Greetings from Mistress Margery of Crosgate called Marsali, your new Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences.

We all know how real life gets in the way sometimes and unfortunately it has done just that to Maestra Serena. Because of mundane circumstances beyond her control, Serena has had to turn over her office sooner than planned. I would like to personally thank her for her service and the hard work that she did in this office; Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire was a well-oiled machine that ran with efficiency and productivity. She set a great example for me to follow with next year’s faire. And, I’m sure this sudden transition of officers will be made easier for me with the help of the excellent deputies that Serena has in place. They are all pros who have and will continue to keep things moving smoothly and efficiently. Our Regional Reporting Deputies are especially important since they are your link to the A&S office; you should get to know them.

I look forward to seeing our artists and craftspeople around the kingdom, especially at those events with A&S activities. If you would like to add an A&S faire/competition or classes to your upcoming events and you’re not sure how to set them up, please don’t hesitate to contact me for help. A&S faires and classes are not hard to organize and they add so much to our events. If your group is ready for something bigger, you might want to consider hosting a Regional Faire at one of your already-established events. I would especially love to see a Regional Faire in Sept./Oct. in those areas of the kingdom where there is not a regional faire within a couple of hours of your group (north/north eastern Tenn. and the southern/coastal areas come to mind.) So, if your group is interested in hosting a Regional Faire organized using Kingdom A&S rules, please contact me.

Yours in service to the Crown, Meridies, and her people,
Marsali

Saluti unto the populace of Meridies,

This office, as with the others at Kingdom level, are not the effort of one individual – but of a team of individuals. Without each member of this team things do not get done. Each of the deputies of this office works hard for the wellbeing of Art in this Great Kingdom. It seems that the tenures of the holders of these offices turn over in groups, and it is to that end that I have this month’s announcement.

First, I offer my most humble thanks to Mistress Theodosia Ouranos of Constantinople and Master Rhydderch of Carelon for their excellent service as Reporting Deputies in their respective regions. They have assisted me well in the growing pains of turn-over and I am sure were a constant support for my predecessor.

I have as much gratitude for the good gentles who have stepped up with willingness to serve in their vacant positions. For the Alabama region the new Deputy will be Lady Katherine of the Wode and for the Georgia/Florida region the new Deputy is Lady Allegranza Maria del Rosso. For those of you who are the A&S officer of your local group in these regions – your reports will go to these to fine Ladies. Please see the back of the newsletter for their contact information.

In keeping with the “every office turning over” theme I have noticed there seems to be a gracious plenty of local offices turning over. Welcome to all those new gentles who are taking on this responsibility for their populace. I encourage you all to join the Meridian A&S Officer Yahoo! Group at MeridiesAnS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Thank you all, gentle readers, for your patience in the completion of this business essential to the running of this office. I will try my best to make the contents of next month’s letter more entertaining.

Ciao!
Maestra Serena da Riva

Saluti unto the populace of Meridies,

We are entering the season of Arts & Sciences. First we have Magna Faire, and then the Faires and Collegiums filling the beginning of the New Year. The time of year when the weather drives us inside is well suited to plying your craft so that you can emerge in the spring with new work to show!

I know I have mentioned it before, and you might come to feel that I am belaboring the point, but for the upcoming year we will have a new format for the Kingdom A&S event. For a full breakdown on the changes please see the link on the Kingdom A&S webpage. But I know there are those reading this who might think — I do not have the time to read that, it won’t apply to me anyway. And so for those I will be giving an overview of the changes that might just convince you that this does apply to you.

In 2010 there will be not one, but two A&S functions occurring at Kingdom A&S. One is being termed the Kingdom A&S Tournament and will be run very much the same as the Faire has always been run. There will be some logistical changes in judging and display but to the entrant very little will change. The second is the Kingdom A&S Faire — and it is a whole new thing!

The Kingdom A&S Faire will be an opportunity for any member of the Populace to display their art (as long as it has not been previously entered in KA&S). The documentation requirement is minimal, a “guided documentation” form will be available on the website and at the event which will have questions prompting you to “fill in the blanks” of Who, What, When and Where. The artisan will be allowed, and even encouraged, to stand with their entry and the “judging” (should you choose to participate) will be by populace acclaim. There is even a new category that will be for the Faire and the Faire alone — SCA Life.

Even if you are not an Artisan and would not enter either the Tournament or the Faire there is news that could affect you! One of the changes to the Tournament involves judging. It will be done in such a manner that the Display Hall containing all of the entries will be Open to the Populace throughout the day (although the Tournament judges will get the first shot at consumable entries).

