Midsummer’s Defenders

 

Hosted in-person by

The Shire of Hartwood (Nanaimo, Campbell River, Courtenay, Port Alberni, BC )

Midsummer’s Defenders

Event Summary

Event Main Contact (Event Steward): Halima al-Rakkasa
Event Date(s): July 25 , 2025 until July, 27 2025
Site opens at: 6:00 PM on July 25th 2025
Site closes at: 1:00 PM on July 27th 2025

Event site:
Camp Gilwell (current)
5200 Duncan Bay Main Courenay, BC V9J 1P9

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This is a Level 1: Other (Branch primary events of regional or Kingdom interest) event.

Friday, July 25th, 6:00 PM, to Sunday, July 27th, 1:00 PM

In the high heat of summer, come to challenge and come to support all those who vie for being the Martial Defenders of Hartwood!

On the fields and in the woods, gather to participate and be witness to those who would test their mettle against other contenders, demonstrating skills at arms, wielding weapons guided by their eyes and wits. Who will earn the recognition, and responsibility, this year?

ALSO
Contest – Atlatl competition sponsored by Muirenn ingen ui Briain (AKA Muirgen)
: The atlatl competition will be a normal scoring round of 9 darts at 15yd, and 9 at 20yd. Standard 4ft FITA target. Highest score gets the atlatl and darts! (Note: No need to bring your own; atlatl and darts are supplied for the competition.)

Cedar weaving
: There will be prepped cedar bark on hand to experiment with. A hat? A flat fan? You choose.

Regalia Fund-Raiser
: There will be an opportunity to claim, for a fee, some lovely pre-owned garb. Funds go towards the future Baronial Regalia.

Other activities: period card games; boules of some sort; possibly some Foresters Guild activity.

As the site is a Scout camp, it has amenities usually associated with one. There is potable water on site, and the biffies are many and clean.

During the heat of the day, the creek has settled into summertime cool pools in which to recline and paddle. Note that children ought to be supervised around open water. The woods, of course, are cool during the day, with opportunities to explore, and possibly seek out some thimbleberries to snack on.

Use of the firepits will depend upon the fire hazard rating on the weekend.

Dogs are permitted if on-leash, according to An Tir leash laws. Clean up after your pet. Watch for low-flying hawks and eagles.

This is a DRY site. No alcohol is permitted, for any reason.

Merchants, please send a note to hartwood.events@tirrigh.org to indicate attendance; no fee is required, though a donation to the Shire fund-raiser is welcome.

Event Steward: Halima al-Rakkasa, hartwood.events@tirrigh.org
Co-Stewards: Freydis Egilsdottir, and Mhairi nic Chamarran
MIC: Marcus Fesor
Gate: Beatris inghean Ghiolla Mhuire

This event includes the following activities and/or services:
Royal Presence - Tir Righ
Has Merchants
Has Classes
Has Heavy Fighting activities
Has Rapier and/or Cut & Thrust activities
Has Archery activities
Has Thrown Weapon activities
Has Arts & Sciences activities

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Site Fees

Cheques to be made out to: SCA – Shire of Hartwood

Event Schedule

Tournament Information

Armoured Defender – ‘Defender of The Hart’

Duncan MacKinnon, Defender

Greetings from your Hartwood Heavy Defender, Sir Duncan MacKinnon. The time is coming to test the mettle of would-be Defenders of our great Shire.

The format will be round-robin with a twist. Before the round-robin starts, each would-be combatant will square off with the current Defender to gain entry into the tournament. You do not have to enter into the championship in order to fight. The top four that are eligible for the championship will do a semifinals, and then the finals will be the best two out of three.
Crown tourney conventions for Shields is requested.

Hartwood had a great showing at Sealion War for heavies and combat archers; let’s keep the momentum going.

Archery Defender – ‘Defender of the Skies’

William Cain, Defender

“Trial of Fate” Archery Tournament
Round 1
Elemental Archery:
Each archer draws an elemental lot from a bag.
Target: Circle containing Aristotle’s 5 elements.
6 arrows

Round 2
Lunar Archery:
Target: Phases of the moon.
Each archer draws a moon phase card.
6 arrows.

Round 3
Tarot reading:
Each participant draws a tarot card.
6 arrows.
3 targets: 2 arrows for past, 2 for present, 2 for future “reading”

Rapier Defender – ‘Defender of the Shores’

Seamus MacDonald of Skye, Defender

The championship for rapier will be a plank tournament: 2 combatants will meet on the plank, the victor will then proceed to fight the first mate; if you are victorious you will then fight the captain of the ship. Beating the first mate is one point, beating the captain will be 2 points, and the person with the most points wins.
Bring your best pirate themed props, if there’s not enough people I will adjust the format on the day.

Thrown Weapons Defender – ‘Defender of the Woods’

Adalwolf Jeger, Defender

There will be 2 rounds: Half royal round qualifier, and then top 4 for finals, being 5 throws each weapon.

Volunteer Information

Gate – Contact HL Beatris
– Will need people to assist

Signage –

Set up, 2 p.m. Friday – All hands on deck!

Herald – Contact HL Duncan Darroch
– Will need field heralds and town criers

Clean up, 1 p.m. Sunday – Everyone helps out! Let’s carry forward our custom of leaving a site cleaner than we found it!

Merchant Information

Merchants, please send a note to hartwood.events@tirrigh.org to indicate attendance; no fee is required, though a donation to the Shire fund-raiser is welcome. Please bring everything you need; your site will be in view of the listfields, and close to parking. Ground is somewhat uneven.

Emergency Preparedness Information

Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to ensure the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate risk during in-person events. By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge and accept the potential risks. You agree to take any additional steps to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as you believe to be necessary.

Medical:
North Island Hospital, Comox Valley,
101 Lerwick Rd, Courtenay, BC V9N 0B9
 (250) 331-5900

This page for event id 8753 was last updated: July 18, 2025
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