The September commons meeting was held September 16th in Staten Island at Willowbrook Park, after Staten Island archery practice & picnic. (We moved it from our usual 3rd Friday to avoid conflicting with Queens Farm demo preparations.) Here are the minutes as recorded by Alienor Salton. The officers’ reports are attached at the end.

Attendance

Total of 15 people; only four officers. No quorum.

Suuder Saran, Viceroy
Alienor Salton, Seneschal
Sofya Gianetta di Trieste, Minister of Arts & Sciences, Historian
Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, Herald, Youth Marshal, Deputy Webminister
Francisco de Braga, Deputy Exchequer
Apollodora of Delphi, Deputy Chatelaine, Deputy MoAS
Mongu Chinua, Deputy Court Herald
Oliver de Bainbrig, Northpass Brew Master
Alaxandair Morda, Youth Champion
Duke Akbar
Lilie Dubh
Friderich Grimme
Gibbs Morrys
Ophilia of Ostgardr
Rosa

Absent Officers

Lada Monguligin, Vicereine
Angelica di Nova Lipa, Exchequer
Beatrice della Rocca, Chatelaine
Ervald LaCoudre, Armored Combat Marshal
Alec MacLachlan, Fencing Marshal, Deputy Seneschal
Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir, Archery Marshal
Erich Guter Muth, Minister of Lists
Rufina Cambrensis, Chronicler
Anne of Østgarðr, Webminister
Ian of Clan Mitchell, Chamberlain
Esnede O Murrin, Northpass Seneschal
Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, Lions End Seneschal
Vika Grigina z Prahy, Whyt Whey Seneschal
Brandr Aronsson, Brokenbridge Seneschal

Opening

Alienor: Meeting called to order at 3:30.

Congratulations to:

Caitlin S., our new provincial archery champion.
Alex the Mountain, retaining his title as Warden of the Fry, provincial youth champion, and inducted into the order of the Sea Urchin of Østgarðr.
Benjamin of Northpass, inducted into the order of the Sea Urchin of Østgarðr.
Mathghamhain, Elmet Herald (education officer) for kingdom.

Officers’ Reports

Social Media

Alienor: Social media policy continues to develop. New Kingdom officer is working out how we will implement the new society-wide policy.

All events & activities will be promoted via events attached to the provincial Facebook page (as distinct from the provincial Facebook group).
Ads will be promoted for some of those events/activities in consultation with the social media committee and the event steward / activity host. If you are posting an event (not an activity) to the provincial facebook page, check with Apollodora first for a banner and format.
Apollodora: Plan to move to bi-weekly or monthly updates listing all of the upcoming events, so that people get a single notification rather than a flood.
Chinua: Going to discontinue separate SI Archery FB group at the of this season in favor of the combined provincial archery group.
Friderich: For Northpass archery practices, I will post events to Northpass group, Apollodora can copy to the Østgarðr page.

A&S

Princess’s favor is out! We would like to present some to her at Coronation.

Herald

Mathghamhain is organizing a heraldic symposium this fall, further to the east within our province.

Youth Combat

Youth combat will be needing background-checked members to monitor youth activities. Previous volunteers please proceed to the next step. Anyone else who would like to volunteer (background check and quarterly report) please see Mathghamhain.

Armored Combat

Sofya: Ervald asked me to deliver his report, as follows:

Fighting continues at the McCarren Park weekly practice.
Looking forward to fighting at Queens Farm and Cloisters.

Other Business

Northpass

Alienor: Northpass voted at their most recent commons to begin the process of petitioning (& polling, etc.) for a change of group status to shire.

