The Dunharrow Realm hosted their annual KGC event this year on August 10, 2013 at Wing Park in Elgin, IL. If you have no idea what happens at an event, basically, people check in and get their weapons checked at "Troll". Then we fight, socialize, eat, fight and socialize some more, have tons of fun, and enjoy the beautiful weather outside. Bigger events usually have camping involved as well, but there was no camping here since it was only for one day.
After one short month of fighting, it was time to attend my first event. Having zero idea what to expect and what was even going on, everyone was very open to helping me to make sure I had fun. I also didn't feel like a total clueless newbie or have anyone yell at me a the top of their lungs when waiting for a direction. Every single person I sent a Facebook message to with tons of questions prior to the event answered them with a positive attitude and didn't come off as being annoyed at all, which I appreciate immensely. At the event, everyone answered my questions with open arms as well. I was even provided with loaner equipment and a loaner garb because I hadn't made/bought anything yet. During the fights, people made sure I knew where to go and not walk around the field like a bumbling idiot. When me and a bunch of people were chilling, I was pulled off to the side to duel/practice and I got some very valuable critiques. Thank you to the mini peanut gallery for the pointers as well. Since I'm new, I appreciate all of the training and pointers that people offer to me. The feast was quite tasty as well (yay BBQed noms). When everyone was figuring out the plans for afterwards, people were very helpful in making sure I knew where to go and let me follow them and have somewhere to change my clothes since my house was way out of the way. I saw everyone's genuine concern for me and acceptance towards me. This entire organization is in complete favor of diversity because everyone in the sport comes from different backgrounds and walks of life. With that, virtually everyone is accepting of each other, which makes this place very family-oriented.
Also, I would like to give a special shootout to the Dunharrow realm for throwing the fantastic event! Thank you to everyone especially who made this event memorable and a positive experience for me! I will have more good reviews and fabulous blogs about this in the future!
On that note, here is an article about this event that was featured in Elgin newspaper!
http://couriernews.suntimes.com/lifestyles/21892185-423/fighting-in-the-park-legally.html
