Camping is a beautiful way to get in touch with the natural beauty in the world, but who would think that staying in the middle of the woods for five days wearing cool looking “costumes” and swinging stick at people could be so much fun?
Octoberfest 2013, aka “beetoberfest”, October 2-6, is a weekend I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. There were SO MANY BEES (but thankfully, I didn’t get stung). Prior to my first event, I had been to somewhere around 10 practices and 2 mini events, but never to an actual overnight event. I was very excited, but had no idea what to expect.
Preparing for the event was a lot of work, but well worth it. I needed to get ahold of weapons and garb since I hadn’t owned any at the time and I didn’t want to look like a total newbie. Many people that I had talked to provided me with pointers for fighting, what to expect on the field, little tidbits that I needed to know, and much more! I was pointed in the right direction for garb and got some made for me, and a weapon build was set up to ensure I was prepared with my own weapons. Since it was my first weapon build, I had zero idea what to do and didn’t even know what fries were (no, they are not french fries that you eat). There were thankfully veterans there that showed me the ropes without reluctance. The fact that veterans are always willing to give me fighting pointers and general belegarth advice without hesitating, is something that motivates me to want to come back; it is also a good thing for retaining newer fighters.
Some newbie tidbits I was informed of:
1. You need a tent, but thankfully someone had an extra one to loan me. Make sure to always zip it up (and close your car doors too) right away in order to prevent bugs (and bees) from getting in your tent. Thankfully, I encountered very few bugs and no bees in my tent!
2. Overpack to the max. If you have a car, I suggest that you drive it down there so that you can take as much as you want and not have to depend on anyone else to grab your stuff. You can also go into town whenever you want if you need something and can also provide a kind favor to friends or other realm/unit members who need a ride
3. Look at Sorcia’s packing list: http://geddon.org/Sorcia's_Packing_List -- I took almost everything on that list and then some, and I had way too much stuff. If you don’t own equipment, most realms will probably let you borrow their loaner gear
4. Leave at least 1 blanket, 1 garb, 1 jacket, 1 pair of underwear, and 1 pair of socks in the car in case your stuff gets wet or frozen
5. (No one told me this one) Bring allergy medicine, advil, vitamins, and whatever other meds you may need. I encourage people to take their vitamins while at the event, especially because most people don’t get much sleep. I took my vitamins every day at the event, stayed healthy all 5 days, and didn’t come down with anything after either
6. I was suggested to take the day off of work the Monday after/use a day to recover. Although I ended up being ok without it, it’s always a good idea (for a camping event)
7. Take your hits, call your shots, and listen to hold calls. If someone clearly hit you and you know it’s flat, call “flat”. If someone barely brushed against your clothes, call “garb” or “light” depending on the location of the hit. If someone hits your hand with your weapon in it, call hand. If someone blatantly hits you, take your limb or death. It’s just one battle. You have plenty of other chances to fight! Also, when you hear “hold”, stay where you are and go down on one knee until the heralds tell you to resume fighting
8. Listen to the heralds!
9. When you die, LOOK DEAD (or clear off to the side)! A lot of people have told me that people keep hitting them when they’re dead, but I have never had that issue. Besides for having “three points” on the ground, whenever I see people charging towards me, I either try to get out of the way by holding my sword (or weapon) over my head and running off the field or if I can’t get out of the way, I put my sword on top of my head and put my hands over my face/wave them around to signal to people “don’t hit me, I’m dead”
10. When you’re going to walk into someone else’s camp, announce “Hail Camp”. If they respond, then feel free to go ahead. If not, then try again. It’s just out of respect to do that. If you feel uncomfortable hailing camp because you’re new, have your veteran friend do it to show you an example. It helps!
11. DRINK WATER!!! If you forget to bring water to the field, people will share!
12. Lady Feri’s food is delicious! Make sure to try it at least once during the event
13. Hold some cash on you (or your tent) in case you need it
14. Bring an opaque (aka NOT see-through) bottle/device to store your drinks in, especially if the site is dry
15. You need to bring your own utensils and napkins to feast as they are not provided. Plastic plates and silverware work!
16. If you wear contacts, bring a spare pair and your glasses too! Your eyes may dry out due to lots of campfires
17. Have fun and be safe!
Besides for the bees, this is what a typical day at an overnight camping event is like. You get there and check in at troll, set up your tent, put on your garb, and walk around on the very first night. When you wake up on the first full day, you wake up and get ready first of course. There may be classes offered, but those are usually announced very close to the event. The classes consist of anything from fighting techniques to how to be a better writer. Make sure to eat breakfast too while you’re at it. The bathrooms are sometimes a bit of a hike. Also, you better be willing to use an outhouse… After that, make sure to get your weapons checked if you’re fighting. Then, it’s time to fight!
