Marching Through Time 2007, Planning for our first event

Okay, time to get this show on the road! I have just sent in a request to the organizer of Marching Through Time (MTT) to have a Bronze Age camp at that event in April 2007. The 2006 MTT was last weekend, and I was there with my Roman Legio XX as usual. But next year I want to turn out with all my Bronze Age stuff, and would like to invite everyone else to join me. We talked about this a couple months ago in a discussion about making a documentary,

http://s8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Cent...p?showtopic=234

MTT is a multi-period living history encampment, including roughly 30 groups and 300 participants from different eras ranging from Celts up to Desert Storm. The camps are arranged mostly in a ring around a field, with another field for marching/battle/firing demos. It is open to the public and a great event in general.

So who else would like to participate? So far it's myself, Dan Zeidler (also of Legio XX), and Steven Peffley. Nate Bell and Brock were both making noises about joining, and Gregory was talking about flying out from the Left Coast for it. Still there, Gregory? You can stay at my place!

I propose simple guidelines:
--Pick your time and place, and do it! Interpolation and conjecture is obviously necessary for some cultures, but try not to mix and match items too obviously (Danish shield and Egyptian axe, for instance). I may have to do a different impression each day. But we can all be from different cultures.
--Neolithic to Late Bronze Age. Skip the iron, right?
--Be as accurate as reasonably possible. No modern obviously materials and such. Try to document everything.
--If you have stuff which doesn't go with what you're portraying, bring it anyway for display.
--Talk to the visitors about what you know. Don't expect to have a good answer to every question--it's fine to say "I don't know" or "We don't know", or to pass the question along to another participant who might know.
--Watch out for poison ivy.

I'll be making a linen canopy/fly for shade, and recently thought of painting it with Mycenaean textile motifs. Have to experiment with paints and such, but it would be COOL. Also planning a couple stools, and I have a couple baskets for storing food and other essentials. It's an easy weekend, open to the public from 11 AM to 5 PM both days, with a modern food vendor, porta-potties, etc. I have about 20 projects I want to get done by then, so a year of planning is barely enough!

Ooo-rah! Hope to see you guys there!

Matthew

I'm still here. Lately I've been sucked in to school work, SCA armor, a stupid internet Java game called Runescape and some other random stuff! So, little forum time for me!

I'll have to see about making that date at that place... I'm doubtful, but anything's possible (except perhaps me getting the armor of my dreams.)

-Gregory-

Sounds like the perfect time to debut my Achaean sailor set up if I can get it done in time. It will also include a period sail I'm going to reproduce and use for a shebang/shanty/tent. Put me down for "I'll try to get there" as I start college in the Fall, and I have no clue what affect that will have on my reenacting.

Cheers,
Adam

Any details of your Achean sailor gear would be much appreciated.

Edwin

I strongly doubt that I will make it. A friend from Germany is planning to visit me at the end of April or in May next year and I just can't do both, especially so close together.

Adam, that would be great! College can indeed put a crimp on other activities, and April be very busy for schoolwork. I'll keep you on the list, though.

Gregory and Brock--Hey, I don't even like going more than an hour's drive for an event, so it's great that you guys would consider coming at all! I'm certainly not going to bug you about it, but happy to do what I can to make the trip easier for you, if that helps at all.

Oh, by the way, participants are welcome to camp at MTT, even Friday night and Sunday night if they like. I never bother, since home is just a 25 minute drive away. If we don't have a proper tent in our camp, there are lots of other groups that are happy to share tent space (half the people there are friends of mine!).

Khairete,

Matthew

Sounds wonderful Matt!
I suppose I could show up as an impoverished reenactor who is unable to get to finish his kit! Kind of a postmodern portrayal . It'll have to be next year for me , but I want to see PICTURES!!

Todd

Edwin,

I'm the research stage right now, and haven't gotten things fully outlined and detailed yet.

Matt,

Yeah, most likely I will be too busy, but it doesn't hurt to plan in advance.

Cheers,
Adam

Todd, that sounds almost as good as my idea of going as a UN inspection team--we just sit outside the site in our cars until they let us in!

Edwin, there was a little discussion about the sailor impression here:

http://s8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Cent...p?showtopic=429

Adam, yeah, I'm already starting to feel like there isn't enough time, ack! I'll probably calm down a little at some point. Hey, how about a Mycenaean life jacket?

Matthew

Matt,

If you've got pics, I'll make one....

Cheers,
Adam

p.s. According to the Iliad all the soldiers were sailors and rowed themselves to Troy....so once I get the sailors impression down it's just a short jump to doing a regular warrior impression....

All right, high time to get into some serious planning and preparation! The dates for MTT are April 14-15, 2007. There might be school groups coming through on Friday the 13th (gasp!) while we set up, but that's an "optional" day.

So far, participants include myself and Dan Z. Steve Peffley says he is going as his usual Iron Age Celt this year, since he's just better prepared for that. We'll let him slide, THIS time, though we may beg to borrow a few toys from him! That means that Nate Bell might go Iron Age, too, but I'll ask him if he doesn't chime in here. That also means there's going to be a squabble for camp space, but probably the folks in charge of the event will help work all that out.

There are 2 other guys who I don't think are on this board whom I'll be bugging. Adam, are you still thinking of attending? Anyone else even toying with the idea of coming out? I do have some spare gear, after all!

Just what I portray may depend a bit on the weather, but I'm thinking of doing Urnfield-ish on one day and my Warrior Vase impression (or something late Mycenaean) on the other. Which will leave my Sea People stuff available, plus my Danish oak coffin tunic and some other stuff. I'm happy to loan tunics to anyone who is skinny enough to fit into them!

My folding stool is almost done, just have to oil it and put the seat on it. I'll have a linen awning with 4 poles for some shade, a bucket for water, 3 or 4 cups, and a basket or two for stowing food and stuff. (Dan will recognize this as not too different from our usual Roman camp, except that being warriors we can have furniture, whereas grunt soldiers can NOT!) I'm thinking of some sort of poster or display board, too, to show a few pictures of key bits of evidence from Europe, Greece, Asia, Egypt, etc. Oh, and I cooked up a brief flyer to hand out:

Might be able to stick a picture or two on it, much like on our Legio XX flyer. Sound good?

Questions or suggestions? It's tempting to set up a little furnace and try to melt some metal, but that might have to wait until next year seeing as none of us have any significant experience along those lines yet!

Anyway, I have to fill out the application form at some point. And there are less than THREE MONTHS to get ready!

Khairete,

Matthew

Matt,

There is no way I'll be able to make the event....the semester here at Flagler College ends in April, and then I'm shipping off to do my archaeology field school for the summer with the University of Florida.

Cheers,
Adam

Ah, rats, sorry you can't make it! But thanks for the reply. An archeological field school--that sounds COOL! Have fun. There will be other events!!

Matthew

Hey Matt,

I am/was actually contemplating coming down, but it looks like the 8 hour drive there and back might be a little too much in regards to time constraints... unless I take time off work. We'll see.

Shame though, since I could bring all my bronze casting stuff and we could melt some metal!!! (I've been DYING to start melting again, but as it's -20C here these days, NOTHING seems to be melting at all!!!).

Matt,

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. A field school is a pre-requisite if you're going to get an actual arcaheology job. Unfortunately it won't be anything bronze age, but it will still be cool anyway....we're doing a spanish mission site and some late 18th/early 19th century slave quarters as part of the school.

Cheers,
Adam