Timeline

18 Months Prior to Event

  • Prepare your Bid. Remember to include details such as the price of paper products, batteries for security, and glow sticks for Port-A-Potty facilities.
  • Research the Site Database or do the legwork to find a new site. Contact the State Department of Recreation, or the Department of Public Affairs to locate conference centers and camping areas in the Barony.
  • If you will have a feast, you will need to budget the approximate feast cost as well.
  • Present your bid to the Seneschal and/or Coronet.
12 Months Prior to Event
  • Reserve the site, if possible. State park reservations (Ft. Buenaventura, Weber Memorial Park, South Fork, North Fork, etc.) are taken for the calendar year beginning in January. Private businesses (Cherry Hill, Crystal Hot Springs) reserve many years in advance. Churches, schools and other private organizations must submit the request for reservation to their Board of Directors, or other executive branch. Approval may take up to 6 months.
  • Always have at least one back-up site in mind.
  • Select your co-autocrats and sub-autocrats. Enlist a trusted assistant to help you with the event. Sub-autocrats include someone to run fighting, archery, arts & sciences displays/competitions, bardics, water bearing, arts & sciences classes and children's activities.
  • Ask for a feast-o-crat well in advance as well, as they need time to test the recipes. Remember to budget for the feast-o-crat to experiment with recipes.
  • Attend the event for the current year. Talk with the current autocrat to gain wisdom from their experience. Volunteer and help out.

8 Months Prior to Event

  • Have a meeting with all co- and sub- autocrats. Make sure everyone is progressing on your event.
6 Months Prior to Event
  • Make sure the Bid is submitted to the Financial Committee, the Seneschal and the Coronet.
  • Alter or amend the Bid as needed. Date your revisions. This is the point where your Bid becomes your Budget.
  • Keep all receipts, no matter how small. Small things add up. If the small things add up to more than $50, you will need to revise your bid and resubmit it to the Financial Committee. Be warned, you may not be approved for additional funding.
  • Remember, each office (archery, arts, youth, etc.) have a budget. If the item is standard for that office (targets for archery, copies for arts, copies for reeve, paint/glue for youth) then the item comes out of the office budget. If the item is specific for your event (samurai swords for youth at Japanese Quest), then it comes from your event budget.
  • Remember that fund raisers often cost money as well!
  • Prepare a Schedule of Activities for your event. Make sure you have contacted all sub-autocrats for help. If you want to run a Bardic, contact the Baronial Bard. If you want to run an Archery shoot, contact the Archery Champion or the Archery Captain. If you want to have Children's Activities, contact the Minister of Youth. If you are running a tournament, contact the Knight Marshal and the Minister of Lists.
  • Start building anything you would need for your event. For example, Arabian Quest had a maze. Midge Marsh at Crystal Hot Springs had stick ponies. Japanese Quest had Mon flags to mark the Quest stations and Kabuki-esque masks for the final Quest station.

5 Months Prior to the Event

  • Get the Event Registration form completed. Get signatures from all Kingdom and local officers. The Event Registration form is available online, plus the Seneschal and Coronet have a blank copy of the form.
  • Write up your Event Article/Announcement. Proofread the article. Have someone else drive to the site following your directions. Make sure they are easy to follow. Include landmarks and mileage.
  • Submit the Event Registration Form and Article/Announcement to the Kingdom Chronicler.
  • Submit it to the local Chronicler for publication.

3 Months Prior to the Event

  • You, or your representative, will need to begin reporting monthly to the Officers of the Barony at Officer Meeting. You will need to bring your working budget. Make at least 3 copies: one for Reeve, one for Seneschal and one for Coronet. If you get the copy to Bianca at least 1 week prior, she can make copies for everybody. Be prepared to discuss your expenses and your progress. Discuss any changes.
  • Your feast menu should be established at this point.
  • Your site contract should be signed. Contact the site owner/contact and make sure that the Barony of Gryphon's Lair/SCA is still on the calendar for that date.
  • Submit your Event Article and the signed Event Registration form to the Kingdom Chronicler.
  • You should have site tokens selected and purchased, and the assembly of site tokens should be underway.
  • Keep in contact with all sub-autocrats. Make sure they are aware of what you expect from them, and they are able to attend the event.