It is my hope that these changes, along with the others detailed in the longer document, will improve the Kingdom A&S experience for all who attend. And hopefully encourage some who have not attended in the past to give it a whirl. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or queries feel free to initiate correspondence with me.

Ciao!

Maestra Serena da Riva

Saluti unto the populace of Meridies,

We are entering the season of Arts & Sciences. First we have Magna Faire, and then the Faires and Collegiums filling the beginning of the New Year. The time of year when the weather drives us inside is well suited to plying your craft so that you can emerge in the spring with new work to show!

I know I have mentioned it before, and you might come to feel that I am belaboring the point, but for the upcoming year we will have a new format for the Kingdom A&S event. For a full breakdown on the changes please see the link on the Kingdom A&S webpage. But I know there are those reading this who might think — I do not have the time to read that, it won’t apply to me anyway. And so for those I will be giving an overview of the changes that might just convince you that this does apply to you.

In 2010 there will be not one, but two A&S functions occurring at Kingdom A&S. One is being termed the Kingdom A&S Tournament and will be run very much the same as the Faire has always been run. There will be some logistical changes in judging and display but to the entrant very little will change. The second is the Kingdom A&S Faire — and it is a whole new thing!

The Kingdom A&S Faire will be an opportunity for any member of the Populace to display their art (as long as it has not been previously entered in KA&S). The documentation requirement is minimal, a “guided documentation” form will be available on the website and at the event which will have questions prompting you to “fill in the blanks” of Who, What, When and Where. The artisan will be allowed, and even encouraged, to stand with their entry and the “judging” (should you choose to participate) will be by populace acclaim. There is even a new category that will be for the Faire and the Faire alone — SCA Life.

Even if you are not an Artisan and would not enter either the Tournament or the Faire there is news that could affect you! One of the changes to the Tournament involves judging. It will be done in such a manner that the Display Hall containing all of the entries will be Open to the Populace throughout the day (although the Tournament judges will get the first shot at consumable entries).

It is my hope that these changes, along with the others detailed in the longer document, will improve the Kingdom A&S experience for all who attend. And hopefully encourage some who have not attended in the past to give it a whirl. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or queries feel free to initiate correspondence with me.

Ciao!

Maestra Serena da Riva

Saluti unto the populace of Meridies,

Firstly I would like to proffer a Thank you to all of my deputies who are helping show me the ropes in this new office. I am slowly figuring things out and hope to be up to speed in the near future. We just passed the due date for Quarterly Reports and I must say that I am excited by all of the things going on in the individual groups, both big and small. Congratulation to Okeborne Keep and Iron Mountain for putting on a successful, and Art heavy, Demo. I also saw many classes that I would have loved to have taken, Medieval Surgery anyone? Keep up the interesting activities and reporting.

Secondly, I am casting my net into the waters in search of a individual who has the desire and enthusiasm to become the Kingdom A&S Guild Deputy. Previous knowledge and/or participation in a Guild is a plus but not required. This position serves as the liaison between the Kingdom A&S Officer and the Guilds. The Guilds are a vital part of a Kingdom’s thriving Arts community and this office serves as a resource for them. While a Guild’s functioning is predominantly autonomous it is necessary to ensure that they meet the standards set by their charter and requirements set forth in Kingdom Law. It is this office’s responsibility to oversee compliance with these matters. If you are interested in this position, please contact me via the information
found in the back of the newsletter – email is preferred.

As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions or queries feel free to initiate correspondence with me.

Ciao!
Serena da Riva

Saluti unto the populace from the new Kingdom A&S Officer,

A long line of hard working gentles have held this office, and I hope to live up to their standards. I look forward to working with the populace and the Kingdom Deputy officers as well as the local A&S officers and hope to keep open lines of communications with all.

At Kingdom A&S Faire 2009 I published the new format for Kingdom A&S Faire 2010. We will be having some substantial changes to the event structure and I encourage all to review the changes in preparation for the upcoming Faire. These new rules have been posted to the A&S Minister Yahoo! Group and should be available through all group A&S officers. It will also be posted on the Kingdom A&S website by the time this letter is in your hands, please contact me with any questions you may have.

The flowering of arts in this grand Kingdom is a testament to the talent and hard work of Her populace. Hopefully I can prove myself to be a worthy steward of this activity. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or queries feel free to initiate correspondence with me.

Ciao!

Maestra Serena da Riva