Altavia-Angels Yule 2014

Photo

Altavia-Angels Yule Feast Hall

Information

Location:	Altavia
Date:	12/13/14

Event Staff

Event Stewards: THL Nikolaos Phaistios (Altavia) & Lady Elena Jardiniz (Angels)

Highlights

Their Excellencies, Peter and Gabrielle, Baron and Baroness of the Angels, announced their designated heirs, Sir Uilliam Mór MacGregor and The Honorable Lady Fara MacGregor
The outgoing Seraph Bard, Lord Paul fitz Denis, presented a poem that chronicled the Baronage of the Angels.
Lord Da'ud Abrahimzadeh Sanandaji (Dawi of Three Rivers), Hippogryph Pursuivant for the Barony of Three Rivers (Calontir), attended the event. (He will join the "SCA Jeopardy Veterans Club" on 12/15/14 as a contestant on the ABC-TV game show.)

Honors Received
- Dame Selene Colfox, Augmentation to the Sable Fret, Altavia
- Lady Colette des Trouveres, Argent Fret, Altavia
- Lady Cassandra de Lorrain, Argent Fret, Altavia
- Lady Monique Marie Sauniere, Argent Fret, Altavia
- Lord Gendü Secen, Vert Fret for archery, Altavia
- Baroness Tezar of Aeolis, Order of the Starre and the Stone, Altavia
- Countess Bridget Lucia Mackenzie, Order of the Starre and the Stone, Altavia
- Master Laertes McBride, Order of the Starre and the Stone, Altavia
- Baron Jason Thomas the Wanderer, Order of the Seraphic Star, Angels
- Baron Timotheus Zacharia von Schloss Zwilling, Order of the Seraphic Star, Angels
- Dame Lynnette de Sandoval del Valle de los Unicornios, Order of the Seraphic Star, Angels

The new Seraph Bard: Lord David Straker Whittaker
The new Altavia Bard: Lady Briana MacCabe
Altavia Chess Champion: Natasha
Best Table Decoration: 1st Place: Lady Colette la trouvère; 2nd Place The Household of Saint Valentine
Cooking contest winners:
- Best Main Dish: THL Fu Ching Lan, Lamb with Mint
- Best Side Dish: THLKiena le Blue, Honey Butter
- Best Dessert: Viscountess Lorissa du Griffin, Gingerbread Truffles
- People's Choice: Viscount Sir Morven of Carrick, Meatballs

From the Barony of the Angels Website

Duel Yule - Let the games begin!

THEME: Italian Renaissance, The Medici Family vs. The Borgia Family

Come join the Baronies of Angels and Altavia as we celebrate the Holidays together! It will be an evening of family competition. During the late period a rich merchant class developed in parts of Italy. Rich families made their money with shrewd business dealings, and taking risks on exotic business ventures. We invite you to be part of the family. It is an offer you can’t refuse. You will be assigned a family at gate and you will earn points for your family for every game you win. Games and competitions will be available throughout the day and night to uphold your family’s honor. The winning family will be awarded special a treasure at the end of the night.

There will be much to do, much to eat, and much fun to be had, so please come feast and frolic with us! Please bring your banners and shields to display and add pageantry to the hall. The theme for the evening, and all contests and competitions, is “Italian Renaissance." Entries matching the theme are preferred (but not required). An Italian Backdrop Photo Scene will be up for your Renaissance pictures.

So, here are the night’s events:

CONTESTS

Table-Decorating: Tables are round and seat 8
Altavia Chess Champion
Angels Games Champion
Altavia Bardic Champion: Our competitions will be held concurrently (i.e., contestants for either of the two Baronies will perform in one competition) and the results will be decided by consultation between the Barons and Baronesses. PLEASE keep your performances under FOUR minutes due to time restriction. The current Altavia Bards strongly encourage Altavians to consider performing for this wonderful event! Find something that suits you, that you'd like to share, that would enrich our Yule festivities.
Seraph (Angels) Bard Champion: Those interested in competing should arrive on site no later than 4pm prepared to perform a piece of their own choosing, with entries relating to the day's theme of “Duel Yule; Let the Games Begin” encouraged but not required. Performances of any and all styles are welcome (music, storytelling, drama, poetry, comedy, etc.) and documentation is not required.

