This month was spectacular. First and foremost, it was a time to be thankful. We are extremely thankful for the hard work and fun all Altavians have exhibited this year. We had so many compliments on how effectively we run events and how much enjoyment the populous experience when they visit our Barony. Thank you all for making Altavia shine!

There were also a few events this month as well. Beginning with Medieval Marketplace and culminating with a plethora of Yule celebrations, November and early December was 30 days of great frivolity. There were so many baronies and shires getting into the season these last few weeks, one couldn’t possibly attend them all. We hope as many Altavians took part in as many Yules as possible. If not, please think about going to other yules next year. They are all so much fun and great opportunities to get to know people in other locations.

Speaking of yules, our Yule is coming up this week. It will be Epic!!! So much planning and preparation have been going on these past months. Many people are making sure all of us have a great time. Remember to bring some food to feed a small group of people, a toy to donate, and most importantly your smiling, friendly faces. See you all there.

For all those who celebrate, have a most happy and safe holiday season. Thank you for being so Great!

Your Baron and Baroness,
Niko and Briana

It’s the season to be thankful and His Excellency and I want to say how thankful we are for each and everyone of you. Altavians are a remarkable bunch of artisans, fighters, organizers, hard workers, creative thinkers and all-around awesome people. We are lucky to have you in our lives.

One thing we are especially grateful for is that all Altavians (that we are aware of) came through the recent fires unscathed. We know that there are quite a few SCA folk in the West that weren’t so lucky. Keep your eyes on Facebook for ways to help, if you are so inclined. Both His Majesty Dawid and Caid’s DRC Aldgytha have posted links on their personal pages regarding assistance efforts.

We are also very thankful for everyone who helped out at Agincourt Tourney and Feast a few weeks ago. Thank you to Cecilia and Christoph for event stewarding the tourney, Christoph for running the archery portion, Santiago for running thrown weapons, Cecilia for running the Fretted Fork. We also had our first feast in many years…many thanks to Meliora for running the front of the house and to Selene for cooking a wonderful feast. Many wonderful people helped Meliora with serving including Cecilia, Lynnette, and Rayne and Courtney, Hadassah, and Anne helped Selene in the kitchen. Wonderful job, all!

We’re entering a slower event season as we take time to celebrate with our non-SCA families. Isles Anniversary is coming up this weekend and His Excellency andI are both attending; we hope to see you there. Medieval Marketplace is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and is an excellent place to work on your holiday gift list. After that, we enter the season of Yules. Altavia and Angel’s Mythical Yule is on December 15 and we will hear a lot more about that coming. After that, the new year and a new reign will be upon us, sooner than any of us think!

We hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week with lots of family and food. We’re looking forward to a wonderful holiday season with all of you here in Altavia!

Yours in Service to the Dream,
THL Nikolaos Phaistos, Baron of Altavia
THL Briana MacCabe, Baroness of Altavia

This has been a truly great month for Altavia. We accomplished many things in one small month. September 15^th we hosted crown tourney. Everyone is so helpful with set up and tear down. The Stewards planned everything efficiently and our Marshals did their job to perfection. The List officers were fast and accurate. We should be proud of how we could contribute to the Kingdom and its future. Thank you.

On September 22^nd, we hosted Caid Rapier Open in Angels. Again, Altavians came together for a Kingdom event. It turned out to be one of the biggest ones of recent history. The List officers got the event moving proficiently. The Altavian fighters and marshals did great. We had a little geographic fun with Their Excellencies of Angels too. As a Rapier fighter and a Baron, we thank you.

And of course we just finished Great Western War. The Baronial Camp Master mapped the camp out nicely and we all had quite enough space. We all got in some serious volunteer time as well. The fighters fought, the Artists arted, the shoppers shopped, the teachers taught, and funmakers had fun. Newcomers enjoyed their first war and veterans enjoyed each other’s company. Campfires and Ice cream socials were the theme of the war. Thank you all for a great Great western.

Looking ahead, we have Agincourt and Feast as well as Yule. Let’s get some serious advertising out for them. They need it. We will have some serious fun!!! Altavians are great and we are proud of you all. You make the Barony shine! 

Your Baron and Baroness,
Niko and Briana

Fall is (almost) here and the Barony is kicking it into high gear.

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us for a wonderful day at Angels Anniversary. Congrats to our new younger cousins, Johannes and Sophia, and best wishes for a wonderful retirement for Liam and Fara! Special thanks to everyone and most especially to chief lady Juanica for helping to wrangle the largesse. All was very well received! Finally, congrats to Altavia’s Angels (Lynnette, Batista, and Cecilia) for winning the camaraderie contest!

Crown is coming this Saturday, we’ll be talking about it more later, but please join us in the baronial pavilion and help pitch in throughout the day. Remember, it takes a village to run a Barony. ?

Next Saturday is Caid Rapier Open in LaVerne. This will be a small event but there will be royal attendance. The dragonwing will be there so come on out and support the rapier community!

And, then, GWW will be upon us. I can’t currently access the camp list, but we have a total of 33 campers and 11,000 sq. ft. alloted. Rechinka and I will be gathering tent sizes shortly; be on the look out for posts and emails. Even if you aren’t camping with the barony, please swing by camp to say “Hi!” and hang out by the fire. Please also consider joining us for our baronial gate shift from 2-4 pm on Friday.

I apologize for missing the fact that last night should have been our second Monday of the month Birthday night. Never fear, there will be treats next week!

And now, some words from your Baron.

Thanks everyone for all the help this month! We are so proud and grateful for all Altavians who helped with all the unexpected happenings that had popped up this month. Thanks to Juanica, Monique and Alan for a great Arts and Sciences class. So many people came out to make pewter coins and did! It was a great night! Practices are picking up for Archery, Thrown Weapons, Armored and Rapier as well. What a great month!!!

Yours in Service to the Dream,
THL Nikolaos Phaistos, Baron of Altavia
THL Briana MacCabe, Baroness of Altavia