Welcome!

Welcome to the Canton of Appleholm — formerly known as the Canton of Whyt Whey!

We are the Manhattan chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an organization dedicated to exploring life before 1600 by re-creating activities and crafts of the period. There are tournaments and classes, feasts and finery (and occasional foolery), royal courts and courtly dancing. We encourage you to come and find out what interests you!

Continue reading Welcome!

Sunday Solar, October 27

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us for an afternoon of crafting, conversation and companionship!

You can bring a handcraft project to work on, a snack to share, a story to tell, or questions you want to explore — or walk in empty-handed and leave with a full belly, freshly-learned skills, a length of fabric, and new friendships!

We’ll gather at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 27 at the home of our chatelaine Madwen Gam, at 569 W 161st Street, buzzer 6, just east of Broadway. (Note that this site is upstairs and is not wheelchair-accessible.)

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are. Feel free to RSVP or just come by and say hello!

Detail of knitted sock fabric from Egypt circa 1200 CE.
Used under license from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Gallery Sunday: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain, November 17

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us on another informal weekend outing to one of our many world-class museums.

On Sunday, November 17, at 2:00 we’ll gather at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World to view their exhibit “Madinat al-Zahra: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain” which includes art and artifacts from Cordoba in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

This is a small gallery and our visit is only expected to last around an hour or so. Afterwards, some folks may choose to go to lunch at a nearby diner.

The ISAW gallery is located at 14 E 84th St, between Madison and Fifth. The closest subway station is the 4 train at 86th and Lex, or you can take the M1, M2, M3, M4, or M86 bus.

Admission is free. The site is wheelchair-accessible and ADA-compliant.

If you have trouble difficulty finding our group at the museum, you can call Mathghamhain at 917-502-7795 for assistance.

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are.

Feel free to RSVP to events@appleholm.eastkingdom.org or just show up and join us. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Detail from a photograph of Medina Azahara, by Rabe (2009).
Shared Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license.

Gallery Sunday: The Cloisters in Autumn, October 13

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us on another informal weekend outing to one of our many world-class museums.

On Sunday, October 13, at 2:00 we’ll gather outside the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park and enter as a group. Our visit is expected to last for two to three hours. Afterwards, folks who are hungry may walk down the hill to a local restaurant.

(If you’re new to the Cloisters, it’s New York City’s unique immersive museum of medieval art and architecture, constructed from several medieval European buildings which were purchased piecemeal a hundred years ago and relocated to upper Manhattan, then reassembled and filled with a variety of period artworks.)

To reach the Cloisters:

  • By subway, take the A train to 190th Street, then use the elevators to exit on Fort Washington Avenue. From there, you can either transfer to the uptown M4 into the park to reach its final stop, or you can walk north along the path into the park for about fifteen minutes to reach the Cloisters.
    (Note that while maps may suggest that you could take the A or 1 trains to Dyckman Street and walk into the park from there, we generally don’t recommend this route because of the 180-foot climb up the stairs on the very, very steep hillside.)
  • By bus, take the uptown M4 bus to its last stop.
  • By car, navigate to 99 Margaret Corbin Drive and look for public parking space in or around Fort Tryon Park.

If you have trouble reaching the site, or arrive late and have difficulty finding our group, you can call Mathghamhain at 917-502-7795 for assistance.

Residents of New York State with a valid ID may pay any amount to enter, as little as $1, and the same goes for students from NJ and CT; sadly, for other out-of-state visitors or those without ID, the museum’s admission fee is an exorbitant $30.

Unfortunately, this site is not wheelchair-friendly due to the cobblestones and numerous stairs throughout the facility; they are reportedly able to shuttle wheelchairs into the building, but access to many of the exhibits is still limited.

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. Modern attire; come as you are. (Note that the museum’s rules specifically exclude “costumes,” and although it’s unevenly enforced, folks in garb may be turned away.)

Feel free to RSVP to events@appleholm.eastkingdom.org or just show up and join us. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Detail from “Autumn in the Botanical Garden” by Mostafa Meraji (2017).
Shared from Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license.

Sunday Solar, September 29

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us for an afternoon of crafting, conversation and companionship! 

With the coming of the equinox, our thoughts are turning to autumn. Come and tell us what you did at Barleycorn, what events you’re going to attend before the snows set in, and what projects you’re working on to get ready for winter’s chills.

We’ll gather at 3:00 PM on Sunday, September 29 at the home of our chatelaine Madwen Gam, at 569 W 161st Street, buzzer 6, just east of Broadway. (Note that this site is upstairs and is not wheelchair-accessible.)

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are. Feel free to RSVP or just come by and say hello!

Detail from The Harvesters, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

Sunday Solar, August 25

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us for an afternoon of conversation and companionship! 

