The Steppes Letter

Inside this issue:

Missive from our

Excellencies

3

Words from our

Seneschal

4

Words from our

Officers

5-11

Words from

Glaslyn

11

Words for our

Newcomers

12

Words from our

Guilds and

Non-Guilds

13-14

Da’ud Bob

Movie Review

15

Event Report

Form

16

Calendar 17-18

Opportunities 19

Offices Openings/

Event Bids

19

Social Media 20

Disclaimer and

Credits

21

Exchequer

Addendum

22

Official Newsletter of the Barony of the Steppes

The Steppes Letter FEBRUARY 2020

Baron Alain de la Rue

baron@steppes.ansteorra.org

Baroness Katerine le Roux d’Anjou

baroness@steppes.ansteorra.org

Glad Tidings and Salutations to All Those in the Lands of

the Steppes and Glaslyn,

We are thrilled to be a part of the Steppes and are looking

forward to the days ahead as Baron and Baroness.

We are in gratitude to His Majesty Sven and Her Majesty

Cristyana for their faith in us. We are also grateful for Their

Excellencies Peter and Sarah, for all the work and love they

put into our great Barony.

We have only just stepped up, but we have already taken steps to help the Steppes grow. We want the peoples of these lands to flourish. We also want peoples. Which brings us to our first item this month: the Brahmas Demo. With a mere 3 weeks of preparation, the Steppes and other members of the central region came together to put on an amazing event. The excitement and energy surrounding the demo was palpable. And it showed through to all who visited our tables and watched our fights. We exhausted the Barony’s supply of promotional materials as well as the materials from our fond neighbors of Elfsea. Roughly 300 pamphlets and cards were given away. Twenty-six people signed up to be contacted. Well, it was Twenty-six and then a group of our finest members went out to enjoy dinner where they happened on two more who had seen our demo, we’re interested, but didn’t get a chance to stop by. The demo was a great display of us as a Barony and of the central region. The camaraderie, the hard work by the populace, and the passion for what we do really shined through that night. We would like to thank our finest Canton of Glaslyn for their efforts to put on a successful Roundtable! They really stepped up to bring it all together and we are just delighted that Glaslyn is a part of the Steppes! We look forward to strengthening our bond together as Barony and Canton. Speaking of looking forward, let’s take a moment to peer into the future of these lands. We have started an initiative to improve our communications and presence online as a group. We do a lot of awesome things in the Steppes and in Glaslyn, and we want to share with everyone about what we do. We are improving on our presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter currently. There is a new Discord group so that we can talk casually to each other and be more accessible. We get excited about what we do as a group and whether it’s fighting or arts or events, and we wanted to have a space online where people can share their excitement. These are all optional ways to bond with the populace and we look forward to seeing what greater communications and accessibility yields! We have been to several activities in the Steppes and would love to see all of you joining us. Whether it’s the newcomer’s academy, fighter practice, archery practice or A&S night, we are sure it’ll be a good time! The business meeting is business, but it is open to all of the populace. If you want to be involved or learn more about what is going on in Steppes and Glaslyn, we encourage you to attend! His Excellency plans on being in attendance for the Glaslyn Fighter Practice and Business Meeting on the first Monday of the month (weather permitting). We would encourage all to attend! It has been a great month in these lands, and we are looking forward to the months ahead as we continue to grow and flourish! In Service to All Who are Not Three Owls in a Raincoat, Baron Alain de la Rue and Baroness Katerine la Roux d’Anjou

First Missive From Our New Oaken Excellencies

Words from our Seneschal

Greetings, Mighty Oakwood!

I have so much big news from the last month, I hardly know where to start.

First, thank you to everyone who made 12th Night a success. The hall was

beautiful, the event ran smoothly, and we had great attendance. We also said

a fond farewell to Their Excellencies Peter and Sarah, who stepped down

from the Oaken Throne. We know that they will continue to contribute their

wisdom and experience to this barony as our new Baron and Baroness take

over.

Also, we welcome Baron Alain and Baroness Katerine, who stepped up in

mid-January amid much fanfare at Crown Tournament! I look forward to

working with them to realize their vision of what this barony could be.

They’re already shaking things up.

Who was at the demo at the Fort Worth Brahmas game on January 17th? Did you see His Majesty at the

puck drop? And the Chivalric and Rapier fighters showing off their skills between the hockey game

periods? We also had artisans and musicians demonstrating their skills at the table out in the foyer, and

armor on display for the kids to touch and try on. More than 25 people signed up to learn more about the

SCA because we went out there and showed them how much fun we’re having. We put it together in two

weeks, and it was amazing. Thank you so much to everyone for your hard work showing up and stepping

up, especially the Hospitaller’s team and Countess Toryn! #SteppesOnIce

We also welcome a new Social Media Officer, Lady Valka, and she is revolutionizing the way we

communicate with each other. She has created a public-facing Facebook page for the barony to go along

with our group page. She has given us a Discord channel for unofficial chatting and casual

communication. We also re-opened the unofficial Steppes Twitter account at https://twitter.com/

BaronyofSteppes . Big things are happening here to help bring the barony’s communications and outreach

into the 21st century. I’m very excited about what she’s doing, and I hope you will join me in welcoming

her and working with her.

