I don’t actually do SCA*, but from what I gather, it’s similar garb. Which generally means no pockets (depending on what period you dress).
heh. The Society for Creative Anachronismwill cheerfully suck down all of the time/money/engery you give it, just a like a church or having children. There might be a group near you, try following the link, or if all else fails check out yahoo!groups. Nearly all SCA groups have an email list there.
I typically carry a bag with a small hand-work project in it, chapstick, and a bottle of water. Most everything else stays in the pavillion.
Faire:
mug via handy-dandy mug strap
small dragon pouch: money & Faire ID
dagger, peace-tied multiple times
burgundy velvet pouch: smokes & lighter for backstage breaks, carmex, gum and/or mints
green twill pouch (this one is HUGE by the way): cell phone, tissues/napkins, more smokes, shop amenities, feminine products, lotion and anything my sister-in-law doesn’t feel like carrying out in the open. It has held at any given time: a large bag of the King’s Nuts, large jar of salsa, small dragons, shirts, and other things I can’t think of right now.
rabbit-fur pouch: nothing in it, I just like the way it looks
fox tail - sometimes
Be advised that in some places, there is a bit of a feud between the SCA and Faire. The two do essentially the same thing, with different focus, and thus create some tension.
SCA folk that do the feud think that Faire types are to hidelaced and not open to as much.
Faire folk that do the feud think that SCA are dilletantes who aren’t really learning any history.
Note: Not everyone on either side feels this way. It may even be decreasing as time goes by, I just don’t know.
And that’s what I’m afraid of.
I know a few people in my guild also do SCA. But they live three hours from me.
We’re supposed to learn history? I thought we were supposed to dress funny, wear weapons, and get drunk. At least that’s what everyone I’ve seen does.
You forgot finding amusingly inappropriate places to have sex.
and performing GOOP (grossly out-of-period) songs and dances, don’t forget those.
A wise man finds ways to combine that, inappropriate sex, and drinking.
An unwise man adds crossbows.
Not from what I have seen. But there are differences. At an SCA event, after dark, people continue in costume/garb, and party in a way that at least appears period. The drink can be modern or homebrew. The events are held “not for profit”. The garb ranges from vague attempts to super-authentic; and by that I mean- grow the flax, harvest the flax, spin the flax, etc. The events go pretty well all year. You can be as active as you want- some dudes spend nearly every weekend and a couple days a week in SCA activities. Some families grow up in it. The period is from (vaguely) 1066 to 1600, so you see Vikings along with Elizibethians. The SCA has Collegiums and other classes where good historical arts, crafts and history can be learned. Many skip these, of course.
At Faire (at least in CA) after the Faire closes the fair people take off their costume, put on t-shirts and jeans, and party to modern music and modern booze the “m’lord” forsoothly is ditched, they light up a cig and pop a Coors. The events are usually held for profit. The Garb for the Faire is quite authentic for most guilds and to some extent for the workers/volunteers- they have people who check garb. The garb for attendees varies from authentic to mundane to fantasy to “exotic/erotic”. If you are a volunteer/worker/guild you are quite busy every weekend from a week or 2 before the Faire (usually in the fall) to the end. Some “Faire folk” travel from Faire to Faire during “the season”. The period is usually a reign of one historic ruler, most often Eliz I. A worker/volunteer will get a breifing in how to act. Some Guilds get pretty serious as to authenticiy.
In my experience (15 years at RPFS, starting in '89), the difference in attitude is thus:
SCA people are doing it primarily (solely) for themselves/each other. They are playing ‘let’s pretend it’s the olden days’ together. Their special outfits are ‘garb’.
Faire people are doing it (ideally) for an audience. While they also are playing ‘let’s pretend’ together, the focus is on educating and entertaining people outside the group (the customers). In the end, Faire people are actors. They call their special outfits their ‘costume’, and as was said above, at the end of the day it comes OFF!
From the SCA perspective, Faire people are whores - from the Faire perspective, SCA people are masturbating.
Like I said, I’m coming from a RPFS perspective - smaller faires are very often much more SCA-like in attitude.
I’ve done both for years and you hit the nail on the head.
Don’t forget that Civil War re-enactors think that they’re all a bunch of fairies!