Greeting Altavia

January and the first part of February were busy months for the Barony. We started off hosting Queen’s Champion Martial. It was an interesting day filled with ups and downs, literally. We had a few Altavians honored that day,including THL Monique with a Lux Caidis for costuming and THL Griffith with a Crescent for superior service to the kingdom. Don Nathaniel made it to the finals of rapier in which Don Ian was victorious. Dame Lynnette and Lady Bex ran a very successful fundraiser for the Kingdom and sold our Fret Knot shirts. It was the first kingdom event we had hosted in quite some time, yet it felt like we were home. The Baroness and I received many compliments regarding the barony and its people. We really do have a most friendly and welcoming populace.

The next day brought Queen’s Champion Ranged to our barony. Although we did not host it, it was within our borders. Mistress Cecilia, THL Cristof, Natalia and I competed in the day’s events, and we had a great time.

Unbelted was the next weekend in Gyldenholt and Altavia was well represented. THL Griffith, Lord Xeres and THL Amabel fought well, and one got to the later rounds of the tourney. Chivalry and Honor were the main focus of the day. Altavians hold those ideals to a high level, and it shows. That was truly an inspiring day!

Finally, we attended the Festival of the Dark Rose in Dreiburgen. So much fun and laughter amongst so much artistic talent! Lady Sybilla, her lord Sean, Lord Eadric and I learned Kubb from her Grace Kara and laughs were had by all. Cristof and Natalia got into the fun as well. THL Courtney won the people’s choice arts award and Saystine won the brewing contest for her wonderfully tasty syrups. Our Baroness Briana, Dame Lynnette, and Lady Bex all performed in the bardic as well. So much fun and comradery came out of the day. I was refueled by all the SCA positive energy, and I am sure most people felt the same way. Thank you Altavia for being so utterly AWESOME!

Potrero war pre-reg has been set up and THL Monique has graciously volunteered to be our camp master. Register early for the best prices. See you at war!

Looking to the future, Altavia has a camp for the new Wintermist Rest Star Rapier War. Please register for the weekend’s festivities and come out and enjoy the outside with us.

Our Anniversary is coming up as well. We need help with the planning and execution of the events of the day. Please help in any way you can. It looks like it is going to be a GREAT DAY!

To all Altavians and Altavian adjacent friends, I thank you for being so much fun and loving. See you all at an event soon!

In Service,

Baron Niko Phaistos

Baroness Briana MacCabe

Happy New Year, Altavia!

His Excellency and I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday season with the ones you love! Since the last time we wrote our monthly missive, we’ve only had one event..but it was a major one!

Last Saturday saw the coronation of our new King and Queen, Valrik and Drada. The day started with the last court of Queen Katherine and King Panza (who sadly had to miss the event). Many awards and honors were bestowed and, thanks to the efforts of Countess Batista and milady Maura (and the artisans of Altavia), the barony presented the outgoing queen with lovely thank you gifts. The afternoon saw the spectacular oathtaking on TRM Valrik and Drada…he spoke his in Russian and she sang hers in English. So very impressive and I am sure videos will surface soon. Thank you to all who attended and especially those who were there to be a part of my special day. It means more than you will ever know.

Looking ahead, we are still planning on hosting Queen’s Champion at Veteran’s Park next weekend. Plans continue apace for all the various activities of the day, led by our able event stewards, Mistress Cecilia and her Ladyship Amabel. We will hear more about what is still need a bit later in the meeting.

The next day is Queen’s Champion Archery and Thrown Weapons, being held at Woodley Park Archery Range here in Altavia but hosted by our friends in Lyondemere. Come out and shoot for the Queen!

The following Saturday is Gyldenholt Unbelted which is always a fun event with some spectacular fighting!

As you may have seen on the Book of Faces, there are a lot of discussions going on at both the Kingdom and Society level about whether we should be continuing to host events and practices right now. His Excellency and I will do our best to keep you informed on the latest decisions. Please know that we will try and make the best and safest decisions for Altavia and Altavian events based on the info we have at the time. Always remember that the SCA is a hobby and your health and safety come first; if you feel unsafe to attend an event for any reason, do what is best for you. No one should ever tell you or make you feel otherwise.

Just as before, we can get through these continued tough times together. I stand ready to host all the Zooms, should it become necessary, and both His Excellency and I are here if you need a listening ear or a virtual shoulder to cry on. Somehow, someday…this too shall pass.

We love you, Altavia.

Yours in Service,

Baroness Briana MacCabe

Baron Nikolaos Phaistos

And so another year slides into a close and November and December have been busy months for us, as usual!

On November 13, His Excellency and I traveled to Naevehjem for Frost Dragon. It was a beautiful day and we shared space with our friends from Dun Or, which is always lovely. Thank you to Lynnette and Tim and Griffith and Ambel for your help and checking in on us throughout the day. The Frost Dragon was battled but none were able to defeat him this year! We ended the day with a fun and raucous dinner with the Horsemen before making the long trek home.