I’m expecting a bid on Steppes Warlord any second now as of this writing, but we will still need bids on

Steppes Artisan. I know it’s hard to think ahead to summer, but this is when we need to plan those

events.

I’m so proud of this barony. When we all work together, we do great things. I’m certain that the rest of

this year will be as exciting as this last month has been.

We are a Mighty Oakwood, We are Family, We are a Barony, WE ARE STEPPES!

Yours in Service,

Lady Esmeralda Malaspina

Seneschal

Lady Esmeralda Malaspina

seneschal@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 4 THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 5

Words from our Officers - Herald

Greetings to the populace,

The new year started with a bang, bringing a flurry of activity.

At Steppes 12th Night, many awards, accolades, and recognition were given:

Claus Fuchs von Nuremburg - Acorn of the Steppes Kaleh kel Tagelmount - Acorn of the Steppes Hatiz Mufida - Boar’s Tusk Kaleh kel Tagelmount - Boar’s Tusk Gelfridus of Shrewsbury - Grice’s Track Fredrich der Rothirsch - Heart of the Oak Eadgyth Beornesdohtor - Award of Arms Asa inn Blindi - Award of Arms Esmerelda Malaspina - Sable Thistle (Music-Recorder) Hatiz Mufida - Order of the Oak of the Steppes Aibinn ingen Eremon - Order of the Oak of the Steppes Peter Rhys - Court Barony Sarah Fynn - Court Barony

The very next week, at Crown Tournament, a few notable gentles ascended to new ranks:

Jason Drysdale, our current Steppes Warlord - Crown Prince of Ansteorra Margherita de Mantua - Crown Princess of Ansteorra Alain de la Rue, our current Steppes Champion - Baron of the Steppes Katerine le Roux d’Anjou, our current Consort of Grace and Honor - Baroness of the Steppes

Congratulations and Vivat to all of these worthy gentles!

On an administrative note regarding name and device submissions, it looks like the log jam has broken loose. Several names, devices, and badges were in limbo. They have reappeared, and many of them are being discussed by the College of Heralds this month. I am opening the office for applications to be my replacement. If you are interested, please contact the Central regional herald at eclipse@herald.ansteorra.org. Pax, Duncan Hepburn Oakenwald Pursuivant

THE STEPPES LETTER

Herald

Duncan Hepburn

herald@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 6 THE STEPPES LETTER

Words from our Officers - Rapier Marshal

Unto the Barony of the Steppes doth Abd al-Mahdi Jamal ibn Hakim,

Rapier Marshal of the Steppes sends greeting,

The holiday season is now behind us. As much as we’ve enjoyed the

company of our fellow SCA members, the latest SCA tourney season fast

approaches and our rapier participants continue their efforts towards self-

improvement and recognition for their skills. We had the good fortune of

fine weather for two practices, with attendance ranging from eight to nine

participants.

With the coming of the new year, I’ve made a point of asking all rapier

participants to determine personal long-range goals for their fighting.

Whether it be to improve in personal fitness, to refine rapier fighting techniques or to aim for

attendance of future SCA events, I’m looking forward to listening to the expressions of these

intentions. My deputies, Ld. Sean Tabor and Ld. Llewelyn Brydydd Mir are again to be

commended for contributing to the enjoyment of rapier in the barony.

At the time of this missive, the barony has been afforded a fine opportunity to demonstrate our

fighting prowess during the intermissions of a Lone Star Brahmas hockey game. My report for

next month will include a summary of how well our barony’s rapier fighters perform at this

function.

We are steadily progressing towards this year’s Gulf Wars. I encourage you to consider making the

trek to Lumberton, Mississippi in support of our Barony and our Kingdom

My “Weirdly-Related-Shout-Out” for this month goes to our soon-to-be resigning Oakenwald

Pursuivant, Master Duncan Hepburn, who asked me to accept the role of voice herald for our

newly invested Baron and Baroness. In addition, he provided me with one of the most stirring and

well-composed introductions, bringing to mind the full lineage of those who accepted the Crown’s

charge to lead the Barony of the Steppes and the Canton of Glaslyn.

Thanks again to all who continue to support rapier combat in the Barony.