CULINARY CONTESTS (sponsored by Baron Peter Cadarn)

Best Main Dish
Best Side Dish
Best Dessert
People's Choice (All dishes will be entered into the contest.)

The YULE FEAST is potluck, so each person should bring a dish to serve at least 8. Potluck dish determined by SCA first name:

A-H Main Dish
I-O Side Dish
P-Z Dessert

Along with your dish:

1. Make out a 3x5 card with your name and a list of ingredients for the dish. (Please be specific as a courtesy to those with food allergies.)
2. A serving utensil for your dish.
3. Clearly mark both the dish/bowl/platter, etc. and the serving utensil as yours if you want it back at the end of the night.
4. Bring an extension cord if you are bringing a crock pot or chafing dish and, mark that as well.
5. It's a good idea to bring a large plastic bag for carrying the empty serving item and utensils home.

All dishes should be brought completely cooked and/or ready to eat.

There will be a REVEL after the feast with games, games, and more games. There will also be youth activities. Please contact THL Niko for details at the address below. We will be having our annual Toys for Tots drive, so please bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation. The Toys will be picked up by Fire Fighters from Station 88 (Sherman Oaks, CA).

BARDIC DUEL The Altavia/Angels Duel Yule on December 13th is quickly approaching. In keeping with the theme for the night, there will be a Bardic Duel to decide the bardic champions for each barony! Members of any House (barony) are invited to bring their storytelling, instrumental, vocal, and dance talents to the center stage and fight for the honor of being the Bardic Champion for either Angels or Altavia! As in years past, all contestants may compete jointly for either championship. However, instead of the choice being left up to Their Excellencies, this year’s bardic competition will be decided by People’s Choice! At Gate, revelers will be given the choice of a red token for Angels or a green token for Altavia, symbolizing which House (Baronial) champion you would like to fight (vote) for. After all performances have concluded, votes will be cast and the champions announced.

Participants,

Please prepare a piece that is no longer than 4 minutes in length, to allow everyone time to perform.
Bring a list shield or small item to represent you. Revelers will place their tokens by this item to vote.
If you wish to only compete for one barony, Let Me Know In Advance. This is Very Important.
PM me ASAP [on FB] if you wish to compete, or send email to palmeresque at yahoo dot com. We need to get an idea of run-time for the competition.
Choose whatever Family-Friendly content you’d like, but performances with a Dual Yule/Medici vs. Borgia themes are preferred.
Please check in with Colette la trouvère (Bard of Altavia) or Paul fitz Denis (Seraph Bard) upon arrival at the event.
Yule starts at 3pm. Please come as close to 3 as you can.

YIS, Lady Colette la trouvère , Bard of Altavia

SITE FEES:

$10 Adult Member for Potluck Feast and Revel
$5 Youth (4-12)
Children 3 and under are guests of the Baronies
There will be an additional $5 non-member surcharge.

SCHEDULE 3:00 pm - Site opens to the populace. For those interested in table decorating, come early and get started. We will also have games available at this time as well. 4:00-6:00 pm - Court, followed by the Yule Feast. Both the Angels and Altavia Bardic Champion competitions will be held during the feast. 6:30-10:00 pm - Dessert Judging and Revel (games and music) 10:00-10:45 pm - Clean-up 11:00 pm - Hall closes and everyone must be off the site

DIRECTIONS TO THE SITE St. Mary's Proto-Cathedral, Feast Hall, 5329 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA. 91411 (The hall is a separate building behind the Church. Pull into either driveway. The parking lot is behind the Church and the hall is at the back of the parking lot.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

This is a wet site.
Enclosed candles are allowed.
NO SMOKING inside the hall or on the Church property.
Pets are NOT allowed except for service animals.

For more information, contact the Event Stewards THL Nikolaos Phaistos (Altavia) or Lady Elena Jardiniz (Angels)

Memories

From Their Excellencies, Peter and Gabrielle, Baron & Baroness of the Angels -

Greetings unto the People of Angels and Altavia,<br. What a wonderful (Duel) Yule on Saturday night. Great company! Good food! Fun games! And angelic voices to round out the evening's festivities! His Excellency and I were members of the Borgia Family for the evening and it was so much fun to watch the many diverse games being played, including the tug-of-war in the middle of the room!
We would like to thank everyone who helped with planning, decorating, cooking, Gate, and the myriad tasks that helped to make Yule a fun evening:

