"So it is to be War between us.  If these demands are not met, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur!" 
- the Phantom of the Opera

Click on any of the following to jump to the information that interests you most:

Open letter to those camping with Rivenstar (information from our Land Agent and our Camp Manager, including valuable general information from last year's open letter
Contact info for our Camp Manager, Land Agent, and Cook Group Coordinator
Description of the camp cooking group and how it works
Summary of camp fees
Event camp checklist and Event shopping list: Two MS Word documents that will give you a basic starting point for your own packing.  Download them, edit, and print off before every event, and they will save your sanity!

The following information has been reprinted, with minor edits, with permission of our Baronial Land Agent, Lord Virnin Claye, and Rivenstar Camp Manager, Lord Janusz Zawisza.  Contact information for both of them is found at the bottom of this page.  Out of date information has been highlighted; info that remains the same from year to year has been kept.  See you at the War next year!

To pre-register online for Pennsic XXXVI, you can go here:
http://www.cooperslake.com/prereg36.php

Your pre-registration is due by June 15th when you register online.  If you pre-reg online you receive instant confirmation.  Our group name, as always, is Rivenstar.  One word, not "Barony of".  Just Rivenstar.  You can select it from a drop-down menu, so there should be no confusion.

Pennsic costs:
$100 for a pre-registered SCA Member, plus
$10 if you fail to pre-register, plus
$25 if you are not a Member, plus
$20 if you arrive before Friday, 3rd August.

$100 is due when you pre-register, with the balance due at Troll.  Children are a flat $20 for ages 6-17, $5 for <6, all due upon pre-registration.

If you fail to pre-register, Pennsic will not assign your land allotment to Rivenstar and you will probably end up camping by yourself.  Far away.  On jagged rocks.  Surrounded by Tuchux.  Do not let this happen to you!  If your plans are in doubt it is better to pre-register and apply for a refund later.

Also, while permission to camp with us is granted in nearly all cases, please inform us of your plans BEFORE you register so that we know whom to expect!  It will be helpful for me and your Land Agent, Virnin, to know the following:

What is your email address?
When do you plan to arrive?
When do you plan to leave?
How large is your tent?
Is your tent modern or period?

If you're not sure of the answers to these questions, that's okay (for now) but the sooner we have the information the better our planning will be.  You must also report your Pennsic ID number to Janusz and Virnin.  The online Land Agent web page shows everyone who has correctly pre-registered for Rivenstar.  As a fail-safe, in the event that an error occurred, send us your PENN number so we can make sure you're on the list. If we catch any errors before June 15, you can fix them. After that the Land Office has to fix them when (and if) they get time before land allocation is complete.  A bad pre-registration is just as bad as none at all, when it comes to land allocation for the group.

Please note that your registration entitles you to only 250 square feet of land, and some of that will be needed for ropes and stakes, walkways, and common areas (not to mention elbow room!).  If your tent is large, you might need to buy extra land - talk to me or Virnin off-list.

There will also be a small additional "camp tax" or "facilities charge" (yet to be determined) to cover the cost of our in-camp common amenities.  See below for a description of previous years' tax and the kind of things it covers.

We have been trying in recent years to improve the function and appearance of the encampment.  You certainly don't have to rush out and buy a beautiful canvas pavilion (though you could...) but we don't want to look like a tsunami refugee camp, either.  If you have any ideas, concerns, or suggestions, now would be a good time to discuss them.  You can air them publicly via the RivenList or at Barony meetings, or discuss them privately with Their Excellencies Rivenstar, Virnin, or myself.

Only 72 days till Pennsic!  Start your Pennsic projects NOW!

 -Janusz, Rivenstar Castellan
Paul Radecki
4223 Round Table Ct
West Lafayette, IN  47906
(765) 463-3063
lordjanusz@juno.com
 

Remember, there have been several changes from Pennsic 35 to this year's Pennsic 36, as follows:

• Gate fees went up $10 this year so the pre-registration deposit is now $100.
• The War comes 1 week earlier than previous years. Gate opens on July 27 and closes Aug 12.
• By July 2007, the Pennsylvania minimum wage will increase by $2/hr. Local prices will be higher.  Nobody has said how this will affect merchants who hire onsite helpers. Keep watching the official Pennsic War website for updates. http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn36/index.html

Many first-timers make the tragic mistake of arriving at Pennsic carrying far too much Scotch whiskey, Irish beer, fudge brownies, Toll House cookies, etc.  If you find yourself dangerously overstocked with these or similar items, contact your HARD WORKING, LONG SUFFERING camp staff immediately for assistance in disposing of the surplus.  We are here to help you. 

