Pennsic

Camping with Bhakail at Pennsic!

Our camp at Pennsic has grown so much in recent years, we now host around 90 people each summer.  Camp amenities include on-demand hot water showers, a large shaded common space, a large campfire, and lots of opportunity for gaming!  We are located on block N-11, close to the market, battlefield, and Pennsic University.  We have a waiting list of new people wishing to camp with us, so if you are interested, please contact the Camp Master to see if there will be space available for the coming Pennsic.  You can reach them at campmaster@bhakail.eastkingdom.org.  

Camp Meeting Notes 4/28/19

By the numbers…

87 days until Pennsic

51 days left to pre-reg

33 pre-regs to date

 

Important dates

June 11th by end of business meeting – camp forms due to Chana, fees due to Roseia

June 19th by midnight – online pre-reg due

July 27th – Pennsic starts!

We will be on site Friday morning and hope to get our land approved early like last year.

 

Exchequer report

  • We have money!
  • Rosie can accept checks (made out to Rosie O’Connell), cash, or Google Pay (send to roderunnr11@gmail.com)
  • We’ll be keeping track of where we spend our camp fees so we can analyze it after Pennsic – find out where we’re spending our money

 

Camp form – email to campmaster@bhakail.eastkingdom.org

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JfLHb1sDHcHcSuDvmzQngYgwAfPzCb75mSVxsxEFx54/edit?usp=sharing

 

Change in camp form and camp fee dates

  • In order to make sure you have pre-regged enough spaces to cover your tent, dates have been changed
  • Chana will be checking your tent measurements against how many pre-regs your group submits
  • You may need to ghost one or two people in order to cover all of your space

 

Things To Buy

Need to replace a few things – we WILL be purchasing these things

    • Wagon (wheel width 2’2” so it’ll fit on the truck ramp)
    • Shovels – two spades
    • Canvas for the shower ($200)
    • Shower filters (about $150)

Wants – we MIGHT purchase those things

  • Metal tiki torches – maybe 6?  Put more by shower, fire pit, exists to roads; solar tiki torches for where live flame is dangerous?
  • Chandeliers for the common tent – switch regular tea lights for LED tea lights?  Replace chandeliers with LED lights?

Giving Darmon some money from our camp fees to pay for the truck

  • Truck costs (including gas and tolls) are about $750
  • Camp fees should pay for some of that since we use the truck for storage unit runs

 

Charging Station

  • Rules will be typed and posted inside the charging station.  We make these rules so we don’t get the privilege of the charging station taken away.  It is not ours by right, if we abuse the charging station, Disability Services will NOT let us use their outlets
  • Rules we talked about today:
    • Place (waterproof) tub under charging station for all phones that break the rules.  This will now be known as the Box of Shame.
    • Phone cord must have name on it, using tape or the bread tabs.  If your phone is not labeled, it can be unplugged. Same goes for battery packs – must be labeled with your name.
    • When you unplug your phone, take your cord with you.  There is not enough space in the charging station to store cords.
    • There will be one surge protector with 6 outlets in the charging station.  DO NOT ADD any outlets. Any plugs that expand the number of outlets past those 6 will be pulled and placed in the Box of Shame.  This is to prevent the circuit breaker from tripping.
    • Similarly, there will be one orange extension cord for our use, with one outlet.  DO NOT ADD outlets to this either.
    • Check your plugs to make sure they fit in the space needed for just one outlet.  If your plug covers up another outlet opening, please take it somewhere else to charge.  PS – if you volunteer somewhere, they usually let you charge your phone while you’re there!
    • Each phone or battery pack gets a 3 hour block to charge.
  • We will mostly be policing ourselves with this, but we will have one or two Charging Station Wardens checking the box once or twice a day to make sure the rules are being followed.
  • Scheduling
    • White board with 6 lines (numbered 1-6)
    • Sign up with your name, time in, time out (three hours later)
    • Section for notes (“Hey so-and-so, your phone was plugged in for 2 extra hours, I unplugged it,” etc)
    • Section for waiting list
    • You are in charge of your own schedule – remember when you need to go pick up your phone
    • If it’s not in the charging station, someone put it in the Box of Shame

 

Breakdown Weekend (and general cleanup)

  • Please refrain from leaving your stuff in the common tent when you leave Pennsic because “someone may want it.”
  • If you are going to leave something, someone else must agree to take ownership of it.  Do not just leave something in the common tent when you leave
  • Take your trash to the dumpster before you leave – if you need help, ask.  We have plenty of wagons to use for trash runs. Don’t leave your trash in camp for someone else to take.
  • Maybe we have a swap meet for stuff we don’t want?  Friday afternoon/night?
  • Piles accumulate of this stuff – Groundskeeper in charge of checking for these piles?  If anything is left in the common tent, it’s considered unclaimed, free to go to dumpster/Paladin’s Pantry if no one claims it when Groundskeeper finds it
  • One exception – if you want to leave unopened food or water, you can leave this in the Paladin’s Pantry donation spot so it can go to local food pantries

