By Duchess Marieke

OUTLINE
Event basics
Choosing a site and a date
Creating a budget
Submitting a bid
Insurance
Advertising the event
Day of event
After the event
Summary

EVENT BASICS

The East Kingdom Seneschal defines an event as: a medieval recreational activity sponsored by a branch of the SCA intended for the attendance and enjoyment of more than that branch’s populace, advertised to at least the population of the branch, and may require fees to attend.

An autocrat (sometimes called an Event Steward) is the person who plans, organizes and runs an event, usually with lots of help from others. The autocrat must be a paid member of the SCA. It is the responsibility of the seneschal to check on this. The autocrat serves as a local officer during the planning and execution of the event. (If you’re a non-member, you can still play a large role in the running of an event, by being a deputy to the autocrat.)

The autocrat of an event has full responsibility for that event, but is ultimately responsible to the sponsoring branch. Before the budget is finalized, the shire’s Financial Committee must review the budget. Before event details are publicized, the seneschal must give approval.

The seneschal and the exchequer are not permitted, by Society rules, to serve as autocrat. However, the seneschal needs to attend the event, or appoint a deputy for this purpose. Likewise, if the exchequer can’t attend the event, a deputy should be appointed to oversee the Gate.

Events are normally held within our shire’s territory and are autocratted by a SCA member who lives in our shire. Shire events held outside our lands, or autocratted by somebody outside of the shire, require a special consent procedure (which is described in the East Kingdom Seneschal’s Policies)

CHOOSING A SITE AND DATE

Considerations – Perhaps the hardest part is finding a suitable, affordable, well-located site. In your search, consider – where is it located? Is there adequate parking? How much will the site rental cost? What hours is the site available? How does the kitchen look? Are the bathrooms adequate? Are there separate rooms available for various activities? Does the site permit alcohol of any type? Are pets welcome? Are we allowed to have candles? Is the site accessible for people with mobility issues? – For a new site, it’s best to arrange an appointment for a walk-through, and take some photos.

Insurance, Contract? Also, the site might mention that a Contract is needed, or Proof of Insurance. If so, the Shire Seneschal can help you with that, but not until after the event is approved by the Shire Financial Committee.

Avoiding Conflicts – Local events should not be scheduled against Kingdom events when the Kingdom event is held nearby. A specific waiver is required from the current Crown if your planned event is within 100 miles of a Major Kingdom Event (like Twelfth Night, Crown Tourney, or Coronation.) Also try to avoid scheduling an event against any event within two hours drive. It is courteous to share your selected event date with neighboring seneschals (even before you have the final details worked out), in order to aid their own planning, and to avoid conflicts.

CREATING A BUDGET

In order to submit a bid for an event, you first need to put together a budget. The budget lists all anticipated expenses, and estimates the income based on the site fees and (perhaps) feast fees that will be charged.  Common expenses are: site rental cost, site tokens, cleaning supplies, and prizes. If the event features a dayboard that all can enjoy, the dayboard expense is also included in the site fee.

Expenses are offset by income. It’s hard to predict how many people will come, so consult with previous autocrats to get an idea. You will divide the total event cost by the number of guests expected, to get a rough per-head cost. Sometimes you’ll decide that a site is just too expensive.

Then you need to set the prices – what will you charge people to attend? The site fee is calculated for everybody, and then there might be an optional extra fee for those who partake of the feast.

A common price structure might be: $15 site fee for adults ($10 for SCA members), free for under 18. Feast is an additional $15.

$5 Member Discount – As you figure what you’ll charge people at the gate – remember that the SCA requires us to collect an extra $5 from adult non-members. The money is kept separate and sent to SCA Corporate Headquarters – it does not add to our event income or profit. It complicates our fee structures and budgeting, so if you are confused, consult with the Exchequer. We are required to state this in our event publicity as a $5 member discount, rather than as a non-member surcharge. This situation applies whenever a “site fee” is charged. For minors, if there’s a discounted or free admission fee, they do not need to pay the extra $5. SCA members who want to take advantage of the $5 membership discount must provide proof of membership (such as a membership card) at the Gate.

