We, Tariq and Elieth, Baron and Baroness of the Citadel of the Southern Pass send greetings. After 4 years of serving our beloved Barony as Baron and Baroness, we have decided to continue serving the Dream in other ways, so that others may have the opportunity to lead the Barony. If any of the members of the populace of Citadel should be interested in being considered as successors to the Baronial seat please send your letters of intent no later than February 28th to Crown (crown@outlands.org), Kingdom Seneschal (seneschal@outlands.org), and Citadel Baron and Baroness (coronet@southernpass.org). Their Majesties Hrorek and Slaine will hold a polling of the populace at a date and place to be announced. All approved applicants must be present for the Polling.
We are grateful for all the love and support we have received these 4 years from our Barony, our Kingdom and other groups in the Society. You all, in your own way, have made Citadel a better place for us and have showed us what the Dream is really about. We are sure that the successors our mighty King and Queen choose to select will receive the same help and support to continue making Citadel great. Thank you for allowing us the honor to represent Their Majesties and to serve you. We will always cherish these 4 years.
Yours in service,
Tariq and Elieth, Twelfth Baron and Baroness of the Citadel of the Southern Pass
Good morning archers! Looking at mild weather this weekend for archery. Mid 50s and breezy. We will be set up in the usual place, EPMArch on Saturday January 19 from 11am to 2pm. Come on out and get some shooting in!
This month’s business meeting will include the after action discussion for Citadel Twelfth Night as well as preparations for Estrella War. We will also discuss preparations for The Hunt for Mythical Beasts in March and Citadel’s bid for Kingdom Arts and Sciences Competition. We also ask that all Twelfth Night coordinators and staff please attend, as we will be distributing the largess that was given during the event for those who helped make this event so successful. As always, all members of the populace are welcome to attend. We meet at Tres Gallegos Mexican Restaurant, starting at 7 pm.
The Barony has shown remarkable
recovery over the past 5 ½ years since the Investiture of Baron Christopher and
Baroness Jamilla. During their tenure
the Barony went from 38 (paid) members to 88 at their stepping down (Their
tenure lasted 21 months). The Barony is
currently at 91 (paid) members, having peaked at 106 between June and August of
2015.
We believe that our fluctuating
numbers are not a reflection of the level of satisfaction with the current
state of the Barony, but rather part of the “normal” expansion and contraction
the Barony has always gone through, being that a significant percentage of our
populace are either active duty military and their dependents, subject to
periodic relocation. It has been calculated
that currently, about 20% of our current membership is active duty military or
dependent. The percentage of military
membership when Christopher and Jamilla stepped down was above 30%. We, however, feel that although we hate to
lose our people for any reason, we can work to mitigate the effect on our
numbers caused by relocation; both by increasing our local population
membership and by creating a functional plan for the constant recruitment of
Military personnel and their dependents.
We will also see that recruitment of military personnel will in the long
run help to keep the SCA as a whole in a better state.
Additionally, we feel that it is
necessary that we bolster our newcomer orientation program. Traditionally, newcomers, although generally
warmly welcomed into the group, tend to be left to their own devices in terms
of learning how to be in the SCA. In
many cases this has proved to be very ineffective and people end up getting
bored or overwhelmed and eventually drift away in favor of other
activities. Although Sir Berold’s SCA
101 program and Citadel University have been programs that have been offered in
the past, the frequency of these programs has not been sufficient to cover the
needs of the group. To this end we hope
to develop an on-going program that will not only be engaging for newcomers,
but will also draw out older members as well.
Furthermore, we feel that it is
very important to address the problem of inadequacy regarding the youth. Across the society as a whole we see an age
gap when it comes to youth activities.
Time after time we see that pre-teens and teens are left with very
little dedicated activities to engage them.
This feeds boredom at events and with the SCA in general, causing many
of them to abandon the SCA altogether once they are old enough to choose to not
attend events. This is a problem that
hits very close to home for us because we ourselves have a pre-teen at home
that has quickly lost interest in the SCA since youth combat was halted in our
Kingdom. Much needs to be done in this
direction and we hope that our efforts here in the Barony, if successful, can
become a model for the rest of the Kingdom.