 

Scheduled Events

  • Middle Saturday – Known World Players rehearsal in camp – 5pm
  • Middle Sunday – Period Games and Music Night!  
    • Roseia will be the “autocrat” and organize food, chairs, tables, etc
    • Aurddeilien (Baron of Buckland Cross) will help our Baronial Gaming Champion Guillaume organize the games
  • EK Court might have moved back to Wednesday?  Rowen will check

 

General Notes

  • Set up your tent in the next couple weeks to check for leaks and take measurements for your camp form
  • We will once again be providing water and ice to the youth fighters daily as we have in the past
  • We will put up a camp storage tent this year, a 10×10 popup, to hold our tools and supplies.  Mael Eoin will donate the land for this
  • Mael Eoin will be going to the storage unit in May/June to check on everything there

Pennsic 48 Update

Pennsic by the numbers…

107 days left until Pennsic!

70 days left to pre-reg online

32 people have pre-regged with Bhakail so far!

 

Both camp fees and camp forms will be due by June 19th.  Camp fees are paid to Rosie (cash or check please, checks can be made out to Rosie O’Connell), and camp forms are due to Dayna (can be emailed or hard copy).  Our contact information is located on the first page of the camp form.

Please fill out a new camp form, I changed them this year to include more information that will help us plan the map.

 

Camp Master’s Corner – now is a good time to check your tent!  The weather is starting to get warmer, so pull your tent out of storage and set it up in the yard.  Check for mold, holes, anything that could hinder your fun during camping season.  You’ll have plenty of time to fix problems you might find if you look for them now!

 

*** We will have a Pennsic planning meeting on Sunday, April 28th at “The Baronial Estate” (aka Rowen’s house). Let’s say 2pm? Bring snacks! ***

Quick Pennsic Update

Not much new to say this month…

  • Online (paid) registration ends June 19th – this gives you 98 days to pre-reg (as of 3/13). I only have 16 pre-regs so far, so make sure you give yourself enough time to do it!

 

  • Rosie is our new camp exchequer! Camp fees will go to her.  Please only cash or check at this time, we are not set up for online payments at the moment.  If you write a check, it needs to be made out to her full name – Rosemarie O’Connell.

 

 

  • We will be organizing another camp meeting shortly – stay tuned!

Camp Meeting Notes 2/3/19

Greetings!

We had a fun and productive camp meeting yesterday to kick off the year.  Here are the highlights…
– Rosie will be our new camp exchequer!  Camp fees will remain the same this year ($60/adult, $20/child age 6-13, free/child 5 and under), and can be given to Rosie in cash or check form for now.  We are looking into the best way to receive digital payments for camp fees, so stay tuned on that!
– John Patrick and Rosie will once again order firewood for us if they get a spot on staff this year.  This was a HUGE help last year as our firewood was ready to go for us once we got on site.
– We will once again be hosting the Known World Players rehearsal on middle Saturday (August 3) at 5pm.
– Period games and music night will *tentatively* be held on middle Sunday, pending confirmation of the date for the EK Bardic Expo)
– EK Court has been confirmed for War Week Tuesday (per Facebook, so not necessarily set in stone)
– As a heads up to anyone that knew him, Lord Karl Drakken, the gentleman who camped on our corner in Haus Drakken’s Lager, passed away this fall after suffering from several health issues.  Drakken Lager does plan on coming back this year.
– Mael Eoin is interested in organizing a camp cooking fire (separate from the main camp fire).  This would involve donating space and money for firewood.  As this is still in the beginning planning stages, please contact Mael Eoin if this is something you are interested in.
Three big topics that came up, which will require further discussion…
CHARGING STATION
– The charging station last year was unorganized and often tripped the circuit breakers due to too many phones being plugged in, or to the station overheating.  This year there will only be ONE surge protector in the charging station.
– The use of this charging station is a PRIVILEGE given to us by the Cooper’s Lake staff as it takes up significant space on our block.  If we abuse the privilege, they will take it away from us.
– We will create a list of rules for the charging station that will be posted on the box as well as in common space.  Possible ideas include phones requiring named labels and if they are not labeled, they can be unplugged; looking into making a charging schedule; sign-in sheet?
– If you have a CPAP or other medical device that needs to be charged, it MUST go through disability.  If Disability Services finds an unregistered device plugged into our outlet, they will unplug it.  These devices also were tripping the breakers last year by pulling too much power.
– Creation of camp chore as Charging Station Warden?  someone to check on charged/unlabeled phones, make sure station isn’t overheated or breaker tripped
BREAKDOWN WEEKEND TRASH
– This was a huge problem last year as three people were left to take a lot of trash to the dumpsters on the last Sunday.
– Land office drives around on Sunday and takes pictures of blocks that have trash left on them – we could be kicked off the block if there is trash left
– If there is stuff you don’t want anymore, DO NOT LEAVE IT IN CAMP because “Someone might want it.”  Put it *next to* the dumpsters on Friday or Saturday with a sign that says “Free to a good home” and I guarantee someone will take it.  Leaving it in camp only makes more of a mess for the last people on site to clean up
– If you need help taking trash to the dumpster, ASK SOMEONE.  A lot of us have wagons and would be glad to help take trash.  On the flip side of this, if someone asks you for help, please try to help if you are able.  We all benefit from working together to keep our block clean
– Creation of camp chore of Groundskeeper?  Significant cut on camp fees; someone who stays till the end to check the land; each person would check in with Groundskeeper before leaving site to ensure their space is trash-free?
– Someone take time-stamped picture of our block Saturday night?  Is it possible people from other camps are dumping their stuff on our land on Sunday?  Too much trash left on Sunday to be accounted for by the people who stayed on site Saturday night
CAMP WISH LIST
– A few things we could use to improve camp, things that have gotten old, etc
Canvas for shower walls – Sunforger can be purchased for $225, Chana can sew it
More tiki torches around camp – metal ones?
New chandeliers for common tent – wooden rings?
New camp wagon that fits on truck ramp (2’2″ width) to carry portable holes, etc
New shovels
Misting hose
We will have a camp financial meeting to talk about these possible purchases within the next month or two.
I have spoken to most of you to confirm if you’re coming back to camp with us this year – if you have not gotten in touch with me about it, please do so.  After I confirm with you, you can go ahead and pre-register on the Cooper’s Lake website.  We are listed as Barony Bhakail.
I have revamped the camp form, and I would request that I get a completed one from EVERYONE this year.  We need to make sure we have the correct information, so I won’t be able to accept “My info is the same as last year.”  I apologize in advance for the inconvenience, but I promise it’ll make setup go that much easier.  Link to the new camp form is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JfLHb1sDHcHcSuDvmzQngYgwAfPzCb75mSVxsxEFx54/edit?usp=sharing and you can either email it to me or give me a hard copy.  Please read through the first two pages for important information.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
– Chana Freidl the Maker –
Camp Master, Barony of Bhakail
PS – Mael Eoin’s cook fire project is now to be known as “Michael’s Side Hustle” and Mistress Sabine’s new band name is Scooby Doo Exploits.