In service to the Barony of the Steppes and the Dream,

Master Abd al-Mahdi Jamal ibn Hakim

Steppes Rapier Marshal

Rapier Marshal

Master Abd al-Mahdi Jamal ibn Hakim

rapier@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 7

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood knights marshal! We are well into tournament season and we are spending a lot of time on one-on-ones. I am still in the process of trying to get a monthly armor workshop together over at makers space. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know. We are adding extra fighter practices to the schedule! The first and third Sunday these will be held at the archery site in Mesquite from 2-5pm. The second and fourth Sundays will be held in the park as usual from 2-5pm. As I enter my second year in office, I am looking to the future, so I am trying to identify some deputies. If you are interested let me know. You do not have to be a fighter to be a marshal. Ld. Caradoc Cadwgan Douglas Knights Marshal

Words from our Officers - Chivalry Marshal

Chivalry Marshal

Ld. Caradoc Cadwgan Douglas

marshal@steppes.ansteorra.org

Greetings Steppes! The group was small on the first Sunday, so I took the opportunity to throw some weird stuff at the archers. The third Sunday practice was quite popular with 7 archers showing up for fun, including the new Baron and Baroness! This month, my deputy, Eadgyth, and I repaired and inventoried the Baronial stash of arrows. We went from having only 2 complete sets of adult arrows, to having 7 complete sets. We also have the capability to add at least an additional 12 sets if we do a ton of fletching, but we need supplies to do that. I will be talking to the financial committee about purchasing supplies since we are only a few broken arrows away from being in trouble again. Practices are each 1st and 3rd Sunday at 601 Gross Rd, Mesquite, TX 75149 from 2p.m. until ~5p.m. Loaner bows and arrows are available. The range provides water, but I highly recommend bringing your own preferred form of electrolyte drink/mix. Remember to check-in at the office when you arrive so they can get a head count. Also, anyone that has not signed a waiver with the facility during a previous practice will need to, so please bring a photo ID. YIS, Lady Aibinn

Words from Our Officers - Archery Marshal

Archery Marshal

Lady Aibinn ingen Eremon

archery@steppes.ansteorra.org

THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 8 THE STEPPES LETTER

Words from our Officers - Minister of Arts and Sciences

Greetings Steppers! I hope you all enjoyed the class on Fingerloop Braiding that Lady Elionora gave at our last A&S meeting! I want to thank her one more time for stepping up as my deputy and taking point on the office. If you want to see any class taught, or want to volunteer as a teacher, please contact me or her directly. We'll be glad to accommodate you and we are always looking for interesting things to teach! And talking about contacts, if you don't know yet, the barony now has a

Discord server! We have an open A&S channel for casual conversation and you can find both my deputy and I there if you want to talk about projects, research, or any artsy stuff. I'm sure that we can turn this into an awesome new resource and community for all the artisans of the barony. If you are just curious about something, take a look around and ask; we'll do our best to answer all your questions :). Official news and notifications will still be going through the mailing list and Facebook. Don't worry, we are not going anywhere. If you came to Steppes 12th Night, you probably saw our traditional stained glass banners. They jut went through some restoration work thanks to two of our own, thank you so much Lord Wladyslaw and Lady Aibihn! However the work done was minor touch ups and some of the first banners need to be completely repainted. I plan to turn this into a barony scale project so I'll be in conversations with our new landed on how we can do it. Expect news soon! As a last note, if you have any A&S activity that you want to tell the barony about, please send me an email or Facebook message with the time and date of the activity so I can include them in future articles and on all our channels to spread the news. In Service, Lady Sofia Speranza (MKA Francisca Moreno) Minister of Arts and Sciences, Barony of the Steppes

MOAS

Lady Sofia Speranza

moas@steppes.ansteorra.org

Greetings and Salutations to the Great Barony of the Steppes!

By the time you read this, we will have finished our year-end financial reporting. Currently, I need to go back and fix a few things, because we no longer have to depreciate items that cost less than $2000, so I have to go back and remove the new pavilion from the Depreciable Assets and redo all the reports since then. This just goes to show you that things in the Exchequer's office change all the time, which is why I went to classes at Round Table and sat through hours of meetings (so you don't have to!). One of the items that we went over was a change in the Society Exchequer's Handbook, which can be found at the newly updated www.sca.org website. A link to the Handbook and the verbiage found therein can be found on page 22 of this newsletter as an addendum to this report. So, based on the new information, if we hire an individual to perform a service at an event, such as a security guard, we need to obtain a W-9 from that person and send it to the Society Exchequer. Also, if we buy any regalia where an individual is charging labor, we also have to obtain a W-9. If the person doesn't want to fill out a W-9 with their SSN on it, they can obtain an EIN free from IRS.GOV. I have more information on this topic that I'm happy to share with the barony should you ask. Please remember, I don't make the rules, I just follow them in order to keep our Barony out of trouble. Speaking of trouble, please remember to refer to our Barony's 2019 Financial Policy. We will be updating it later this year to reflect changes to Society and Kingdom Financial Policies. Also we need to look at the list of persons being comped for which events, for feasts, and how to request changes to the comp list in a timely manner prior to events. Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXVN1ZJVDTPV9YvtAHBzvueK_KeMUeKP/view?usp=sharing If you can't use the link for any reason, please let me know and I will send you a copy.