Sofya: Was there an articulation of the reasons they wanted to make this change now?
Lilie: Travel time and logistics mean we often do things separately. There were other problems in the past and people in Northpass have long memories. Independence is not a new idea; when Brianna started Northpass, the intention was to create a shire, but the zip codes were already registered to Østgarðr. I hope that if this process moves forward, Northpass and Østgarðr can work together on events in the future.
Friderich: My reading of EK Law, which is mostly written to handle transitions from shire to barony, suggests the procedure may work as follows. A petition of at least 2/3 of the branch officers is sent to kingdom. Kingdom decides whether they should do a polling by mail of registered members. Polling needs 50% of ballots returned to be effective. Ballots are tallied by kingdom, and kingdom then makes a decision. If kingdom makes a recommendation for change in status, it is sent to Board of Directors for ratification.
Francisco: In second canton status meeting with Katherine, she said that the canton was on probation; it is not clear what the implications are for this process.
Friderich: In that meeting, Katherine also said that she would accept a petition for shire, although not for barony.

Upcoming Events

Cloisters

The Cloisters demo at the end of the month (Sunday, Sept. 30th) would welcome more volunteers / participants.
Rather than having a central chatelaine’s table, volunteers will be spread throughout the event, and everyone will have business cards with contact details they can distribute.
Need transport for the green & white, which will be out for Queens Farm the prior week.
Chinua: I could carry the canvas back from Queens Farm and bring it to Cloisters, but the poles will not fit in the car and unclear whether they can be put on the roof rack.

Goat’s Tavern

Oliver: Goat’s Tavern has room for a few more classes. Event theme is “preparing for winter” but classes can be further afield. Lilia, who sang so nicely at Barleycorn, may be singing here as well.
Friderich: Upcoming weekend at our house we will have a prep session for the feast at Goat’s tavern; come by and help and learn how to make sausages and such.
Lilie: At the same time, I will be participating in the Society-level heraldic decision meeting for names; come by and see how that sausage is made.

Calendar

Alienor: Upcoming events/demos:

Queens Farm, Sept 22-23, featuring a bear pit tournament for All The Cookies. Entrants and others please bring cookies to add to the pot.
Coronation, Sept 29th, followed immediately by…
Cloisters demo / Fort Tryon medieval festival, Sept. 30th, featuring the provincial armored champions tournament.
Museum of the American Indian outing, Oct. 6th
Natural History Museum outing, Oct. 13th
Day of Decameron garb workshop, Oct. 14th (drape & cut)
Goat’s Tavern, Oct. 20-21
Musician’s day, Nov. 16-18, same weekend as…
Hundred Minutes war, Nov. 17
Day of Decameron garb workshop Dec. 2nd (drape & cut)
Whyt Whey Yule revel? Early Dec.
Deck the Halls of Valhalla, Jan. 12th
Day of Decameron garb workshop, Jan. 20th
Day of Decameron garb workshop, Feb. 25th
Queer History Schola, March 9th
Mudthaw, March 30th, featuring K&Q A&S championship
Lions Awaken, April 6th
Day of the Decameron, April 27th

Other Event Changes

Fight for a Cause is in the works for early next year.
Whyt Whey fall schola is canceled, Yule revel might be happening in early Dec.
Lions End Adelphi demo fell through.

Viceregals • Suuder Saran & Lada Monguligin

Barleycorn hosted by our Canton of Northpass, was a wonderful time. Food was great and we heard many people compliment that it was a good day.

At the Court at Barleycorn:

We have a New Archery Champion. Caitlin, we are very happy to have her.

Alex the Mountain won the Children’s tournament and retains his title as Warden of the Fry.

We have a New Order within Ostgardr. We are extremely proud to create the Order of the Sea Urchin of Ostardr. With its premiere members Benjamin of Northpass and Alex the Mountain. For their wonderful service, and dedication to the Society.

All the upcoming demos and events.

Queens Farm will house a Tournament brought on by a song by our Bardic champion. A tournament of Cookies. A bear Pit fight Tournament all weapons forms are accepted and those wishing to enter are encouraged to bring cookies to add to the trove of cookies.

Fort Tryon will house our Heavy Champions tournament again this year. We are encourage all fighters to come and showcase their skill even if they don’t wish to compete for our champion. But be forewarned Coronation is the day before.

Coronation is quickly approaching, 29th of this month. But know that Cloisters is the Next day.

In October will have Goats Tavern 3 and in November is Musician’s day. They should both be fun days.