We’ll be talking about recent events and looking forward to those coming up in the months ahead.  Did you learn something cool at Pennsic? Come and tell us about it! Do you have questions about attending Barleycorn in September? Drop in and let’s chat! (If you’re interested in sewing your own garb, we’ll also have some natural-fiber fabric available.)

We’ll gather at 3:00 PM on Sunday, August 25 at the home of our chatelaine Madwen Gam, at 569 W 161st Street, buzzer 6, just east of Broadway. (Note that this site is upstairs and is not wheelchair-accessible.)

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are. Feel free to RSVP or just come by and say hello!

Detail from La Cité de Dieu (MMW 10 A 11, fol. 69v), c. 1475-1480

Sunday Solar, July 28

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us for another afternoon of crafting and camaraderie! 

We’ll gather at 3:00 PM on Sunday, July 28 at the home of our chatelaine Madwen Gam, at 569 W 161st Street, buzzer 6, just east of Broadway. (Note that this site is upstairs and is not wheelchair-accessible.)

We’ll be focusing on garbing yourself for our historically-themed events. A few pieces of recently-donated clothing will be available to newcomers, and a large stash of fabric is available for use by people who wish to make their own outfits, including silk, cotton, linen, and wool.

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are. Feel free to RSVP or just come by and say hello!

Detail of saris at the New Delhi Crafts Museum, photo by Yann from Wikimedia Commons under CC-By-SA.

July Commons Minutes

Our canton’s quarterly business meeting was held on Monday, July 22, 2024. The minutes as recorded by Mathghamhain are attached below; they have been lightly edited to follow a more logical sequence for readers’ convenience. 

Attendance

  • Alienor Salton, Seneschal
  • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, Herald & Webminister
  • Madwen Gam, Chatelaine
  • Angelica di Nova Lipa

Provincial guests:

  • Ragnarr Bliskegg, Provincial Seneschal
  • Jenna Childslayer

Absent Officers:

  • Zahra de Andaluzia, Exchequer
  • Ibrahim al-Rashid, Arts and Sciences

Opening

  • The call opened informally at 6:55 and the meeting began in earnest at 7:07.

Seneschal

  • Alienor: My quarterly seneschal report has been filed.
  • Mathghamhain: We’ve had three gatherings since our April Commons meeting.
  • The May Day Festival was a rousing success, with just over 20 people. We should do this again, perhaps in the fall when the weather is cool but not cold?
  • Pilgrimage to Pride was a fun outing. Had 3 local people, and met some SCA-adjacent folks on-site.
  • The June Solar was convivial. Had 6 people show up. Thanks to Madwen for hosting.

Chatelaine

  • Alienor: This is the first meeting since Madwen took on the role of Chatelaine — thank you!
  • Madwen: I filed a quarterly report in June, with lots of information about May Day.
  • Madwen: I’m hosting another Solar on Sunday at 3:00.
  • We’ll be talking about garb, and giving away some donated garb and fabric.
  • Would be good to get this posted on the website. 
  • I’ve already invited some of the folks who came to the June event and will invite the others.
  • Mathghamhain: Our thanks to Ysenda Macbeth for her recent donation, and to Madwen for receiving and sorting it and helping to get it delivered to new homes.
  • Madwen: The donated items were mostly fabric. Athene (who camped with us at Pennsic) came over and helped identify fabric types. There’s a lot of silk (mostly aniline dyed), plus linen, cotton, and wool. There’s loads and loads of fabric and we’ll need to work on getting it to people who can use it.
  • There are also a few pieces of garb; I’ve already identified people who could make good use of most of these pieces, and am arranging to deliver them.
  • There are also some accessories, including shoes, hats, and jewelry; maybe some of this could be given away or used as largesse?
  • Alienor: We could schedule a garb construction workshop for the fall, to help newcomers get started at turning some of this fabric into useful items.

Arts and Sciences

  • Mathghamhain: Ibrahim is unable to attend but has sent in a report by email (attached below).
  • Pennsic is packed with A&S activities: classes, war point, and populace display. If you’re teaching or displaying, please let Ibrahim (and all of us) know!
  • A “what classes did you take at Pennsic / show us something you made / tell us about something you learned” would be a pleasant activity to schedule after Pennsic.
  • The museum visits have been a popular activity and we should plan more of these.
  • Madwen: For the August 25 solar we could combine the post-Pennsic show-and tell idea with a chat about garb construction and take home some fabric.
  • Alienor: For the museum visits, I challenge everyone to come up with one idea of something to go see.
  • Madwen: Whenever I talk to people about the SCA they’re always amazed by the Cloisters; we should go again!
  • Mathghamhain: We went in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, so perhaps it’s time again.
  • Angelica: We could go to the Asia Society or Rubin Museum.
  • Mathghamhain: The Rubin will close in early October so if we want to visit we should go soon.
  • Alienor: I think there’s something coming up at the Morgan, pelase remind me to look.
  • [Added post-meeting:] The Met is exhibiting 14th C paintings from Sienna this winter and just earlier this year reopened their main galleries of European painting.
  • Angelica: There are some early music concerts we could attend.
  • Madwen: It would be fun to visit one of the performances of the group Emma is in, the Renaissance Street Singers (Sundays, 2:30 — 4:30).

