Getting To & From The Cloisters Demo

Take the A Train

The easiest way to get to the Cloisters demo, mundanely known as the Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park, is to take the subway.

The 190th St. Station on the “A” train sits immediately outside of Fort Tryon Park, and this is the way most of our participants arrive. (It’s also the way many of the other 50,000 attendees will arrive, so the elevator up from the subway to the park can be fairly crowded, but that only takes a few minutes.)

For those coming from outside the city via Amtrak, NJ Transit, or regional bus, you can board the A train at Penn Station or the Port Authority bus terminal; from MetroNorth or LIRR take the Shuttle from Grand Central to Times Square to connect to the A train.

Driving & Parking

Obviously the train is not going to make sense for folks who are lugging lots of gear or heavy equipment, and this particular train station is not wheelchair-accessible, so in those cases driving to the site is worth the hassle.

We’re able to wrangle a limited number of parking passes from the event organizers, but be prepared for delays getting on and off site, because it can take a long time to get vehicles into the parking area, you may have to park some distance away from our field, and when the event is over and you’re ready to leave you will find yourself in the middle of a miniature traffic jam that takes a while to clear.

If you need a parking pass, you must contact the event steward (Alienor Salton) in advance so we can try to reserve you a pass. If you don’t have a parking pass, you will need to find on-street parking some distance away from the event and then walk back to the site.

If you’re driving from outside the city, you might want to stop at some distance from the event and look for on-street parking (or pay $25 or more for a parking lot) and then take the city subway for a few minutes to reach the site. If you know several people who are coming in separate vehicles, it may be worth the effort to meet up somewhere just outside the city where parking is easy and then car-pool in from there to reduce the parking hassle.

Location

The closest street address to the park entrance is 799 Fort Washington Ave:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/799+Fort+Washington+Ave,+New+York,+NY+10040/

The place within the park where we will be set up is just south of the “New Leaf” restaurant:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Margaret+Corbin+Drive,+New+York,+NY+10040/

The map attached below highlights some spots on this map to give you a sense of where we’ll be within the overall site area, and where the parking and transit options are.

Event Arrival & Departure Schedule

The event officially begins at 11:30, but if you are driving gear on to the site, you should arrive before 9:30.
• 8:30 Site opens for setup, and vehicles may be driven in through main site entrance to deliver materials.
• 9:00 We unload equipment and begin setting up tents and preparing for the event.
• 10:00 All vehicles must be cleared from the park to the parking area or further away.
• 11:00 Site should be ready as members of the public sometimes start trickling in early.

The event ends at 6:00 at which point we will begin packing up:
• 6:00 We begin breaking down tents and putting things away.
• 6:30 or 7:00 Vehicles are allowed back into the park to pick up equipment once the public has dispersed.
• 8:30 Everyone must be off site by the time the park closes for the night.

Our biggest demo (where by “our” I mean definitely Whyt Whey, certainly Østgarðr, probably the East Kingdom and possibly even the SCA itself) is what we informally call the Cloisters demo. We are a part of the Fort Tryon Park Medieval Festival, now in its 33rd year. Attendance at the festival has averaged 60,000 people in its last 5 years. Our demo village is situated on the sloping lawn just inside the park entrance, a fabulous location to attract the attention of festival attendees both coming and going.

The date for this year’s festival has been set! We will be demoing on Sunday, October 1st, from 11:30am to 6pm. Full details on our demo are available at the event listing in the East Kingdom calendar.

Logistics & planning will take place in September, after Pennsic recovery. New ideas welcome — please mention them sooner than September so we can pull our resources together. Mark your calendars and help us show off the glory & gaiety of our shared dream!

Sat, April 29, 12pm – 5pm at the Grecian Pavilion in Prospect Park (96 Parkside Ave. Brooklyn) we are picnicking in the ruins! Please join us for a lovely afternoon in the park, sharing food (potluck) and companionship (storytelling, dancing, fighting, music & fiber arts).

See full details on the EK event page.

