from Tir Righ to Blatha an Oir brought their youngsters to participate in the event by taking classes and practicing newly-learned skills. Teachers, many of them Peers of An Tir, also came from far and wide with a range of activities great enough to capture the imaginations of kids aged 4 through 18 and to hold their attention too. Many of the classes were hands-on activities which meant that the kids had a chance to make something to take home. So many smiling faces, so much joy, and such promise for the future of An Tir!
 
 Baroness Anastasia planned a kid-friendly yet still medieval feast (sold out at 130 plates) which contained period dishes that were not so complex in flavorings and had easily recognizable foods the youngsters could
 confidently eat without apprehension. She put together a great feast team from members of the populaces of the Shires of Earnrokke and Midhaven and the Barony of Aquaterra. And in one of the classes the students decorated shield-shaped cookies with food-coloring pens in the most lovely heraldic
 designs including accurate renditions of the arms of An Tir. What an inspirational way to practice what had been learned in the heraldry class.
 
 In the evening, a young lady also put her voice heraldry class to the test by participating as a herald-in-training for Queen Elizabeth's court. Many other youngsters were able to practice their Courtly Manners class when they
 were called into the Queen's Presence to receive Lion's Cub or Leo Minor awards for which they had been recommended over the last several months. Queen Elizabeth definitely made sure that this court was as kid-centered as the rest of the event was.
 
 The question I was most frequently asked was "Will you please do this again next year?" (The answer is most assuredly, yes! - mark your calendars for the 3rd weekend in February of 2009).
 
 The comment I heard most often was "This is an event which should be held at least once a year in every territory in the Knowne World!" Closely followed by "This is the way kids should be included in the SCA - with their very own kid-centric worthwhile activities."
 
 Thanks Lady Mericke and Duchess Angharad (co-autocrats), and Baroness Anastasia (feastocrat) for giving us this opportunity to show the world how eager the kids in An Tir are to learn and to participate in this great
 Society.
 
 Rosamund
 
 Baroness of Aquaterra

Greetings,

A very Tired, I am too old for this,

Baroness Anastasia Alexandrovna Andreeva (OL)