The next weekend we headed out to Isles Anniversary and a wonderful, tree-shaded site. There was very good attendance for a shire event, with folks on both the armored and rapier fields traveling from far away for a day of fun and friendly fighting. Our Cousin, Baroness Kungund of Dreibergen, took to the rapier field for the very first time and was named Isles champion for her enthusiasm and fearlessness! Many thanks to Captain Cassandra for looking out for both His Excellency and I and to Grif and Amabel for once again checking in on us as well.

The first Saturday in December saw us traveling down to Gyldenholt to celebrate the joint Gyldenholt-Lyondemere Yule. It was a lovely outdoor event with a gift exchange, a cornhole tournament and much fun socializing. On a personal note, I want to thank everyone that help get my vigil setup and that helped in run smoothly; especially Baroness Cassandra for wrangling the whole thing, Baron Niko for running the book and being quick on the bell 12, to Lord Eadwine for ably standing guard and making for some great photos and to all of Flaxen Abbey who were able to help out! I am so blessed by having all of you as friends. Thank you for making my day as special as possible.

And, of course, our big event of the holiday season, Altavia-Angels Yule was last Saturday and it was SPECTACULAR! We had great attendance and there was so much joyous chatting and dancing and bardic and gifting! Thank you, again, to our event stewards, Griffith and Niko, for all your hard work putting the event together, our Cousins of Angels for once again helping us make this joint event a success, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this event happen. Please see the Baron’s note on Facebook for the full list of thank yous and awards!

We hope that you all have wonderful and safe plans for the rest of your holiday season! For those that are traveling, may your roads be clear, and may everyone get to be with the ones they love in this time of warmth and light. We hope to see you all at Coronation on January 8 for a very special day!

Yours in Service,

Baron Nikolaos Phaistos

Baroness Briana MacCabe

The year seems to be winding down ever so calmly since Great Western War… No wait! No it has not! We have had and will have plenty of excitement in these last couple of months. Nordwache Anniversary was a pleasant breather after GWW and a relaxing, intimate event. In addition, Caid Archery Open finally happened with smooth efficiency thanks to our friends in Dreibergen.

Speaking of, Dreiburgen Anniversary was a regular Hoot n’ Nanny with a hole lot of hoot and just a little bit of nanny. The Baronial dragon wing was the place to be. We had so many Altavians and guests that people thought it was our anniversary! (Just kidding). It was spectacular though! Fun, Friends and great conversations were had. Thank you Altavians for being so welcoming and fun. We gave a well-deserved farewell and great job to Baron Logan and Baroness Tyna. They are good people and need the rest. Their warm hearts and tireless work will not be forgotten. In addition, we welcomed a shiny new Baron and Baroness, Ramvaldus and Kungund. They are adorable and we look forward to all the great things they will do for our kingdom.

Calafia Anniversary saw another packed baronial dragon wing. This time only a few Altavians were present, but we hosted many people from Dreiburgen. We received so many compliments from their Excellencies and others of Altavia’s wonderful hospitality. Thank you all once again. Great work Altavia! There was a spectacular surprise during the day as well. Our Baroness, Briana, was asked to be a member of the Order of the Pelican, which she graciously accepted. A wonderful day was had by all.

In the upcoming months, Altavia will be hosting a few events that will be fun and exciting as well. First, December 11 will be our Yule celebration. We will have Angels as our guests and the theme will be the Arthurian Legends! Bring your device and banners to be hung in the hall. Decorate your table like it was the actual round table. Eat! Drink! (responsibly) and have loads of fun! We will not be having our usual potluck meal, but instead will have individual group dinners at each table. Altavia’s bardic and chess champions will be chosen and dancing will happen. Finally, we need volunteers for various duties (tee hee), so please contact Griffith Von Bremen or the Baron if you are willing to help.

On January 22, Altavia will be hosting Queen’s Champion Armored and Rapier. This will be an exciting event at Veteran’s park. We will be needing plenty of volunteers for the day and we know it will be epic! There is lots to be done and Altavians once again be the shining example to all the knowne world.

But before we host QC, we will travel to Nordwache to celebrate Coronation/12th Night in Notdwache. We need your help creating gifts and largesse for both the incoming and outgoing Majesties (more on that in a bit) and Her Excellency invites all Altavians who make the trip North to be a part of her Pelican procession.

As November is traditionally the month of giving thanks, we want to thank each and everyone of our officers, our court and guard and all Altavians for your hard work and your friendship. It has been another long year with many twists and turns but we made it through, together.

Yours in Service and with Much Love!

Baron Nikolaos Phaistos
Baroness Briana MacCabe