The Canton’s regularly-scheduled commons meeting was held by video conference from 7 PM to 8:05 PM on Thursday. The minutes below were recorded by Mathghamhain and reviewed by Alienor.
Present:
• Alienor Salton, Seneschal
• Angelica di Nova Lipa, Chatelaine
• Mathghamhain Ruadháin, Herald
• Thorfinn Hróthgeirsson
• Caendra of Ostgardr
• Jana
• Miguel
Absent Officers:
• Ibrahim al-Rashid, Exchequer
• Berakha bat Mira v’Shlomo, Arts and Sciences
• Simon Talbot, Webminister
Cloisters
• Mathghamhain: The Cloisters demo was a success, despite the inclement weather.
• Nearly fifty Scadians joined us. For several newcomers this was their first in-person event with the Province.
• We passed out hundreds and hundreds of flyers and business cards. Traffic to the provincial website was up, and we’ve had about a dozen new people join local Facebook groups.
• Income for the event is $900. Expenses are $394. Net $506 available for the canton’s use.
• I’ve sent the waivers to the Seneschalate. I’ll finish preparing the event report for the Exchequerate tonight.
Officers
• Alienor: Some of our officer positions are due to turn over.
• Exchequer is term limited out at the end of the year. We need to find a volunteer to take on this position. I remain optimistic that we’ll find someone, however, without a volunteer for this office by the end of the year, the canton will cease to exist.
• Arts and Sciences Minister is stepping down.
• Herald’s office has recently passed to Mathghamhain.
Canton Name Change
• Alienor: We appear to have a consensus for moving forward with Appleholm.
• Herald will work on documentation and paperwork.
• We’ll use a petition signed by officers as the required basis to show support for the change, with the poll of the membership as backup.
Upcoming Events
• Mathghamhain: I’d like to move forward with a series of visits to museums here in Manhattan, every other month or so, as a small-scale canton activity. I’m imagining casual weekend afternoon visits. Some folks may choose to go to lunch in the neighborhood afterwards.
• Museum outing planned for Sunday Nov 6, in the early afternoon. Exhibit of lace including sixteenth-century examples, at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 W 86th St. No canton income or expenses. Venue tickets sold online for $15. It’s not a large space, and I expect we’ll be able to see the whole thing in about an hour or so.
• Second outing might be on a Sunday afternoon in January or early February. Exhibit of artifacts from southeast Europe 2,000–8,000 years ago, at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, 14 E84th St. (With thanks to Angelica for the suggestion.) No canton income or expenses. Venue admission is free. This is not a large space and I expect we could see the whole thing in under two hours.
• When things warm up in the spring (late April/early May?) I’d like to go back to the Cloisters for a garden-centric visit.
• Angelica: There are a bunch of other smaller and less-well-known museums we could visit in the future.
• Thorfinn: I’d like to host a series of A&S gatherings at my house starting in December.
• Topics and days/dates to be determined based on interest. I can lead a fabric-dye workshop, spinning class, or other topic, or can recruit people to teach other subjects.
• However, I’m only willing to do this with the provision that I can require masks to be worn.
• Mathghamhain: I believe that kingdom policy allows people hosting a gathering to establish such requirements without necessitating any kind of individualized variance.
• Alienor: I’d like to organize a series of bardic and dancing sessions.
• Finding locations is a challenge; Belvedere Castle is one option, if the weather permits.
• Alienor: We could gather at Hex Cafe, upper Broadway, for medieval gaming at their outdoor tables.
Newcomers
• Miguel: I encountered the SCA at the Cloisters this weekend, which i attended in the role of an itinerant bard. I play the lute, using traditional Iberian music that sounds like it could be medieval. I’m interested in board games and know old card games using Spanish 40-card decks. Have studied modern calligraphy and interested in period implements.
• Jana: My teen daughters and I encountered the SCA at the Cloisters this weekend; we live in the area. I practice traditional Native American skills including music, dancing, hand crafts, applique bead work, spinning, dyeing, finger weaving, etc. I first encountered the SCA as a teen but it wasn’t local.
• Ceandra: The SCA is more open to non-European culutures than it was thirty years ago.
• Janna: My daughter is interested in archery, fencing.
• Alienor: In the past, the province has had three different archery practices (Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester) but all are on hiatus at the moment. The Staten Island practice might resume soon; their site has been improved recently.
• Thorfinn: The Staten Island practice site is accessible by bus with a bit of a walk.
• Alienor: While we’re waiting for those practices to resume, I have been doing some indoor archery practice at Gotham in Manhattan, which isn’t too crowded on weekdays.
Upcoming Provincial Events
• Sun Oct 16: Scribal workshop in Bay Ridge.
• Sat Oct 22: Goat‘s Inn, winter-themed classes, kids‘ activities, youth combat, in Westchester, accessible via MetroNorth.
• Sat Oct 29: Provincial Apple Harvest in the Hudson Valley
• Thorfinn: I have a 4-gallon press we could use to press apples for cider. Perhaps we could do that the day after the harvest?
• Thu Nov 17: Online crafting evening.
• Alienor: What should I teach at this class? Maybe talk about varieties of cord-making technique as a saga of my story in the SCA? Other than fingerloop braiding, most of those techniques require some equipment that newcomers likely would not have.
• Angelica: The park outside the 190th St subway station has ping-pong tables, and might be a place for outdoor table gaming or another gathering, but the site is not disability-friendly.