Fight for a cause. I’m hoping to connect with the site this week and then loop in prospective autocrat and then workout budget etc. Dates still look like 1st or 2nd weekend in Feb.

Seneschal • Alienor Salton

Attended Northpass and Lions End Commons this month. Will join Nordenfjord for theirs next week.

I talked to Northpass (Ben, Wilhelm and Esnede) about the Blood & Axes event report. Have corresponded with kingdom (seneschal and southern deputy) about how to proceed. Have requested Wilhelm submit the expenses (site and food) to Østgarðr for reimbursement. I also talked to Esnede about the long-delayed feast gear inventory and hope to see progress on that front.

Events listed as uncertain on our event planning document: Dance & Games, River Schola, Fight for a Cause. Do we have any new information on these events?

Canceled events/demos: Adelphi demo and Whyt Whey Schola.

Follow-ups to officer reports:

Brokenbridge November Commons will be Nov. 11th, and will be followed by a lucet class, which I am teaching.

Esnede clarifies that the Northpass events should be promoted on the Østgarðr page in the same way that other events are. Their concern with Barleycorn was with ad promotion, as they did not want to risk oversubscribing the event. Social media policy for the province shall be to promote all events with an event associated with the Østgarðr page, and to consult with the social media committee (seneschal, vicereine, social media deputy) and the event steward regarding ad promotions.

News from Lions End is that Lions Awaken is tentatively scheduled for April 6th. Their next commons is Oct. 12th at the Greenvale Diner. Uji is hosting a kim chee workshop Oct. 6th. Aquilina is teaching a mead class at Pagan Pride in Bowling Green at the end of October.

As previously confirmed in commons, Østgarðr wishes to retain the vanity domain ostgardr.org in perpetuity. Our webminister will renew as suggested.

Bylaws Committee • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

There was a lot of discussion on the bylaws committee mailing list in the last half of August. I have sent around a working draft of the bylaws which has been significantly overhauled from end to end, and am soliciting feedback from other members of the committee on these changes.

I’d like to get to the point where we have a proposal that has been signed-off on by the committee and is ready for review by the officers’ council and the populace before the end of the year, but it’s not clear how quickly that will go.

Exchequer • Angelica di Nova Lipa

TD Bank is requesting additional forms for our new account. We are working on getting the necessary signatures for this form.

Chatelaine • Beatrice della Rocca

Gold Key: Present and accounted for.

Newcomers activities: There were many newcomers at Northpass’ Barleycorn event this year, I’m happy to report. While I did not attend, I was well informed by their Chatelaine, Wilhelm. I’m sure they all had a great time, as Barleycorn is an excellent event for newcomers.

Cloisters: Our biggest demo of the year is upon us! I have messaged the event steward as I would like to try something new. I want to do away with the Chatelaine’s table, and instead give Chatelaine business cards to each artisan and herald. That way, when talking with the public, instead of having to direct them somewhere else for more information, just give them the card, which has our website, and my contact info, for more questions and to sign up for our mailing list.

I will still be running the children’s table, and will keep a sign up sheet there, just in case. I will need a small table and some chairs for that.

October Events: As you all know, our mission statement has changed to reflect the changes in our society. We are now historical reenactors, portraying and studying history from the pre-17th century. In celebration of this, I propose that we visit the Museum of the American Indian on October 6th, a week after Cloisters, and then, on October 13th, we visit the Museum of Natural History to tour the Mayan, Aztec, and Polynesian exhibits. If there is enough interest, we might look at doing another trip in November.

If you have any questions about the above, please feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to help.

Diversity Deputy • Apollodora Alethes of Delphi

Things again are going great! I will be proposing an upcoming Queer History Schola scheduled for March 9th 2019 at the Brooklyn Pride Center. The budget is $450, that includes a donation only day board and site free. We are making this a donation only event. There will be a silent Auction to purchase a portable adjustable wheelchair ramp for the province with left over money going to make Ostgardr doesn’t lose money on this event. We are hoping Ostgardr will match the auction.

https://www.usarampstore.com/roll-a-ramp-standard-3-to-20-feet/

I would also like to propose a training on how to be a Queer Ally. It is free, I will be taking the class myself and would be happy to teach others. I am hoping all officers will take this training.

