Buckston’s Buccaneer Birthday 2023

Pirate Costume Party
Saturday, Nov 11
7678 Snow Camp Rd
Feast Dance Battles Axes Games Homebrew

Who: Everyone is welcome!

What: An all-day festival in honor of our living history club‘s 47th year! This year the theme is 16th century pirates. Long before Blackbeard sailed the Carolina coast, sailors dreaded the Barbary Corsairs, pirate queens like Grace O’ Malley and Sayyida al-Hurra, and state-sponsored privateers like Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake.

When: Saturday, November 11, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Where:
American Legion Post 305
7678 Snow Camp Rd
Snow Camp, NC 27349

Why: Cheer for tournaments and battles, play games of skill, enter art contests, shop for arts and crafts, enjoy a commedia dell’arte performance, applaud the award winners, sit down for a lavish banquet, then stay late for singing and dancing.

How:

  • Online registration is open until November 7th. You will need a free account at SCA.org. Or simply pay at the door.
  • This is a costume party. Wear a pirate costume, some other historical costume from before 1600, or pick one from our rolling costume closet.
  • Camping is available.
  • You may bring your own food and drink. All state and local laws concerning alcohol and contraband will be strictly enforced.

Tournaments

Tournaments are open to adults who hold current SCA authorization cards. If you are interested in free martial arts lessons with the SCA, contact the Chatelain (greeter) for your local club.

Rapier and Armored Melees

Be a pirate and raid a town for booty!

Fighters, archers, ax-throwers, and even artisans can join crews, contributing to an overall team score. Armored and rapier fighters run the same scenario!

  • Be a citizen and defend your holy place, tavern, and mayor’s house, while your Archers of Doom ruin the pirates’ plans. Defenders get points for all the items they keep.
  • Attackers get points for booty that they get to the ship. After booty reaches the ship, it is unrecoverable by the defenders.
  • Crews take turns to be both defenders and attackers.
  • To resurrect, pirates must return to their ship to reach a resurrection point.
  • Non-combatant by-standers hurl insults at the pirates as they return to resurrect. If the team does not respond, that counts against their score.
  • The Archers of Doom are invulnerable (they’re stationed in insurmountable guard towers), and available only to the defenders.
  • Times may vary based on the number of fighters, but each scenario should last a maximum of 10 minutes.
  • Pick-ups will be available while the scenario is being run by the opposite discipline.
  • Combat archers and rubber band guns welcome!

Activities

Free and open to everyone!
  • Target Archery

    Bring your own longbow or recurve, or borrow one of ours. (Compound bows are too modern.) We’ll have some targets just for fun and some for competition. Target archery competitors can declare for one crew or another. Their points are tallied as part of the final win or loss. The top target archers win prizes.

  • Axe or Knife Throwing

  • Bring your own, or borrow some of ours. We’ll have some targets just for fun and some for competition. Thrown weapons competitors can declare for one crew or another. Their points are tallied as part of the final win or loss. The top thrown weapons competitors win prizes.

  • Grappling Hook Toss

  • Just for fun, can you heave a weight with a line attached and hit the target?

  • Children’s Activities

    Beware, Mateys, young and old! The Dread Pirate Mor is sailing into harbor at Buckston’s Buccaneer Birthday, and she is looking to shanghai some crew members! She is looking for anyone of any age to add to her crew (parents are welcome to participate, but if the child is 4 or under, a parent needs to stay for activities). There will be a cannonball toss, walk the plank (hunker hausen), capture the shark, a treasure hunt (yes, the Dread Pirate Mor has a chest full of Pirate booty!!) and games to end the day.

  • Ring Toss

  • Knotwork

  • Can you master all these naughty nautical knots?

  • Dancing

  • After dinner, we’ll do an assortment of fun Renaissance dances from England, France and Italy. All will be taught and called, so no experience is necessary. If you have ever done square dancing, contra dancing, or ECD, you already know most of the steps!

  • Bardic Circle

  • Sing pirate songs and tell stories around the fire.

Contests

Free and open to everyone!
  • Wanted Poster

  • Make up a Wanted poster for any actual 16th century pirate, privateer, or corsair. For example, Spain could want Walter Raleigh for theft and murder even though England thought him a hero. Extra points for cool historical details, artwork, or additional supporting information (“documentation”) about your pirate.

  • Costume Contest

  • Strut your stuff on the runway! Separate prizes for the most authentic 16th century outfit, the most pirate-y, and the cutest kid outfit.

  • Brewing

  • Bring us your best homebrew to sample!