Fighting usually lasts from somewhere around 11am-noonish until around when the sun goes down. The beginning of fighting is usually either small pick-up/line battles, games (ex capture the flag, bridge battles), then the bigger battles usually happen (ex unit/realm battles), then castle and line battles until people are about done. In between that, you should probably eat some more, drink water, and you can watch some of the other things taking place (ex knights trials). Feel free to chat and dual with people as well. You can definitely learn a thing or two!
After that, you usually have some more time to wander around and chill until it’s time for feast (if there is one). If there is no feast, you will usually (or at least in my case) end up eating with whoever’s in your camp. If there is feast, try to get there as soon as possible with your silverwear, plate, and napkins as the line will gradually become very long.
After you eat, there may be some kind of event going on, such as a knighting, a gladiator pit, etc., but most people usually wander around from camp to camp and enjoy everyone’s company until however late. A word for the wise, try not to get too messed up because I’m sure fighting with a hangover isn’t very fun (I was fortunately careful enough to avoid that).
Be sure to check out whatever else is going on, such as gladiator pits, knights trials/vigils, people being “initiated” into units, people moving up ranks in units, etc.
Go to the surprise feasts right away, because there may not be night meat left by the time you get there! I learned that the hard way… Oops! Thankfully, my camp was having a cookout that night! Mmmmm, tacos!
Bring a jacket too, because sometimes it’s freezing. Even though people are in garb the entire time, if you have your north face on over your garb, no one will give you a hard time!
During the day, it may be very sunny out. I always suggest wearing sunglasses on the field because a. the one time I didn’t wear sunglasses, there was a glare and I couldn’t see anything and b. I have also heard stories of people getting shot in the eye (and then having to go to the hospital) with an arrow or getting the area around their eye all cut up from getting hit. It’s not a rule, but just a friendly suggestion. Also, kneepads are a great investment for when you get legged!
Don’t be afraid to admit that you’re new because it’s better to be accepting and genuine about it than try to be someone you’re not. When I told people that this was my first event and I was pretty new, everyone was like, “welcome to belegarth, you’re in for a treat!” The vets were always giving me pointers, answering my questions, and of course ensuring that I have fun, am safe, and not walking alone.
Feel free to ask as many questions as your heart desires. It’s better to learn than to fear asking questions because you’d feel silly. You will honestly look worse if you don’t ask questions and then just have even more questions later that you wish you would have asked right away. From what I’ve seen so far, belegarth people have always been willing to share their vast knowledge of the sport and life in general. It’s definitely a positive feature I enjoy taking advantage of! You will learn so much about the fighting field at an event because it’s an entirely new experience and very different from practices or duals (especially with a couple hundred people on the field fighting at the same time). It’s intense, but tons of fun. Right before I was about to go on the big fighting field for the first time, I was extremely nervous and overwhelmed and had no idea what I was doing. Yes, I felt completely silly, but the veterans that I knew ensured me that I was going to be fine and do well. I managed to kill about a handful of people that weekend, and for my first event, I’ll take that as a win because at least I killed “someone”!
If you’re looking to join a unit at some point, go shopping around and don’t rush to join a unit. You will be happy that you waited because you should ideally find the unit that would fit your needs (ex a fighting unit, friendly unit, family-oriented unit, all of the above, etc.)
Also, most people have minimal sense of time. At events, it’s a time to be away from the outside world and instead of being consumed by your troubles, you are living in the now. I seriously felt like I was in a fantasy land paradise. It was the best 3 days off of work I’ve ever used and one of the best weekends I’ve ever had! Everyone’s event experience is different, but I’ll give this one a 10/10 for me! I met so many incredible people and would highly recommend attending an event whenever you have the opportunity! I learned so much not only about fighting, but about myself and the world around me. I even discovered a new realm thanks to getting hit in the face by a spearman during line battles and him being polite about it! The most random little encounters are always there to help me find my place in belegarth! Part of the reason why I enjoy this sport is because of my love for martial arts, contact sports, my thirst for knowledge, and most of all, the people I have met in this sport have already helped me to become a better person. Thank you to everyone who made me feel so welcomed at my first overnight event and I can’t wait until the next one comes. See you all at Rhun Closer!