2 Months Prior to the Event

  • This is when things start going wrong. Plan on it. Bank on it. Your site will cancel the reservation, inform you they are double-booked for the weekend, or tell you that alcohol is no longer allowed on site.
  • Contact your backup site. If it is not available, begin to research the database. Call around. Plan on spending 20-60 hours to find a replacement site.
  • Keep in touch with your sub-autocrats.
  • Go to Officer's Meeting and report on the progress of the Event.
  • Send invitations to the reigning nobility, including the King, Queen, Crown Prince, Crown Princess and the Barons and Baronesses.
1 Month Prior to the Event
  • Go to the Officer's Meeting and report on the progress of the event.
  • If using a private site, such as a church or school, contact the site and ensure we are still reserved.
  • Arrange for any rental equipment, including tables, chairs, port-a-potty facilities, etc.
  • Print up schedule of events for Reeve's Table.
  • Contact Sheriff, Chiurgeon, Water Bearers, Minister of Lists, etc. and verify they will attend event.
  • Go to storage locker. Check equipment, including walkie-talkies, quintain/joust equipment, 5-gallon water jugs, loaner garb, etc. Make sure everything you will need is in the locker. Arrange for someone to transport it to site.
  • If you are having a Feast, take the Feast-o-Crat with you to the storage locker. Get any feast gear they will need.
  • Remember to 'check out' any equipment or feast gear you will need using the Inventory Control Form for the Baronial Storage locker.
  • Begin collecting coffee cans for cigarette butts.
  • Visit the site again. Walk through each room or area. Draw a map of what will be set up where on site. Plan where merchants will set up, where Royals will camp, where general camping will be, where Autocrat's Point will be, where Gate/Troll will be, location of melee and tournament fighting will be held and where Children's activities will occur.
1 Week Prior to Event
  • Make copies of Event Schedule and Map. Distribute these copies to the Coronet and the Seneschal. It would also be beneficial to have a poster-sized map at Troll. Have the schedule of events at Autocrat's Point. Any raffle, fundraiser, t-shirt sales, lost-and-found, etc. will be at Autocrat's Point. If Autocrat's Point will be in the same location as Troll, you will be responsible to have someone staff Autocrat's Point. This is not the Reeve's responsibility.
  • Contact UDOT to determine if any construction will occur the weekend of your event. Verify your event directions are correct.
  • Verify fire restrictions and parking restrictions.
  • Post any changes or alerts to the Artemisian web group. Contact the local Seneschal to ensure the information is distributed.
  • Solicit help to set up the site. Find people willing to set up the Court Pavilion (the Kingdom pavilion requires about 15 people to set up). Find people to rope out camping areas, fighting areas, parking areas, gathering areas (around fire pits).
  • Get the finished site tokens to the Reeve.
Day Before the Event
  • Sleep. Rest. Do something you enjoy.
  • You will need your energy and positive chi to run the event during the next day or several days.
Day of the Event
  • Arrive on site early.
  • Set up Gate/Troll table and EZ-up.
  • Set up Autocrat's Point.
  • Be available for directions. You are the administrator. Your job at this point is to keep your volunteers busy and be available to answer questions.
  • Drink water.
  • Post schedules of planned activities. Be ready to make changes. Be flexible. Be happy; this is a game, so have fun.
  • Once site opens, the event should 'run itself'. Your sub-autocrats should be well-informed of your expectations for their facet of the event. Allow them the time and space to fulfill what you have asked of them.
  • You will be expected to appear in court. Remember to thank everyone for attending. Give 'thank-you' to your sub-autocrats. A word of thanks is appreciated; gifts are nice, but not required. Keep it simple and inexpensive. Thank your feast-o-crat.
  • Make sure the account is settled before the Reeve leaves site.
  • Stay on site until the last person leaves. Police the site. Make sure everything is cleaned. We like to leave the site cleaner than we found it.
Day After the Event
  • Contact the Sheriff about lost-and-found. Turn any items to the sheriff.
  • Make notes about the event to put into the event report. What went right, what went wrong, what you would do again, what you would change.
  • Collect your receipts.
One Week After the Event
  • Turn your receipts into the Reeve. The Reeve has reports to write for the event, and will not wait for your receipts.
Two Weeks After the Event
  • Turn in the Post Event Report Form to the Seneschal.
  • Turn in the Site Information Form to the Web Minister.
  • Breathe easy, because you're finished. Congratulations!
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