Exchequer

  • Mathghamhain: I’ll ask Zahra if she has anything to report, but there hasn’t been any financial activity of note so I expect things have been quiet.
  • [Added post-meeting:] Zahra reports there’s nothing else to report!

Herald

  • Mathghamhain: My quarterly report was filed in May.

Webminister

  • Mathghamhain: My quarterly report was filed last week.
  • I updated the mail server and the website to reflect Madwen’s new role as Chatelaine, and then updated the site again when she received her AoA.
  • I still need to complete the transition of our mailing lists to the new domain name.

Event Planning

  • Mathghamhain: Alienor recently posted about a local paint-your-own-pottery studio (upperwestside.colormemine.com) which is holding a medieval-themed session Thursday evening; for about $50 you get snacks and drinks and a piece of raw pottery that you can paint and have glazed.
  • Madwen: We should look for a place we could rent for local events. I might have leads from my work in production.
  • Ragnarr: I’ve previously used VenuesNYC.com to look for space rentals, and it’s where I found the space we’ve used for Valhalla.
  • Madwen: How much is our budget?
  • Mathghamhain: As a ballpark, if you have two dozen people paying $15 at the door, you’re taking in about $400, which needs to cover the rental and food or other expenses. We have some money in the bank so we can front the rental fee and we have a cushion in case fewer people show up than expected, but we can’t do that indefinitely, so events should be budgeted to at least roughly break even. I’ll follow up with you to review finances.
  • Angelica: You also need to allow $75 for events that require a named insurance certificate.
  • Mathghamhain: I’d like to find a beautiful non-modern space, like the stone basement of the Church of the Intercession, or the chapter house of the Cathedral of St. John, and would be willing to donate some money to make the budget work out.
  • Angelica: There’s a church in my area that is very oriented towards community activities that rents out space: www.osanyc.org.
  • Angelica: Remember when evaluating sites to consider transit and accessibility.
  • Ragnarr: We should talk to Albrecht and ask whether the guy who owns the Kingsland bar also has leads on similar spaces in Manhattan.

Closing

  • The meeting was adjourned at 7:55.

A&S Report from Ibrahim

I know that Thorfinnr and myself will both be teaching at Pennsic.  If any other Appleholmies will be teaching, let me know; I would like to include that in my next report to the Ministry to credit those in our Canton who are promoting the Arts & Sciences.  

I have also been asked to be an alternate on the East’s A&S War Point team (which will be on Thur, 8 August).  Will any Appleholmies be showing their work at the Pennsic A&S Display (Sun, 4 August)?  Unfortunately, family obligation will have me off site on 8/4, but if anyone will be going, I think we would all love to see whatever work the members of our Canton are showing.  

Following up on thoughts about Pennsic – we have occasionally in the past had gatherings post-Pennsic for folks to come together and talk about any classes we had the pleasure of attending.  Perhaps we can think about planning something like this?  

Also – our organized museum visits seem to be very popular.  I am definitely in favor of continuing to plan for more of these.  

A Pleasant Day in the Solar

Our June arts-and-crafting gathering was a convivial success, with half a dozen folks gathering to variously spin, sew, embroider, twine, kibitz and nibble.

Thanks to Madwen for hosting, and to everyone for turning out, showing off their projects, and providing lovely company.

We aim to hold more of these gatherings on a regular tempo in the months ahead — and hope to see you there!

Sunday Solar, June 23

The Canton of Appleholm invites you to join us for another afternoon of crafting and camaraderie! 

We’ll gather at 3:00 PM on Sunday, June 23 at the home of Madwen Gam, at 569 W 161st Street, buzzer 6, just east of Broadway. (Unfortunately this site is not wheelchair-friendly.)

You are welcome to variously stitch, braid, paint, draw or otherwise put your creativity and talents to work. Bring your crafting supplies, or show up empty-handed and learn a new skill or help other people with their projects. 

All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. No fee. Modern attire; come as you are. Feel free to RSVP or just come by and say hello!

Detail from Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), circa 1425; artist unknown.

Pilgrimage to Pride at St. John’s Cathedral

A trio of Appleholmies (as well as a few Scadians from further afield) joined hundreds of other colorfully-dressed “peasants” for an evening of glamour to kick off queer pride month at the world’s largest gothic cathedral.

There was a tremendous variety of chromatic DIY fashion on display, spanning a millennium of stylistic inspirations, and it was fun to engage with folks who are doing things that are simultaneously very different from the SCA and also clearly tied into some related interests.