Pricing

  • Adult SCA members $15 …Interested in membership?
  • Adult Non-members $20
  • Children 6-17 $5
  • Children 0-5 FREE
  • Feast, all ages $15

Music by the Motley Tones

Motley Tones press photo

Schedule

Saturday
8:00 AMSetup. Staff arrive.
9:00 AMGate opens. Rolling costume closet opens.
10:00 AMOpening ceremonies (“morning court”)
10:30 AMAuthorizations
10:30 AMArmor inspection
10:30 AM Games
1o:30 AMMorning children’s activities
10:30 AMDrop off contest entries in the Hall
11:00 AMArchery, thrown weapons, and grappling hooks open
11:00 AMBattles
12 NoonLunch for sale ($5)
12 NoonMotley Tones perform first set
1:00 PMMotley Tones perform second set
1:30 PMAfternoon children’s activities
2:00 PMCostume contest
2:00 PMBrewing contest
2:30 PMMotley Tones perform third set
3:00 PMCommedia dell’arte performance
3:30 PMPick up all contest entries
4:00 PMAward ceremony (“evening court”)
6:00 PMFeast!
7:30 PMDancing!
9:00 PMCampfire stories and songs (“bardic circle”)
Sunday
1:00 PMEverything packed up and off site

Shipwreck Special Lunch $5

First come, first served. Cash only.

You receive (1) a hoagie roll with your choice of meatballs, bbq chicken, or veggies (peppers, onions, and mushrooms) (2) a cheese stick, (3) pretzel stick, carrots sticks and celery sticks, (4) gilded cookies, (5) you choice of punch, water or tea.

Tudor Feast $15

First Course: Appetizers

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red MeatVege-
tarian
Cookiesxxx

Second Course: Charcouterie Platter

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red MeatVege-
tarian
Italian Sausagexxx
Liver Sausagexxx
Smoked Fishxxxx
Zatarain’s Creole Mustardxxxxx
Country Hamxxx
Pickled Green Peppercornsxxxxx
Garnishxxxxx

Second Course: Bread and Cheese Platter

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red MeatVege-
tarian
Roasted Whole Garlicxxxxx
White Breadxxxx
Quince Pastexxxxx
Green Onion Tasselsxxxxx
Gluten Free Optionxxxxx

Third Course: Pies and Salad

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red MeatVege-tarian
Steak and Ale Piex
Spinach Piexxx
Mushroom and Cheese Piexxx
Mixed Saladxxxxx

Fourth Course: Roast with Sides

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red Meat Vege-tarian
Turkey Sausage Linksxxxx
Cornish Hensxxxx
Garlic Chardxxxxx
Leeks & Turnipsxxxx

Fifth Course: Dessert

Modern NameGluten FreeMilk FreeNut FreeNo Red MeatVege-tarian
Stewed Applesxxxxx
Bread Puddingxxx

As far as possible, everything in this feast will be made from scratch–absolutely no canned broth, bouillon, or anything containing modern flavor enhancers. The same goes for dyes. We may not raise all our meat, vegetables and dairy, but they are the purest we can afford. The bread flour is organic from Lindley Mill in Graham, NC. Honey is from local bees. In particular, we check all our meats to ensure they are not “enhanced with a solution” of God-knows-what. We have the containers if you want to read the labels.
We do our best to segregate meat from wheat and dairy, but everything will come out of one kitchen. Dust and crumbs might travel.
Fowl will be prepared separately from red meat, so there won’t be pork juice on your chicken.
We have no soy or soy products in any of our dishes. We have no shellfish in any of our dishes.
Could there be sulfites in the wine or dried fruit? Yes.
We don’t use canola oil. We are cooking with light olive oil or butter. If you are sensitive to olives, please let the kitchen know and we’ll advise you on what to avoid.

Staff

PositionNameSCAContact
AutocratIngrid ToweyLady Odile de Strasbourgingrid@ib-ent.com
Head ChefBrian ToweyLord Charles Flemingcbt@ib-ent.com
Marshal in ChargeMark BurnetteBaron Rufus Barbarossarufus.barbarossa@gmail.com
RegistrationCatherine Y. KingAdair of Makyswelladairofmakyswell@gmail.com
GateA. PennachiLady Ríoghnach inghean Uí Clérighbirthdayres@buckston.
windmastershill.org
Hall StewardRuth HarrisMistress Caitilin MacDonoghuecaitlinofbaelfiredun@yahoo.com
NewcomersBonnie HelminkLady Isabella Bourchier de Lovaineparadisebeach48@yahoo.com
Arts & SciencesSharon WalkerLady Benetessabenetessa@gmail.com
Children’s ActivitiesMary KearneyBaroness Mor the Merrybaronessmor@yahoo.com

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