In Service to Crown and Kingdom, Mistress Xene Theriane, OL, OP, etc. treasurer@steppes.ansteorra.org

Words from Our Officers - Exchequer

Exchequer

Mistress Xene Theriane

exchequer@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 9 THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 10

THE STEPPES LETTER

Greetings Steppes! I’m looking for a deputy Chronicler at this time, perhaps someone to fill my shoes next summer when my tenure is up. Current responsibilities would be to provide edits and general familiarization with the newsletter format and rules. Please email me if you have an interest in providing a behind the scenes, but exceptionally important, service to this great barony! As always, a friendly reminder that any new content for the newsletter must be submitted by the 15th of the month and any regular content by the 20th of the month.

In Service,

Lord Wladyslaw Nyílas Chronicler of the Steppes

Chronicler

Wladyslaw Nyílas

chronicler@steppes.ansteorra.org

Words from our Officers - Chronicler

Greetings Steppes and Glaslyn, 12th Night was busy and wonderful. Prior to, a group of us were busy sewing and altering garb for a number of Arabella's family and close friends. As a matter of fact, I ran into one of them at the restaurant where we had Business Meeting. She told me she was going to the Newcomers Classes and was very eager to join! Then last Friday night (17th) we were invited to the Bahamas Hockey game where the fighters did their thing on ice. YAY Steppes on Ice! We had at least 300 contacts, used up all our promotional material, and have 28 contacts that want more information. It's been a busy month and it's not even over. In Service Johanna Jakobsdottir Hospitaler Barony of The Steppes

Words from our Officers - Hospitaler

Hospitaler

Johanna Jakobsdӧttir

hospitaler@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 11

Greetings to the Barony of the Steppes! Greetings Steppes! It was exciting to see so many of you at Twelfth Night. It was a beautiful send-off to Sarah and Peter, and congratulations to the new Oaks and Acorns! Steppes is starting the year with a big social media push. Be sure to like the Steppes Facebook page, follow the Twitter, and visit the social media links on our site! As always, let me know know via email (webminister@steppes.ansteorra.org) if you find any issues or anything missing on the site. Yours in service, Hákon the Blacksmith

Words from Our Officers - Webminister

Webminister

Hakon the Blacksmith?

webminister@steppes.ansteorra.org

Greetings, Glaslyn!

We will continue to have fighter practices as long as the weather is

cooperative. Hope to see y'all out there!

IS,

Lady Alhdryð Ceorlstrange

Words from the Canton of Glaslyn

Seneschal of Glaslyn

Lady Alhdryð Ceorlestrange

seneschal@glaslyn.ansteorra.org

THE STEPPES LETTER

We always welcome youth fighters to our practice! It is in the same location

as chivalric and rapier if you want to join us. We are in need of more youth

marshals at practice so that we can start building our youth fighter contingent

to even greater numbers!

Please contact the hospitaler to get in touch with me if you can help or if you

have any questions.

YIS

HL Alexandra Notte Clare

Central Regional Youth Boffer and Youth Rapier Marshal

Words from our Officers - Youth Marshal

Youth Marshal

HL Alexandra Notte-Claire

hospitaler@steppes.ansteorra.org

Page 12 THE STEPPES LETTER

Words for our Newcomers

Happy 2020. With a new year comes a new term of the Steppes Newcomer Academy. We

will be starting our 4th term of the Steppes Newcomer Academy in January.

The Steppes Newcomer Academy Meets the first Wednesday of the month in the Party room

of Fuddruckers (DNT & Frankford RD.) Class starts at 7pm but if you are planning to eat

please arrive early to get food so that class can start on time.

Please note with the first Wednesday of January being New Years Day the January class will

be held on the third Wednesday, January 15th.

Below is a list of the upcoming dates and classes.

February 5th – Class II: Persona and Heraldry

March 4th – Class III: Costuming

April 1st – Class IV: Courtly Graces

May 6th– Class V: Eventing and Camping

June 3rd – Class VI: How to get more Involved.

Any and all are welcome to join us. Hope to see you there.