Pennsic 2019

Waugh Bhakail!

Pennsic time has come… Well, planning time has come.

Pre-registration

Pre-registration is OPEN, and once again I will ask that you contact me before pre-registering to camp with Bhakail. Since we are planning on a full camp again this year, anyone who camped with us last year will be given the priority to pre-reg. We do have a waiting list this year, so once again I will be placing a pre-reg deadline for those who camped with us last year, or those on the waiting list I have already given permission to pre-reg.

If you camped with us last year, you have until May 15th to pre-reg with Bhakail in order to guarantee your spot. After that, our spaces will be opened to everyone on the waiting list and it will be first come, first serve. As I said last year, I don’t want to have to make this decision for everyone, but we have become a popular camp and in order to make sure we can stay on our block, we have to keep a close eye on our numbers.

Camp Meeting

Our first camp planning meeting will be held on Sunday, February 3rd. Master Darmon has been so kind as to offer his house. We will meet at 2pm, please bring a snack of some kind to share with everyone.

Important Dates

Sunday, February 3rd – camp meeting

Wednesday, May 15 – Bhakail pre-reg due to guarantee spot

Friday, May 31 – mail in registration ends

Wednesday, June 19 – online registration ends (midnight)

July 26 – August 11 – Pennsic!

 

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me or contact me through Facebook.

~ Chana Freidl the Maker ~

Camp Master, Barony of Bhakail

Pennsic Camping Form

Here it is!  The 2018 Bhakail camping form!  After you pre-reg, please fill this out and return it to me.  You can either email it to me at campmaster@bhakail.eastkingdom.org, or print it out and hand it to me at Social or whenever we see each other.

You can find the link to the form here…  Pennsic Camping Form 2018

Pennsic XLV Camp Form

Greetings unto the Barony and any friends of Bhakail who camp with us at Pennsic War!

Below is a link to the form that we’ll need to have not only filled out, signed and submitted, we’re also requiring all forms to be reviewed by the Camp Master and/or anyone else specifically designated to be able to approve these forms (Master Rowen Cloteworthy, as the map-maker, is also able to review and approve, as an example).

We need to review all tent sizes and Pennsic registrations to make sure that there’s enough registrations to cover each tent, dining fly, rope footprint, etc.; especially considering our particular quirks, we need to be aware of how much space each tent takes up versus how much space each person is allotted (we are “compressed” in order to stay on our block, which means we all get 10% fewer square feet per registration, plus we then take 50 sq ft off per person for public walkways and the like).

RegistrationFormdraft