Arts & Sciences • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

Ostgardr has been very active with activities and classes taking place throughout the Province. Check the calendar for scheduled events and don’t lose out on the many classes and events in our area.

The Princesses favor design is out! She will need a lot and it would be nice to have a number of favors to present to her at Coronation.

Mark your Calendars! King & Queens A&S Champion will be selected at Mudthaw-March 30th. If you plan on entering please visit the Minister of Arts & Science website to find detailed information on how to enter, documentation, rubric and more: moas.eastkingdom.org. If you have questions please contact me.

Save the dates!!! To prepare for ‘A Day of the Decameron’ event on April 27th, 2019, Baroness Jacqueline and I have scheduled four workshops to help you dress for this special immersive event:

o October 14th: location-Baroness Jacqueline’s place

o December 2nd: location: Mistress Sofya’s place

o January 20th: location TBD

o February 25th : location TBD

o All dates fall on Sunday

o Time: 12 to 6PM

o Appetizers and beverages will be provided but donations are always welcome.

o For the first two dates we will drape patterns and cut fabric. If you’re done with your pattern, you can help someone else create theirs.

o All attendees should bring the following:

Pins
Scissors
Muslin (3 yards)-woven fabric with no stretch
Pencil/pen

Coronet Committee

We have received a number of coronet designs and the Coronet Committee will be working together with our Viceroy and Vicereine to select a design for field coronets. Thank you all who have submitted designs. The winning design/designs will be notified by November 1st.

Herald • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

I’ve been chatting with a few new heralds-in-training around the province and I hope to organize another heraldic symposium this fall, similar to the one we held this spring, but further to the east so that it is easier for folks from Queens / Lions End / An Dubhaigeainn to attend.

I’ve taken a kingdom position as Elmet Herald, the heraldic education officer, and over the coming months I will be updating the associated web site and trying to encourage senior heralds throughout the kingdom to reach out to newcomers in their area to teach classes and provide mentorship.

The quarterly report and necessary court reports have been filed.

Armored Combat • Ervald LaCoudre

Fighting continues at the McCarren Park weekly practice.

Looking forward to fighting at Queens Farm and Cloisters.

Fencing • Alec MacLachlan

Fencing practice is continuing at Central Park. Until tonight, we haven’t had to cancel due to bad weather. We’ve been getting between 5-9 fencers (plus a couple of civilians once). We also have 2 Eastern Marshals and one marshal from the Outlands , who is here for work.

The Northpass fencing practice will resume on 9/20. We tried for 9/5, but we called it due to the heat.

I’ve asked Marion of York to be the Marshal in Charge (MIC) at the Queen’s Farm Demo.

I’ve asked Erich Guter Muth to MIC Fort Tryon/Cloisters. I’ll be the overseeing Marshal as he’s still in training.

I am going to submit a proposal to get some loaner gear. I’ll e-mail it to the list as soon as I can.

Archery • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir

No report submitted.

Youth Combat • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

We had eight kids in armor at Barleycorn, including some first-timers, and one parent has signed up to begin training as a youth marshal.

We have a couple youth fighters confirmed for Queens Farm and Cloisters, and I’m working on getting a couple of extra marshals-in-training to help at Cloisters.

I’m also looking forward to marshaling at Goat’s Tavern and Hundred Minutes War.

A bunch of our loaner weapons are pretty beaten up after this last year of activities; I’ve started the process of stripping down the cores and rebuilding them with fresh foam.

I talked with other marshals at Pennsic about how they recruit and retain youth fighters from families not involved in the Society, and the consensus was that this was extremely difficult; kids generally don’t show up more than once unless you can lure their parents into joining up and finding their own ways of participating.

Quarterly report was filed on time. Continuing to work with other kingdom marshals on revisions to our rulebook, although this process has been moving slowly.

