From Fridrikr & Orianna, Kingdom Ministers of Arts and Sciences:

To the gentlefolk of Æthelmearc, greetings!

On April 23rd, the Kingdom A&S Office, with the great help & generosity of the Shire of Hartstone, will hold the first Æthelmearc Arts & Sciences Faire. You can find the announcement here.

As part of the event, we will be holding an A&S Prize Tourney. As this type of tourney is new to Æthelmearc, we would like to briefly explain how it is designed to work.

First, the name “tourney” is a bit misleading. The tourney is actually an exhibition, open only to gentles who have a Sycamore or no kingdom A&S award. The purpose is to display the talents of these gentles.

Second, there will an evaluation of the displays that are entered. We intend to have teams of 3-4 evaluators, each of which will look at and comment on one or two displays per hour. The evaluations will consist of viewing the exhibit and the documentation provided, then discussing the exhibit with the entrant. If you were at Kingdom A&S Champions last October, then you will be familiar with the process we’ll using.

Third, we are asking companions of the Fleur and the Laurel to do two things: first, to sponsor entrants in the tourney. This means to provide guidance, advice, and moral support to the entrants sponsored, and to provide a small token or present which will be given to an entrant of the Tourney. For every entrant a Fleur or Laurel sponsors, that Fleur or Laurel should also provide a present. Second, we are asking the Fleurs and Laurels to attend the event and act as evaluators. This is anticipated to be an all-day task, or least take as long as there are exhibitions that have not been evaluated. We encourage the evaluators to look at all the exhibitions, even those they are not evaluating. After the tourney has finished, the evaluators will meet to discuss what they saw during the day.

You can find the entrant and sponsor forms on the A&S website here.

At the end of the day, during court, the presents will be presented to the entrants by the Fleurs and Laurels. We also hope that the sitting Barons & Baronesses and the Royalty who are present will bring tokens to present to their favorite displays of the day.

Further details on the Prize Tourney and other A&S activities during the day will be forthcoming.

Thanks for reading this rather long message. We hope that you will be able to attend the A&S Faire!

In service,

Fridrikr & Orianna, Kingdom Ministers of Arts and Sciences

Additional Questions and Answers:

1.  Do the entrants need to find their own sponsor, or do sponsors pick
whom they wish to sponsor?

It can go either way, so long as both entrant and sponsor agree to the
arrangement.

2. Do the entrants display one example of their work, or a collective
representation of their work?

Entrants can bring more than one example, but we’ll try to limit a
display to less than a six foot table, please.

Each sponsor is expected to provide one present per entrant sponsored. So if you sponsor three entrants you provide three presents. These can be tems that you have made or that you have acquired, they can be reflective of your area of interest. At the end of the day, the sponsors will come together to talk about the entries they have seen and to dcide which presents go to which entry. Presents will be distributed at court in the evening.

3. So, can a sponsor bring a present specifically for the entrant sponsored?
YES

4. Is a sponsor required to bring a present per entrant sponsored?
YES

5. Can a sponsor bring a present NOT specifically for the entrant sponsored?
YES