In service

Astrid Flokadottir

Steppes Newcomers Academy

Page 13

The Steppes Bowyer and Fletchers Guild is the oldest archery guild within Ansteorra

that we know of surviving even the later established now defunct kingdom's

archery guild. The Guild exists to share knowledge between members and instruct

others how to accomplish all the projects, skills, and items required to round out

personal kits for our SCA archery community. We have recently included thrown

weapons and siege weapons to our instructional activities since the kingdom has

combined all airborne missile activities together.

Guild meetings are a bit sporadic at the moment but ideally we will meet on the

last Friday of the month at a guild members’ home. If you want to know when the

next meeting is, please contact either HL Ironwyrm or the archery marshal who will

then put you in contact with him. archery@steppes.ansteorra.org

Steppes

Bowyer and

Fletchers

Guild

Guild & Non-Guild Announcements

THE STEPPES LETTER

Greetings Steppes,

Currently no meetings are planned, but keep an eye out here each month for more

details. Also join the Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/

groups/904474829584183/?ref=share

Steppes

Loose

Association

of Brewers

(SLAB)

Page 14

Steppes

Music and

Vocal

non - Guild

Greetings, The St. Romanos Chorale and The Oakwood Consort's Calendar of rehearsals and performances. Contact Mistress Xene at music@twmarsh.net for addresses and more information. Currently we have scheduled practices on the second Sunday and fourth Tuesday of each month.

February

2/9 - Practice: 2-4pm at Xene and Llywelyn's house in Cedar Hill.

2/25 - Practice: 7-9pm at the park in Richardson if weather is permitting (801 N Floyd Rd, Richardson, TX 75080), otherwise Esme and Sean’s house. In Service to Crown and Kingdom, Mistress Xene Theriane, OL, OP

Guild & Non-Guild Announcements

THE STEPPES LETTER

Much Ado About Nothing It is always a pleasure to see another good production of one of Shakespeare’s plays. It doesn’t matter if they change the setting; it doesn’t matter if they change the time period; it doesn’t matter if they add some modern songs into the mix. If the production is well-done, I’m there! I will sit and watch and enjoy the whole thing, and usually learn something new, because the director has accented something in the play in a way that I hadn’t seen before. So when I saw that Great Performances on PBS was going to be broadcasting a “bold interpretation” of one of “Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece[s]”, you know that I was going to watch it! And review it for you! Never mind that I already own (and have reviewed for you) two other versions of this same play. (I mean, really! To mention only two of his plays, I own seven – soon to be eight – different productions of Hamlet, and six of Macbeth, plus some foreign films merely based on those plays. “Hi, I’m Da’ud Bob, and I am a Shakespeare-aholic.”) Anyway, the scheduled night and time came, so I plopped myself down in my big ol’ La-Z-Bubba recliner, notepad and pen in hand, and thus it is that this month, Da’ud Bob reviews for you The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park summer of 2019 production, filmed at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park, Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (“American Son,” “A Raisin in the Sun”), and starring an all-black cast including Danielle (“Orange is the New Black,” Broadway’s “The Color Purple”) Brooks as Beatrice, Grantham (“Buzzer,” “The Americans”) Coleman as Benedick, Chuck Cooper as Leonato, Jeremie Harris as Claudio, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson as Friar Francis/Sexton, Tiffany Denise Hobbs as Ursula, Lateefah Holder as Dogberry, Billy Eugene Jones as Don Pedro, Margaret Odette as Hero, Hubert Point-Du Jour as Don John, Jaime Lincoln Smith as Borachio, and Olivia Washington as Margaret, in this comedy of romantic retribution and miscommunication we find the community of Aragon, Georgia in the spring of 2020 (see? I told you the setting and time period were changed) celebrating a break from an ongoing war. But not all is peaceful amid the revelry, as old rivals engage in a battle of wits, unexpected foes plot revenge, and young lovers are caught in a tumultuous courtship - until love proves the ultimate trickster, and undoes them all. Good points: It’s Shakespeare! It’s Shakespeare’s words, though with the added touch of black American cadence, inflections, and head and hand gestures giving additional meaning and depth to the words. (As only example: Beatrice in Act I: “I wonder that you are still talking, Sir Bene-dick.”) The music and the songs. (For example, the medley of “What’s Goin’ On” and “America the Beautiful”.) The dancing. Beatrice hiding in the audience, holding an open Playbill to cover her face. Bad points: Well, if you don’t care for recorded stage plays, even though recorded from multiple angles, you might not like this as much. I didn’t have that problem; it was very well done. Though Lateefah Holder as Dogberry was very good, my favorite Dogberry is still Michael Keaton. Zero breasts. No blood. No dead bodies. Jealousy fu. Defamation fu. Slap fu. Plots roll. Beatrice rolls. Dogberry rolls. Gratuitous pushups. Gratuitous police whistle. Academy Award nominations (or should they really be Tony Award nominations, since it’s a live play in New York?) to Danielle Brooks as Beatrice for everything she does in the role and for her wonderful rendition of “What’s Goin’ On” in the finale; to Grantham Coleman as Benedick for bringing such energy to the role; and to Lateefah Holder as Dogberry for being able to talk nonsense with such earnestness. A paltry 16 on the Vomit Meter. A coveted Four (****) Stars. Da’ud Bob says, “I think I have a new favorite version of this play. Check it out!”