Last year's camp tax, explained (please note that THIS year's camp tax has not yet been determined; per Janusz, the specific details regarding camp amenities will be forthcoming, probably after pre-registration is over ):

There is considerable expense involved in the purchase, care, storage, and transport of camp facilities, and if you wish to enjoy them you must agree to share that expense.  This year's general camp tax covers the cost of the common tent (aka Napatorium), common land, firewood, lamp oil, etc., and is payable to me.  My mundane address appears at the end of this message; if possible, please send in your camp tax before Pennsic so that I don't have to handle large amounts of cash at War (and carry a large balance on my credit card!)  You can pay when you arrive if necessary, but you will not be assigned a place to set up your tent until you pay your taxes!  If you wish to use Virnin's in-camp hot showers, there will be an additional per person surtax to cover the cost of the propane (payable to Virnin when you arrive on site).  If you wish to participate in Nan's cooking group, please contact Nan immediately (contact information available below).  For those who choose to participate in the cooking group, there will be an additional surtax (payable to Nan and Pieter) to pay for the extra land occupied by the cook tent.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, we are here to serve you.  If your question concerns pre-registration or land, contact Virnin.  If your question concerns camp life, contact me.  You can also ask any Pennsic veteran, post your question to the RivenList, check out the official Pennsic website, or visit the Pennsic Independent online.  If we all work together, we can have a great encampment and a great time at Pennsic XXXIV.

What is the Rivenstar cook group?

The cook group is a cooperative-style meal plan, in which everyone who participates takes turns providing breakfast and dinner for the rest of the group.  Most people sign up for shifts in teams of two or three, making the work easier for everyone.  It is not mandatory for Rivenstar camp residents to join the cook group; likewise, there are a few people each year who do not camp with Rivenstar, but DO join us for meals.  Joining the cook group means you pay a little effort (and a small fee) for a lot of good food and camaraderie, at a price that is less expensive in the long run than eating in the Pennsic Food Court.

Here are the basic rules and responsibilities:

• Contribute to participate.  Everyone who eats with the group is expected to provide for the group in their turn.  Anyone caught freeloading (which is rare, but it has happened) will be banned from the cook group for the rest of the war, and invited to fend for themselves at next year's Pennsic as well.
• Teams of two or three sign up for one day of work.  Each day of work consists of cooking breakfast and dinner for the rest of the group (we fend for ourselves over lunch), doing dishes after each meal, taking out the kitchen garbage, supplying ice for the common-use coolers, and wiping down the counters and kitchen table.
• Each team supplies the food ingredients for both meals on their work day; whether that means fresh produce for a gourmet meal, or ordering a whole lot of pizza, is up to each team.  The only requirement in meal planning is that both breakfast and dinner must include meat for the majority of the cook group.  We love and respect our vegetarian campmates, but most of us will need large amounts of protein to sustain us on the battlefield.
  • On a related note, it is courteous but not required to take food allergies into consideration when cooking.  For example, if a member of the cook group is allergic to green peppers, then the team might choose to prepare a small pepper-free portion of their meal separately for that member.
• Each team is allowed to invite guests to eat with the group on the day that they cook.  In case anyone is inclined to nitpick, an invited guest is not the same thing as a freeloader; teams know in advance that they have guests coming and are able to plan accordingly.

Fee summary

In case it wasn't obvious, please note that all camp fees are separate from, and paid in addition to, any moneys paid to Cooper's Lake Campground as part of Pennsic registration.  Also, there is no age bracket for reduced fees, nor will special exemptions be granted to anyone for any reason.  The only way to avoid paying the fee for a specific service is to choose not to use that service.

• Camp tax: a per-person fee still to be determined; payable to Janusz before Pennsic if at all possible
  • Camp tax covers the purchase of extra land for common use, firewood, lamp oil, etc. as well as storage fees for those items that are left at Cooper's Lake each year.
  • Camp residents will not be assigned land space for their tent until their camp tax has been paid in full!
• Use of private, in-camp showers: TBD, per person, payable to Virnin
  • Shower tax covers the cost of propane and plumbing or fixture repairs as needed, as well as the storage fees for the shower stalls and water heater at Cooper's Lake.
• Participation in the Rivenstar cook group: TBD, per person, payable to Nan and Pieter
  • Cook group tax covers the cost of the new and improved kitchen tent, propane for the stove, grill and oven, purchase of kitchen implements for common use, and storage fees

View Rivenstar Stats

This is the recognized Web Page for the Barony of Rivenstar of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The maintainer of this page is THL Arrantxa Idazle Iruñekoa (Heather Bungard Janney). It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and does not delineate SCA policies. All material herein should be considered under copyright protections according to US law and international treaty, and may not be reused or linked to without the permission of the author, artist, or other copyright owner as designated.  In case of conflict with printed versions of material presented on this page or its links, the dispute will be decided in favor of the printed version.