By-Donation Events – It’s also possible to have an event site fee “by donation” and then charge a separate feast fee if you’re having a feast. (The feast fee should only cover the feast expenses; it’s not permitted to engineer the site costs into a separate feast fee.) By-donation events work best with inexpensive sites, to lessen the risks of not breaking even. With a by-donation event, we don’t have to charge the extra $5 for non-members.

Odd Money Rules – There are some odd rules about what we can and can’t spend money on. For example, we can’t use shire funds to furnish alcohol as part of the feast or event (but it’s fine for individual guests to bring and share alcohol, if the site permits this.) Most expenses related to the event (food, supplies) should be built into the event’s budget. Consult with the Exchequer if you’re not sure about what’s a legitimate expense. And, never take money out of the Gate Box for last-minute expenses!

Try to Break Even – The event budget should be designed to break even, with a reasonable cushion for uncertainty. We are allowed to make a profit, if the profits go back into our shire treasury. If the event loses money, the shire treasury will cover the loss (it’s not the autocrat’s personal financial responsibility.) The Exchequer is happy to help you design a budget and fee structure if you need assistance.

SUBMITTING YOUR BID

The event isn’t “real” until the Financial Committee looks over the budget and makes sure the numbers are realistic. The Seneschal also needs to give approval for the event to happen.

To make a bid, you can fill out this form which will ask for this information:

– Proposed name, date, and location of event
– Autocrat’s name and email
– Describe your overall vision for the event
– Site details: Capacity, handicapped accessible, camping or no, – alcohol policy, parking availability, are tables and chairs provided, is kitchen available, etc.
– Food: which meal/meals will be provided? Who is in charge of the food?
– Expenses: list all known expenses including site fees, food, and necessary supplies.
– Income: list expected attendance. What is the fee for adults, for teens, and for younger children? (Remember that we charge an extra $5 for nonmember adults, but we have to send that money away, so it doesn’t count against our expenses.)

After you submit the form, you should hear back within a week. If it’s a go, congratulations! Now there’s more work to do….

INSURANCE (Maybe…)

If a site requires “proof of insurance”, the seneschal can provide that. Hopefully that’s sufficient. However, if the site requires that the SCA be added as an “additional insured” on the SCA policy, it costs the shire $50 and the special certificate must be ordered 6 weeks in advance of when the *site* needs to see it (which might be earlier than the actual event date) so be sure to ask about that, and watch the timing. Instructions for that are here: http://www.sca.org/docs/pdf/insurancecert.pdf Information about what the SCA insurance covers and doesn’t cover is on p. 48-49 of the Society Seneschal’s Handbook, here: http://socsen.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Seneschals-Handbook-041214.pdf

ADVERTISING THE EVENT

You’ll have to write up an Event Announcement that gives all the details. Here’s a checklist of what to include in a full event announcement:

  • Name of event.
  • Group sponsoring the event.
  • Date, opening time, closing time.
  • Name of site, and site address.
  • Activities.
  • Information about food (feast, dayboard)
  • If there’s food, the name of the Head Cook, and contact info.
  • Site rules, if any (pets, open flames, alcohol).
  • Name of autocrat, and autocrat contact info.
  • Fee structure (including day fee/camping fee, adult/child, feast/dayboard/no feast), and pricing should include the $5 discount for SCA members.
  • Information about pre-registration (if needed) and where to send that.
  • If Canadians are invited, include information about how Canadian $ will be handled (pay at the Gate in US$, for example.)
  • The statement, “make out checks to “SCA Inc., Mountain Freehold.” It is also strongly recommended to include the sentence “Payment is by cash or check only; we cannot accept online payments at the Gate.”

When you have all of this information, AND approval from the Seneschal and the Financial Committee, then you are ready to publish the event announcement.