Page 15

Da’ud Bob Movie Review THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 16 THE STEPPES LETTER

In order to get a better idea of how people feel about and/or participate in various events and meetings the group and

kingdom hold, here is a form to review said events and meetings! If enough reports are submitted to me following an

event, I (your Chronicler) will use them to garner enough information to write up a small blurb about the event. Then

the populace can read about all the fun they missed! You may answer as many or as few questions as you are

comfortable with. Any information in the article will be strictly confidential and no names will be used without

permission (as per SCA guidelines!). If you wish for your review to be published directly or are willing to allow it to be

quoted in the write-up, please fill out a release form, located here: https://www.sca.org/docs/pdf/ReleaseCreative.pdf

Email completed forms to: chronicler@steppes.ansteorra.org

A name is required only if you want credit given for your article or are willing to allow direct quotation of said report.

Your name:___________________________

Name and Date of Event:_________________________

1. What was the most interesting thing to happen on the way to/from event?

2. What was your first impression of the event?

3. What was the most interesting thing at the event and why?

4. Would you consider the event worth your time, travel, and money?

5. What was the best unexpected occurrence of the event?

6. What was the funniest thing you saw at the event?

7. Altogether, how much did you spend on the event?

8. How did the event help you experience the SCA or medieval lifestyle?

9. Was the event educational for you and in what way?

10. Describe the garb you wore (was it a "theme" event?)

11. What was your overall impression of the event?

12. What would you have done differently if you had been in charge of the event?

13. How did you contribute to the atmosphere or authenticity of the event?

14. Was royalty there? Which ones?

15. Who won the contests/tournaments?

16. What was served at feast, and what was *good* at feast?

17. What did somebody who didn't go *really* miss?

Event Report Form

Page 17 THE STEPPES LETTER

- Blue items are local events. - Italicized items are kingdom events. - Bold items are out of kingdom events.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

26 Music

Practice

27

28

29

30

31

1 Bryn Gwlad

Candlemas

2 Archery

Practice

Chivalry

3

Glaslyn

Practice

4 Chivalry

& Rapier

5 Newcomer’s

Academy

6 Heraldic

Hangout

7

8 Kingdom

A&S

9 Chivalry

Music

Practice

10 Glaslyn

Practice

11 Chivalry

& Rapier

12

13 A&S & Scribal

Meeting

14 War College

Raven’s Fort

15 War College

Raven’s Fort

Provincial

Games & Tea

Aedult Swim

16 Archery

Practice

Chivalry

War College

Raven’s Fort

Aedult Swim

17 Glaslyn

Practice

18 Chivalry

& Rapier

19

20 Business

Meeting

21 Bjornsborg

Feuding

Families

22 Bjornsborg

Feuding

Families

23 Chivalry Bjornsborg

Feuding

Families

24 Glaslyn

Practice

25 Chivalry

& Rapier

Music

Practice

26

27

28 Eldern Hills

Fire & Ice

29 Eldern Hills

Fire & Ice

EmeraldKeep

Legionnaire

Winter War

Maneuvers

February 2020

Steppes Meetings

First and Third Sundays @ 2 PM-5 PM – Archery Practice at 601 Gross Rd, Mesquite, TX 75149

Sundays @ 2 PM-5 PM – Chivalric Practice at 601 Gross Rd, Mesquite, TX 75149

Mondays @ 6 PM – Glaslyn Chivalry Practice at North Lakes Park 2001 W. Windsor Dr., Denton, TX

Tuesdays @ 7 PM – Rapier Practice at 801 N Floyd Rd, Richardson, TX 75080.

Tuesdays @ 7 PM – Chivalric Practice at 801 N Floyd Rd, Richardson, TX 75080.

Wednesday 5 @ 7 PM – Newcomers’ Academy at Fuddruckers on 4520 Frankford Rd, Dallas, TX 75287

Thursday 6 @ 7 PM – Heraldic Hangout at Clawhaven Manor17919 Meadowchase Way, Dallas, TX 75287

Sunday 9 @ 2PM-4PM – The Music Guild of the Steppes is planning to meet for practice at Xene and Llywelyn's

house in Cedar Hill. Contact music@twmarsh.net for more information.

