Hear ye, hear ye! The middle ages are coming to Salmon Arm.
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a medieval re-creation group, will be holding its annual Avacal/Tir Righ War at the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds from June 21 to 23.
“We are extremely excited to be coming to Salmon Arm this year. We are looking for a new home for this war and are hoping we have found it in Salmon Arm,” said Mark Unger, co-organizer of the annual event.
The annual Avacal/Tir Righ War is a fictional war between two provinces, or principalities, within the Kingdom of An Tir, which is British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Washington State, Oregon and the northern tip of Idaho.
The SCA started in 1966 when some friends who loved history got together for a big outdoor party and sword tournament in Berkeley, California. The group soon expanded to about 60,000 participants with chapters across North America and as far as Australia, South Africa and Korea.
Each side will field a group of fighters in various combat styles, with the goal of gaining as many points as possible to win the war.
All the fighters are expected to meet the SCA’s fighting rules and are not allowed to fight until they pass a safety test.
Marshalls are also present to make sure things run smoothly and to assist the fighters where needed.
Although the event is billed as a war, Unger stated the event is more of a chance for friends to get together and have fun.
“We all get along with each other. There are no hard feelings once the battles are done. We get together at the end of the day and enjoy each other’s company and we share stories about our adventures. The war is a just a convenient excuse to get together with our friends and enjoy ourselves.”
Unger said there will be a selection of activities to see, including archery, fencing and heavy fighting, which he said is similar to knights fighting with swords and shields.
“We have a variety of activities in an attempt to recreate a diverse cross-section of medieval life,” he says.
Weekend activities, will also include equestrian events, hounding, youth combat and more.
For those who are not into the combat activities, classes will be held on the different arts and sciences practised in the medieval period.
Artisans will also get together and work on projects, which may include hand-sewing, embroidery and leather-working.
Each person in the SCA creates a person who could have existed in Europe before 1600. People will dress, accessorize and learn skills from the middle ages to help enhance their medieval experience.
The site opens at 2 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday. Court will be held at 7 p.m. The site opens at noon (or earlier) on Sunday and closes at 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for the weekend.
For more information, visit sca.org or antir.sca.org.
