Bard-Hours, Indeed

Busy weekend, y’all, and it seems my first introduction to upholding my duties as the new Kingdom Bardic Champion.

(The former Champion, the lovely Vanessa Cardui, coined the term “bard-hours” earlier this year to reference the work both within and outside the SCA that relates to our art IN the SCA. I think it’s a handy distinction.)

Immediately after my short gig at the Farmer’s Market, I donned my garb and buzzed off to the SCA demo in Richland on medieval arts & sciences. It was awesome seeing not only the other displays by fellow SCAdians, but seeing just how many people from the general public were interested in what we had to offer. I played a bit, sang some, and answered a lot of questions about performing arts in the SCA (and consequently, medieval Europe). I left the site amped. It was great. :)

Today I gave more thought to how I want my term to proceed. I decided I would like my efforts more directed towards being a resource/mentor for the bardic arts. Certainly performing will be part of it (I can’t NOT bring an instrument with me, or play music for those who desire a tune, it’s in my DNA…), but I definitely want to be available to help those wanting to get involved.

So, I made myself a goal: to “teach” (I use the term loosely, as I prefer myself to be more of a mentor-type) a bardic-related class at as many of the non-crown events on my itinerary as I can.

So it begins.

Bring it on. :)

Tagged: bardic, medieval, music, performance, Renaissance, sca, Society for Creative Anachronism