Thursday 13 @ 7 PM – A&S Night at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 1333 Beltline Road, Garland, TX

Thursday 13 @ 7 PM – Scribal Meeting at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 1333 Beltline Road, Garland, TX

Thursday 20 @ 7 PM – Business Meeting at Spring Creek BBQ 14941 Midway Rd, Addison, TX 75001

Tuesday 25 @ 7PM-9PM – The Music Guild of the Steppes is planning to meet for practice at with rapier and

chivalric in the park if weather permits, otherwise meet at Esme and Sean’s house. Contact music@twmarsh.net

for more information.

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Calendar Details

02/01 – Bryn Gwlad Candlemas at 445 E Morrow St, Georgetown, TX 78626

02/08 – Kingdom Arts & Sciences at 735 Davy Dr, Burkburnett, TX 76354, USA

02/14-16 – War College – Barony of Raven’s Fort at 925 US-59 Loop N, Livingston, TX 77351

02/15 – Provincial Games and Princess Tea – Mooneschadowe at 4518 Expo Cir E, Stillwater, OK 74075, USA

02/15-16 – Aedult Swim – Aethelmearc at The Shoe Factory 700 Hepburn Street, Milton, PA 17847

02/21-23 – Bjornsborg Feuding Families at 14410 FM 1346 St Hedwig, TX 78152

02/28—03/01 – Eldern Hills – Fire & Ice at 12442 FM 368, Holliday, TX 76366, USA

02/29 – Emerald Keep – Sable Legionnaire at 10701 Co Rd 305, Terrell, TX 75160, USA

02/29 – Winter War Maneuvers – Calontir at Speedway Village 345 Speedway Cir, Lincoln, NE

Kingdom Events

THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 19

Local Offices Open for Applications

Opportunities

Currently there are two open offices! The Quartermaster and Herald positions are open for new candidates for office. If you are

interested in holding the Quartermaster or Herald position, please fill out an application and contact the Seneschal for further

instructions at seneschal@steppes.ansteorra.org. And as always, if you have interest in being a deputy please contact the officer of

the position you wish to assist with for further information. This can be a great steppingstone to becoming an officer in the future.

YIS,

Seneschal of the Steppes

Lady Esmeralda Malaspina

Applications can be found on the Ansteorra website at: http://seneschal.ansteorra.org/forms/ApplicationJan08.pdf

THE STEPPES LETTER

Steppes Business Meeting 3rd Thursday of the Month from 7 PM to 9 PM Spring Creek BBQ at 14941 Midway Rd, Addison, TX 75001 This is open to the Populace! If you have topic to discuss and you are not able to come, please send them to our Seneschal to update the Agenda. Officers, the same goes for you. The Financial Committee meeting is after Business meeting. Chivalric and Rapier Fighter Practice Tuesdays 7 PM Heights Park,801 N Floyd Rd, Richardson, TX 75080 A second opportunity for chivalric practice will be Sunday afternoons from 2-5pm. 1st and 3rd Sundays will be held with the archery practice in Mesquite. 2nd and 4th Sundays in the Richardson park as usual. A&S Nights 2nd Thursday of the Month from 7 PM to 9 PM Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 1333 Beltline Road Garland, TX 75040-3267 This is on Beltline, at N Garland Rd. You will see a large sign for a car wash. Parking is behind the church. This is a monthly meeting, held the second Thursday of each month, for sharing in our interests in the arts and sciences. There are several tables, so bring a project if you have something you want to work on. Contact moas@steppes.ansteorra.org for further information. Every Scribal night will have open charter painting for those who wish to paint our awesome charters as well as some structured classes ranging from beginning to advance techniques as well as original scroll work. We will be planning and working on scrolls for our baronial events too, so bring your ideas. Glaslyn Mondays 6:45 PM – 10 PM (Except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve) North Lakes Park 2001 W. Windsor Dr. Denton, TX From I-35 E in Denton, Texas exit University Drive (Hwy 380). Go east on University Dr. Go north on Bonnie

Brae St. Go east on Windsor Dr. Just past the baseball fields, turn left (north) into the parking lot. Continue

around as if you are going to the soccer fields. Practice is in front of the basketball court on your right,

soccer fields on your left.

Page 20

Social Media

1. Barony of the Steppes - https://www.facebook.com/groups/baronyofthesteppes/ Unofficial group

2. Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)- Official Facebook group for the SCA

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SocietyForCreativeAnachronism/about/?ref=page_internal

3. Legion of Swashbucklers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/253854098018212/about/ Open to all rapier fighters.

4. Steppes Cooks: This group is for those interested in cooking.

5. Steppes Calligraphers and Illuminators Guild

6. Canvas Castle Showcase- https://www.facebook.com/groups/471086229603006/ Show off your tent, camping furniture,

or anything that makes your camping experience more homey.

