Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

[Eric Tipton]

Interested in some blatant market research that is worth discussing.

As we look into the future of EBUFU events, everyone has their favorite type of event. There are the moving, campaign events of course. There are campaigns with battles. There are preservation marches. There are the living histories and the "moving living" histories. Outposts, Tacticals....

In order to give event producers some kind of idea about what will interest you, which of these types of events is your first choice? Vote on the poll and please feel free to share your opinion. This can be a valuable source for info of this sort if you let event organizers know where to start.

So, what do you think?

[AndrewGrim]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Tough choices, especially when I am becoming more interested in local history, than pretending to be in Virginia.

[Old Reb]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

I would go for a veterans reunion event with eating and drinking and reminiscing about past accomplishments. I would want no marching, or soldiering activities and certianly no sham battles. Ladies could be present, especially pretty ones.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Um, humm... Immersion event with integrated civilian and military components. Where does that fall in your poll?

[Eric Tipton]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Elaine, they would all be immersion or "semi-immersion" as EBUFU events. I used broad categories assuming that civilians and/or cav could be present at any of these. Tried to cover the bases without making thing too specific. ;)

[pvtjoe]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

As we age and your pards leave, it becomes more difficult to accurately feel like you are part of a unit. So, to keep people in the hobby and give them a place to go after camping in the woods and not being able to march like they used to, we have started a GAR group. It is now in its 6th year and going quite strong. We portray it as accurately as we can by reading and having things made including the proper paperwork. Our unit consists of our former pards and many other people from other units who have joined Post #8, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Reenacting the GAR authentically gives us the opportunity to still be with our friends of many a campaign and still sit around the campfire and talk old war stories. Our ages range from 50-79. We don't let anyone in who is younger than 50 and they must have been a Union Reenactor at some time. Currently, even though I can sill be in the field, it is just not the same falling in with another group whose members are virtual strangers, so it is great to still
be with the boys and not have to get up for the Bugle or do marches and training. Right now we are still a growing unit where, generally, CW is drying up from where it used to be. This is my favorite way of reenacting these days.

Needs signature

[Eric Tipton]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Re-opening this poll for more feedback. Bump!

[Huck]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

The type we get to burn and plunder things while starving to death for less than 24 hours...

[Matthew Semple]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

I would like to see a self sufficient town which operates for about nine days. It could start on a Friday and end on a Sunday. Those who are able to come in during the weekend could be troops or refugees or traveling laborers looking for work preceding or following the armies. Money could be exchanged at registration for script which can only be accepted in the town. The town could be self-sufficient in food. The labor opportunities could be actual work for the historic site (rebuilding the buildings/porches, clearing fields, mason work on the buildings, planting gardens, whatever the historic site needs done which does not require specialized skills, etc.). The movement of troops, refugees, and laborers could disrupt the normal day-to-day routine of the town during the weekends. This could be a great opportunity to incorporate both armies and civilian interaction which is something which has been greatly overlooked and neglected throughout the history of Civil War reenacting as a whole.

Finding the right location...I will leave to someone more knowledgeable than myself of such sites.

Matt Semple

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Matthew, this has been done before and was one of the greatest immersive experiences I have ever had.
It may be a few years but, keep your eyes on the forum, I might know someone who is working this type of event again. ;)

[rbruno]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Matt,
That would be a great event. I would be interested in that.

For me and events, it is all about space. So many events are starting to be held on postage stamps which gives very little for cavalry to do. From the AAR, Perryville seems like an exception to this rule. I found out a weekend or so ago that we may have lost one of the best places for cavalry in No. VA. The site had plenty or room to ride and maneuver. I have always like tactical or something along those lines that could actually use the mounted branch of this hobby. But, I think the locations that afforded the space are starting to dry up. There have been several events recently that have had the space and guys covered a lot of ground, I just can't afford the money or the time to travel as far to get there. Alas, the age old complaint from a mounted trooper.

[Jon The Beloved]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

I wish there were groups of reenactors with legitimate pull and sway that were only feeling a bit dry on event ideas.. And add to that, a place where event ideas could be submitted and passed along until some entity/entities wanted to take it further. I think a lot of us have great ideas but aren't quite sure just how to get them to the right ears/ audience. There is almost no reason to feel the need to repeat ourselves so or find ourselves uninspired. We have the best hobby and portray the most interesting time period.. hands down. Some of us need another epic to keep this fire stoked.

[Coatsy]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Jon, as I've told others, secure the site (permissions and insurance), pitch the idea to unit reps, and go for it. We didn't ask the forum to put on Bummers, we just did it. Want to bounce an idea off of an "established" organizer? Do it.

[Brent Dacus]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

It might be crazy. I would like to see. A AC convention type event. Where it was like everyone coming to like a week long event. The this would include historical talks, fieldcraft, drill, cooking and all of us just garrisoned together. Not in a convention center like comic con but in the field. Crazy right??

[S.C.Capt]

Re: Which Type of Event is Your First Choice?

Being from California we do a bunch of "this is what war looked like" battles. So I am really over those. I like going back and doing specific battles. I haven't been to as many as I would like but I did do Franklin 2005, Corinth 2006 and Gettysburg 2008. Least favorite of the 3 was Gettysburg, simply because there were so many people the battles essentially had to include everyone. As I get older I really like Living Histories being able to share my knowledge and love of history with the younger generation has become the thrill that battles used to bring me. As long as there is a campfire, cold beer and a few stories I will be there.