This spring I heard a rumor that the kingdom might begin requiring two background-checked members (either youth marshals or chancellors minor) to be present for all youth activities, so I lined up a few people who were willing to volunteer to go through that process — but then it seemed like the kingdom wasn’t actually going to change the rule so I didn’t ask anyone to move forward with the background check. Well, six months later, it is once again sounding like this rule will be changed at some point, so I will be asking the previous volunteers to take the next step, and if anyone else wants to get a free criminal background check and another exciting quarterly report to file, please get in touch with me.

Minister of Lists • Erich Guter Muth

There was rapier and armored combat at Barleycorn. I haven’t received any reports so I don’t have anything to report.

Webminister • Anne of Østgarðr

Transfer of information from old webminister complete (as far as I know); transfer of admin access almost complete, I believe we’re waiting on the last FusionDirectory piece until I’m more familiar with FusionDirectory

Wrote “upcoming in/around Ostgardr” post for the website for the upcoming two months

Helped various members access various online SCA accounts of theirs

Received notice that our domain registration for ostgardr.org needs to be renewed. This domain has a $20 renewal fee. I’ve been assuming that we’d like to keep this domain, but would like to double check that assumption. If we do, I would like to pay the fee myself and request reimbursement from the province after the fact. This domain will expire in about two months, as we’ve received 90 day notice of expiry in early September. I’d appreciate if the province could approve this expense before I renew.

Social Media Deputy • Apollodora Alethes of Delphi

Things have been going very well. We’ve had 40 non-SCA members interested in our sundays commons, 3 rsvp’d. We’ve had over 100 new likes to the page in the past month or two.

We have promotions planned for all upcoming Ostgardr events, except musicians day and northpass events, I need confirmation to move forward with all of these. I need more information about musicians day to make an event for it because the EK page was very lacking. I also need to know if we want to do a promotion for it. Northpass seemed against promoting Barleycorn on the Ostgardr page but moving forward I would really like to have all events that are happening in Ostgardr posted on the page so the public knows about them. If we don’t want to pay to advertise certain events, that’s totally fine but I would like us all to work together to make the page cohesive and informative of all events. This page is meant for the entirety of Ostgardr.

I’ve been scheduling reminder post for all upcoming events as well as making sure promotions go out on time. Please anyone who posts events (not weekly activities) confirm with me first. I would like to make all event going forward very visually appealing by making banners for them and in a specific format to make them the most effective.

Chronicler • Rufina Cambrensis

I am still looking for a drop-dead deputy.

Chamberlain • Ian of Clan Mitchell

No report submitted.

Historian • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

No report submitted.

Northpass • Esnede O Murrin

Northpass is as always very busy. Barleycorn went well. Thank You for the loan of gold key.

Things are well underway for Goats Tavern.

We have held the official vote and in the coming weeks will be requesting a polling to go shire. It is our desire that we no longer be “a dysfunctional family and become the best of neighbors”.

Lions End • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi

No report submitted.

Whyt Whey • Vika Grigina z Prahy

Out-of-sequence Commons held this week (9/13) in re: the Cloisters demo. (Also a Solar with a Pennsic-classes show-and-tell.)

It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to have a schola this Fall; we’re looking at having maybe a small Yule revel (not an event) in early December

All locals again encouraged to actively scout out sites.

Cloisters Demo Report:

Lots of folks lined up to demo their activities, yay!
We need: more chatelaine help (whether actual Chatelaines or people who can do chatelaine-style engagement to the public)
We need: someone with a big vehicle to transport the Green & White to and from storage, as the Subaru Outbacks at our disposal are too small
- Failing that, we need: more EZ-Ups
Announcements and help requests will be distributed to the social medias this weekend.

Brokenbridge • Brandr Aronsson

Broken bridge has our upcoming Commons meeting / Arts & Science Day on Saturday October 13. The theme will be care and feeding of your garb.

The November commons meeting still to be determined.

We are beginning to plan for deck the halls of Valhalla which will be on January 13 Saturday once again as the old Stonehouse. I believe we are still looking for teachers for the event.

Please contact Ragnarr Bliskegg if you are interested in helping out at the event.