Schedule:

Check-in (drivers): 9am.
Unload & setup: 9am – 11am.
Assemble for opening procession (front gate): 11:15am.
Opening Procession: 11:30am.
*Sprang class (Lady Alienor): noon.
Music & Dance demo: noon.
Combat demo, armored & rapier: 12:30am.
Metalwork demo (in unicorn forum!): 1pm.
*Calligraphy class (Lady Lada): 1pm.
*Nålbinding class (Lady Beatrice): 2pm.
Fashion show: 2pm.
Dance demo: 2:30pm.
Combat demo, armored & rapier: 3pm.
*Finger-loop braiding class (Ladies Arnora & Vika): 3pm.
Fiber Arts demos: 3:30pm.
Concert: 4pm.
Court: 5pm.
Pack up: 6pm (until done).

Most demos are ongoing, but have been highlighted in the printed schedule at the times given above.

Parking passes: The parking pass list has been submitted. Thank you to those who volunteered to park elsewhere! Parking passes have been requested for these 12 drivers: Suuder, Gui, Ronan, Sofya, Mungo, Magdalena, Vincenzo, Duggmore, Alienor, Brandr, Matilda & Elizabeth. All drivers are welcome to drive onsite between 9am and 11am to setup, and again after 6pm to break down. If you are on the parking pass list, you may collect your pass at 9:30am from the festival volunteers at the front gate of Fort Tryon park.

Infrastructure: Against the walkway at the top of the hill, we will have the large provincial green & white tent with private space in the back for our potluck, for resting & for armor storage. The front area of the green & white will be dedicated to demo tables, with room under the tent for visitors to step under cover. Between the green & white & the fighting list (shared among combat participants including youth combat) we will have a changing popup, divided into separate halves. In front of the green & white will be a classes tent. On either side of the classes tent we will have a chatelaine’s tent, a kid’s tent, and a number of other popups dedicated to demos. Please bring banners for color!!!

Demos: Here are the people who have told me what they are demo-ing. I assume we also have fighters & fencers who have not explicitly mentioned their demo as they do not need table space.
Arnora: inkle loom. Finger-loop braiding class.
Beatrice: nålbinding class.
Brandr: metalworking.
Mungo: either weapons or leaded glass.
Conor: stained glass demo.
Matilda: helping w/ fashion show, water bearing for ACL combat.
Arnbjorg: chain mail jewelry & Viking wire weaving.
Duggmore: chain mail jewelry & woodworking.
Vika: kirtle sewing. Finger-loop braiding class.
Judith: masks & noisemakers.
Lada: calligraphy. Calligraphy class.
Suuder: archery.
Alienor: tablet weaving. Sprang class.
Angelica: card stock paper dolls for kids table.
Sofya & Magdalena: chatelaine’s table. Brass rubbings for kids table.
Dala: helping at kids table.
Mathghamhain: youth combat.
Branimira: binder w/ embroidered favors.
Benjamin: period board games.
Wilhelm & Conandil: dancing.

Classes: we are offering 4 classes, in a central popup with tables & chairs. There will be sign-up sheets for each class available with a class limit of 10 participants.
Sprang (Lady Alienor): noon.
Calligraphy (Lady Lada): 1pm.
Nålbinding (Lady Beatrice): 2pm.
Finger-loop braiding (Ladies Arnora & Vika): 3pm.

Potluck:
Arnora: bagels & cream cheese
Angelica: ice, water, 2 large orange water dispensers, cups, flatware, plates, paper towels, garbage bags.
Vika & Simon: salami, cheese, grapes.
Judith: Scotch eggs.
Godiva: ham.
Sofya: watermelon.

As usual, the festival will be providing lunch via volunteers. Instead of providing meal tickets this year, you are asked to supply your group name (SCA) to the lunch volunteers. I can’t tell you where the food is because I have never managed to get away from the demo in prior years. We will find someone who does know on the day.

Fashion show, 2pm: To participate in the fashion show (all in garb are welcome!!), please collect an entry card from Lady Godiva. We will be asking for your geographic location, your time period, and any relevant (short!) details of your garb to which you would like to draw attention. Our voice herald will call the show, for which participants will walk a short circle on the grass to display their garb. Nothing fancy required.

Concert, 4pm: To participate in the concert, please print & bring with you or collect at the concert a songbook. All the songs are simple & most are well known to the populace. Emphasis is on social rather than professional singing.

This year’s demo at the Cloisters, to be held Sunday, September 18th, in Fort Tryon park, is now on the EK calendar. See the calendar event for full details.