7. Elizabethan Costume- http://www.facebook.com/groups/29374273995/ For those people fascinated with the clothing,

accessories, hairstyles, cosmetics, etc. of the 16th century. Although the name says "Elizabethan," anything from the

Tudor period (1485-1603) is fair game for discussion.

8. Garb for Sale - http://www.facebook.com/groups/130311470376509/ For selling clothing, camping equipment, feast

gear, period books and services.

9. SCA Runway - https://www.facebook.com/groups/460750480615188/?ref=ts&fref=ts For showing off your fashion.

10. Tudor Conversations- http://www.facebook.com/groups/TudorWorld/ An on-going conversation among enthusiasts

of the 16th century exploring the world of the Tudors, with occasional excursions among the early Stuarts.

11. Viking Clothing https://www.facebook.com/groups/279611679205/ For all clothes Viking!

12. Vikings of the SCA - http://www.facebook.com/groups/244158265607631/ For those interested in all things "Viking"

related in the SCA.

13. SCA Equestrian - https://www.facebook.com/groups/34623283817/ For those interested in Equestrian Arts.

14. SCA Garb - http://www.facebook.com/groups/scagarb/ For discussion of researching and making all types of garb.

15. SCA Camping - https://www.facebook.com/groups/367915673351579/ For discussion of period camping gear.

Helpful SCA & Ansteorra Web Links

There are many sites on the Web and Facebook for SCA interests. Below are a few. This is in no way an endorsement for any of

the groups listed, or a final list. It is just a way to direct people to groups that they might not know about, that may be of interest.

www.sca.org

www.ansteorra.org

http://historian.ansteorra.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Needs much updating, let's all get on that!

www.steppes.ansteorra.org

www.calendar.ansteorra.org

www.hospitaler.ansteorra.org

www.heraldry.ansteorra.org/honors (Awards List)

Book of Face Groups

THE STEPPES LETTER

This is the February 2020 issue of the Steppes Newsletter, a publication of The Barony of the Steppes of the

Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The Steppes Letter is available from Erin Rinehart:

chronicler@steppes.ansteorra.org. It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism,

Incorporated, and does not delineate SCA policies.

Copyright 2019 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

For information on reprinting articles, photographs, and artwork from this publication, please contact the

chronicler, who will assist you in contacting the original creator of the piece. Please respect the legal rights of

our contributors.

Page 21

Disclaimer

Thank you to the following artist and photographers for your contributions to this newsletter:

Page 2 Border Art - Thomas of Eynsham

Page 2 Photo - Mistress Elen

Page 5 - Sidheag Sorcha/Vardo Rose Photography

Page 7 - Lord Wladyslaw Nyilas

Page 10 - Sidheag Sorcha/Vardo Rose Photography

Page 10 - Lord Wladyslaw Nyilas

Page 21 - Stephen Paul Blackeley

THE STEPPES LETTER

Page 22

Addendum to Exchequer Report Here's the actual link to the Handbook:

https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/exchequerhandbook.pdf

Chapter 5-18 states the following in regards to W-9s. "E. IRS 1099 Miscellaneous Form

(U.S. Only) The U.S. IRS requires that income from U.S. branches in cash or

worth more than US$600 per person per year is claimed on personal income taxes.

Income can be from Regalia or Equipment Purchased, prizes; renting a site from

an individual (as opposed to renting a site from a commercial business); paying

reimbursements in excess of the allowable maximums, for example paying

mileage at a rate greater than the current charitable rate; or payment to an

individual for janitorial overtime at an event. International branches don‘t need to

worry about this form, just the U.S. branches, even where the recipient is not a

U.S. resident (we still have to claim we gave it, even though they may not claim

they got it). Traveling trophies do not need to have this form filled out --

possession is retained by the SCA because they have to give it back the next year.

However, a traveling trophy worth more than the limit for reporting for Regalia

($500) does need to be listed on the Financial Report. The person receiving the

money needs to fill out a W-9. Copies of the W-9 can be downloaded from the IRS

website ( http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf ). The form needs to be sent

to the Society Exchequer along with the amount paid and what it was for. You

must also send the information on any of these transactions directly to Kingdom

Exchequer as soon as the transaction occurs. All transactions of this type must be

sent to the Society Exchequer by December 31 of that year. The Corporate Office

has to get the completed 1099 form to the recipient by January 30 of the following

year."

Also, in chapter 2-9, under 4. Property Lists, is this " Note: For regalia if an individual

is charging labor to make regalia or depreciated items (ie pavilion) then you must

have them fill out a W-9 and send it to the Corporate Tax Specialist. At the end of

the year the Corporate office will fill out a 1099 to anyone receiving $600 or more

during the year. This is combined from any group that paid an individual as one

group may pay someone $250 and another group paid that same person $350."

THE STEPPES LETTER