The reasons above as well as others are why the Recruitment & Retention Council was formed. We believe that working together as a team we can accomplish so very much more than one person could ever do alone. This council is intended to be an open venue for any and all members of the Baronial populace to voice their ideas and opinions in the hopes of helping us to stimulate the growth of the Barony as well as to continue to keep our current membership motivated to continue to be a part of this great Dream that we call the SCA. The comment “That’s the way it’s always been” was my impetus to try and develop an active recruitment & retention plan. There is no reason that past trends such as the relocation of military personnel should profoundly impact the Baronial populace if we have a permanent recruitment and retention system in place. If you feel that you want to be a part of this initiative the please reach out to either me at coronet@southernpass.org or our Chatelaine, Signore Bernardo dei Medici at chatelaine@southernpass.org. We also invite one and all to attend the upcoming council meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2018, at the Baronial Estate, 9900 Chinaberry Drive.
We are looking to you, the Mighty Populace of our Great Barony, to step forward and help us make the Citadel the best it has ever been!
Their Excellencies would like to invite you to their home on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 7 pm to enjoy an evening of friendship in Celebration of the Citadel Tradition of Saint Stephen’s. This potluck feast is a chance for the Populace for the Citadel to Celebrate the Holidays together. Their Excellencies will be providing a meat course for the feast and ask that attendees bring sides or deserts and such We will have iced tea on hand but we also encourage you all to bring your favorite beverages, adult or otherwise. Please help us to calculate the amount of food to prepare by confirming your attendance as soon as you can.
We look forward to
celebrating with our Citadel Family!
Garb is highly encouraged but not required.
Follow this link to the Facebook Invitation to RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/2205625419756771/
We will be holding Populace Gathering this Sunday in conjunction with the SCA Fighter Seminar with Duke Sean of Artemisia. Please join us in support of our fighters and help us to welcome His Grace as well as all of those visiting the Citadel for his fighter workshop. Practice begins at 10 am and a brief court will be held at 11:30 am. We look forward to seeing everyone out!
This is a 2-Day SCA Fighter Seminar being instructed by Duke Sean of Artemisia. The format for the event will consist of indoor gym practice at the Gary Del Palacio Center on Saturday starting 10:00 AM promptly. Fighters are encouraged to show at 9:30 AM to be ready to go for 10.
Following the instructional period, Duke Sean will fight each fighter individually while it is recorded for critique and feedback that night over pizza and beer.
On Sunday, during the regularly scheduled Baronial Fighter Practice, additional opportunities for fighting and pickups will be available.
Showers are available at the park rec center and at Signore Bernardo’s Estate, located at 10512 Saigon Drive, El Paso, TX 79925.
Fighters are asked to donate $10 to cover the cost of the location, food, and beverages.
Questions regarding the event can be forwarded to Lord John and Signore Bernardo.
Hrorekr and Slaine, Crown Prince and Princess of the Outlands
Join us in the Shire of Drygestan (Santa Fe, New Mexico) for two days of merriment and celebration as we thank King Béla VI and Queen Anna IV for their leadership and we welcome the new King and Queen, Hrorekr II and Slaine II.
The COURT and pageantry will be held at the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple on Saturday, November 10, 2018, from 9AM to 6:30PM.
The Coronation site is at the historic Scottish Rite Temple, a venue with exotic Moorish architecture, in the Alhambra Theatre, a space replete with frescoes, elegantly-painted backdrops, and velvet seating!!! The Tournament site has changed (at last minute) and is now at the Villa Linda Park (adjacent to the Santa Fe Place Mall).
The TOURNAMENTS will be held at Villa Linda Park on Sunday, November 11, 2018, from 9AM to 5PM.
Kindly note that while start and end times for activities are provided, the schedule, in its entirety, is at the whim of the Crown. Apart from the site open and close times (which are firm), They set the schedule of the day.
Website for Event (with Schedule): http:/www.drygestan.org/15-event-detail/50-fall-coronation-2018
Your Champions have been chosen! The Feast of Saint Edrik, celebrated in October in honor of the founding of the Barony, is the event where all of our Baronial Champions are chosen through tournaments and contests as befitting the appropriate disciplines that each position represents. We are pleased to announce those honorable folk who were victorious and will thus represent, support and promote their respective disciplines within the Citadel as well as throughout the Far Southern Region of our Mighty Kingdom. The Champions are as follows:
Lord Tachibana Hideaki of the Shire of Nahrun Kabirun (mka Robert Salinas) is our Armored Combat Champion and bearer of the Baron’s Sword.