Event Stewards THL Nikolaos Phaistios for Altavia and Lady Elena Jardiniz for Angels
Lord Jason ap Griffin, the lady Stephanie (Lord Nikos' beautiful lady wife), and Dame Lorissa du Griffin for kitchen staffing and keeping the food lines moving smoothly – and to everyone who brought food – what a great feast!
The decorating committee headed by THL Fu Ching Lan (whose artistic insight and beautiful table decorations and backdrop added to the glamour of the evening), Baroness Meliora Deverel, Lady Corinna de la Mare, Lady Arianna Foxford, and Sir Uilliam Mór MacGregor and THL Fara MacGregor, just to mention a few.
Thank you to The Household of Saint Valentine for running the Games Championship.
To Lady Colette la trouvère for running a superb Bardic Competition and to Lord Paul fitz Denis for not just one, but two amazing poems, Baron Secca of Kent for a special reading, and the beautiful voices of all those who participated.

We are happy to welcome Lord David Straker Whittaker into the Angels' Hall of Champions as our new Seraph Bard.

Congratulations to Viscount Sir Morven of Carrick for his outstanding meatballs (People's Choice winner), THL Fu Ching Lan's Lamb with Mint (Main Dish winner), THL Kiena le Blue's Honey Butter (Side Dish winner), and Dame Lorissa du Griffin for Gingerbread Truffles (Dessert).

And to the Gate Staff – Master Timotheus Zacharia von Schloss Zwilling and Lady Leonor de Sevilla for once again sitting at gate throughout the evening.

We also welcomed three new members into the Order of the Seraphic Star – Dame Lynette de Sandoval del Valle de los Unicornios, Baron Timotheus Zacharia von Schloss Zwilling, and Baron Jason Thomas the Wanderer for long-time, ongoing service to the Barony. Huzzah!

And finally, we announced that Sir Uilliam Mór MacGregor and The Honorable Lady Fara MacGregor are our heirs (pending the polling in January and final approval of the Crown). We are very confident that the Barony will be in good hands when we step down at Anniversary next September.

Wishing everyone a happy Holiday Season and a prosperous and healthy New Year,
Yours in Service, Peter and Gabrielle, Baron and Baroness of Angels

From Their Excellencies, Cristofanus and Cecilia, Baron & Baroness of the Altavia -

Greetings,

I am recouping from my wounds of my family's loss Saturday night at Yule, when the Borgia family took the Medici's by force!!!

But what a fabulous brawl it was, was it not??? So many thank yous to give. Let's start off with the one who put it all together Niko with assistance by Elena. You guys are the best. It was fun beautiful and came together very nicely. It would not have been so beautiful without the talents of Fu Ching, Meliora, Francisco, Catriona, Corinna, Fara, and Liam to mention the few I got in the way of the most. Our kitchen thanks for feeding us: Stephanie, Jason and Lorissa. The games were so much fun thanks to House Valentine (shout out to Lavish, Pieter, and Luca who made sure we all had fun). Colette ran a fabulous Bard Competition and was awarded an Argent fret along with Cassandra and Monique and Gendu received a Vert fret for archery, three cheers for them. We have new champions as well: Briana (a peoples choice winner) is Altavia's new Bardic Champion and Natalyyia is our new chess champion, her brother Dimitri a close second. Three cheers for our new champions...

The evening was made so pleasant with the songs of Syranisima, and the readings by his Excellency Secca, and Paul, and the other performers who performed for us. And to Angels, we loved sharing our Yule with them and our tables complemented each other. Thank you to Baron Peter and Baroness Gabriel for sponsoring the table decorating contest (which Collette's table won) the food contest - Main Dish was the Meatballs by his Excellency Morvin, Side Dish was Blue's Honey Butter, and Dessert was won by her Lorissa for yer melt in your mouth ginger truffles (I must have the recipe).

The fun lasted all night, including when the firemen came to get the Toys for Tots (thank you Baron Cristof for suggesting they come in and pick up the toys from the far corner of our Yule - am I right Ladies?).

Happy Holidays to All, (and to all a goodnight! ;) ) ~Cecilia and Cristofanus Castellani|Cristof]]

P.S. In my old age I forgot to mention the three new Starre and the Stone recipients: Countess Bridget Lucia Mackenzie, His Baron Laertes McBride and Baroness Tezar of Aeolis.