According to the East Kingdom Seneschal’s policies on page 8,  events must be submitted to the East Kingdom Online Calendar.   When you submit an announcement to the East Kingdom Calendar, you will be given a password so you can make updates later. When you fill out the online form, your event announcement is also automatically sent to the shire seneschal. The announcement won’t be posted until the seneschal approves it.

Of course, the event should also be published locally – that means, to our shire, and possibly to neighboring shires like Coldwood, Panther Vale, and others. Facebook and email lists are fine, but the most important place for it to be is on our shire website. Send a copy of the announcement to our shire Webminister.

DAY OF THE EVENT

Who’s In Charge? – The seneschal and autocrat are jointly responsible for making sure that site rules, SCA rules and mundane laws are being followed (waivers are signed, marshals are present for activities in their dominion, no unsupervised children, no alcohol for minors, etc.)

Gate Procedures – At the Gate, there must always be a paid SCA member (This is a Society Exchequer rule.) We must take reasonable precautions to secure the cash box. The event proceeds should be counted by two different people at the end of the event. Money may not be taken from the cash box during the event. Any last-minute expenses that come up during the event should be referred to the Exchequer.

Waivers – The Exchequer will provide blank waivers at the Gate, to be filled in and signed as guests arrive. There are different types of waivers. Having the blue membership card removes the need to sign the general waiver, but if an equestrian waiver is needed for the event, everybody must sign it. Also, waivers need to be signed by parents/guardians of minors (if the minors don’t have a signed blue card of their own). The full EK Waiver Policy is here: http://seneschal.eastkingdom.org/docs/waiverpolicy.php

Refunds – If refunds are requested, there is a shire policy for that. Consult with the Exchequer. You cannot give a refund from the cash box at the Gate – a check must be written.

Minors at Events -Anybody under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or by a responsible adult who is in possession of a waiver for the child signed by a parent, *and* a notarized medical treatment waiver. Both are available here: http://sca.org/docs/waivers.html

As autocrat, you may need to tactfully reunite parents with their wandering children. Parents are encouraged to participate in activities along with their children, and are at all times responsible for their welfare and entertainment.

Some events may have formal, organized “SCA Youth Activities.” For these, the parents may drop off their children and then go elsewhere. These official Youth Activities must be overseen and coordinated by a warranted (and background-checked) Youth Officer. Youth Activities must always have two unrelated adults present (not necessarily background-checked) and in line of sight with the minors. The official rules for Youth Activities are found in the Society Seneschal’s Handbook, http://socsen.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Seneschals-Handbook-041214.pdf, pages 22-23.

AFTER THE EVENT

It is a nice touch if the Autocrat writes and posts a brief event chronicle, including event highlights, and thanking people who came, and helped. (These chronicles are kept in the Freehold Archives – your event becomes an important part of our history!)

The autocrat or the exchequer should scan the waivers and send them to the Kingdom Waiver Secretary.

The Shire Exchequer will do these things: Send a financial event report showing income and expenses to the Kingdom Exchequer (copies to the autocrat, seneschal, and deputy Exchequer). Mail the NMS proceeds to the Kingdom (if necessary). Deposit the funds collected at the Gate into our Shire account. Make reimbursements to people who had expenses (keep your receipts!).

SUMMARY OF AUTOCRAT’S DUTIES

Think of an event you’d like to host. Find a site that works. Find people to run various aspects (feast, fighting, archery). Figure out your expenses, including site fee and materials. Estimate attendance, and work out a per-person fee structure. Get advice as necessary, for any of these steps. When you have settled on most details, send in an event bid request (see here for details). Await approval from seneschal and Financial Committee. Publicize event. Attend event and solve any issues that come up. Write a thank-you afterwards.

Places to get full information:
https://seneschal.eastkingdom.org/docs/SenHandbookMay2021.pdf – Rules applicable to Events in our Kingdom are on pages 7-9.

https://seneschal.eastkingdom.org/documents/waiverpolicy/– Waiver Policies applicable to the East Kingdom.

https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Seneschal-Handbook-0421.pdf – Insurance Information starts on page 57.