Lady Dragoslava of the Shire of Nahrun Kabirun (mka Lana Kimmel) is our Rapier Champion and Baroness’ Protector.
Lord James Erskine of the Citadel of the Southern Pass (mka Jim Volker) is our Archery Champion and the Baron’s Hunter.
M’lady Agnes Pemberton of the Citadel of the Southern Pass (mka Diana Mack) is our Youth Champion of Archery.
Lady Rita Die Perle Von Der Wetterau of the Citadel of the Southern Pass (mka Rita Mock) is our Arts & Sciences Champion.
M’lady Halima bint Tariq ibn Yusuf al Ghassani of the Citadel of the Southern Pass (mka Helen Maloof-Salazar) is our Youth Arts & Sciences Champion.
His Lordship Aradon of FalconRose of the Shire of Nahrun Kabirun is our first Blue Tower Bard.
Congratulations to all of our champions! Citadel is truly fortunate to have such amazing and talented people in its service for the next year! We would also like to thank our outgoing Champions for all of their hard work and support over the last year. We look forward to continuing to serve The Dream with you!
Despite a rather wet start, Citadel’s Feast of Saint Edrik was a great event! We had such a wonderful time and we were honored to have both of their Royal Highnesses in attendance. Domina Julia and her staff worked hard to make sure that everything ran smoothly and Lady Angelica’s feast was truly fit for Saint Edrik himself! This was the first time that Saint Edrik was a camping event and we loved the site. Domina Julia started a tradition that we do hope will continue. The normally fair weather that we enjoy here in the south while most of the rest of the Kingdom is settling in for the winter months is a great attraction that we hope to develop in the coming years. We are already looking forward to next year’s event!
Citadel was well represented at Queen’s Prize during the College of Saint Golias’ Feast Day and 40th Anniversary with three participants, His Lordship Edmund, m’lady Halima and His Excellency Tariq. The Saint Golias defender also had a Citadel fighter competing, m’lord Louis. It was a wonderful event where many Outlands artisans brought out their best.
In addition to the various events, our Barony participated in three different demos over the last month where we were given the opportunity to shine and interact with the El Paso community at-large. There was much interest and we have even had several newcomers attending both Baronial Day and our weekly rapier practice. We look forward to getting to know these new folks much better over the coming months. We would like to thank Lord Bernardo for his help in getting these demos organized.
Now that we are finally settling into the winter months, we look to the next few events that we encourage you all to attend. This very weekend (November 10) is Outlands Fall Coronation, where Their Royal Highnesses Hrorek and Slaine will ascend the Stag Throne. This auspicious event will take place in the Shire of Drygestan (Santa Fe, NM) at the Scottish Rite Temple in downtown. It is a beautiful site and always a great event.
Following Coronation, We will be attending al-Barran Midwinter in the Barony of al-Barran (Albuquerque, NM. Al-Barran always throws a great party and this event is extremely well attended by Outlanders from all parts of the Kingdom. Midwinter is an excellent opportunity to meet folks from different parts of our wide Kingdom.
Finally, we all are preparing for Citadel Twelfth Night on January 12, 2019. Preparations are well underway and more information will be forthcoming. We are always looking for good gentles to volunteer for all manner of tasks pertaining the running of this, our major signature event of the year. Please contact Their Excellencies Tariq and Elieth if you would like to help out!
In addition, we would like to announce that Dominus Servius Cassius Caledonius Ahenobarbus (mka Scott Honaker) has been selected and appointed as the Citadel’s Knight Marshal. We would like to thank him for his willingness to take the lead on the marshalled activities in the Barony and we look forward to working with him over the next two years of his warrant in the promotion of combat and archery in the Citadel as well as in the deep south of our Kingdom.
In closing, we would like to thank you all for your continued support of us and of the Barony. The Citadel is strong and healthy thanks to all of you and your hard work. As we look to the future we will continue to provide all of the care and support that is needed to keep us united and strong. Keep up the good work everyone!
In Service to the Citadel, The Kingdom, The Dream, and especially to all of you,
Tariq and Elieth Baron and Baroness of the Citadel of the Southern Pass
Good morning! Baronial Day and Fighter Practice has been cancelled today in favor of supporting the Shire of Nahrun Kabirun at the Las Cruces Renaissance Faire. We had a great day yesterday and we look forward to more fun today!
