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Good Citizens, the military event planners need our help!
I have recently been attending the organizational meetings for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War "mega events". As you might expect most of the organizing is being done by the military umbrella organizations. They have heard the cry from the citizenry for value added activities whenever they can be incorporated. They would gladly add such events if someone would be kind enough to tell them what such events are and how to get them organized. (I have this strait from the mouth of one of the most well known event organizers we have in the hobby today... if Chris does it, others will follow). They see the organization of these mega-events as an excellent opportunity to notate the collective wisdom on how to organize events. I have offered to collect and organize suggestions on value added activities for civilians to be included in an informational packet they hope to make public on how to organize events. ...this is where I need your help, please. I need suggestions on what value added activities you would like to see, what you have seen tried, what worked, what didn't work, what really irked you, how to "get the ball rolling"... and anything else you think pertinent to add. I will, of course, search through the archives of this and other fora for suggestions and A.A.R.s where we have previously discussed such and will link them here as I find them.
This is our opportunity, while they appear to be open to such, to make some new traditions that will carry the civilian side of The Hobby into the future. It is often made point of that the gents currently re-enacting military are not getting any younger and many may soon need to retire from military life. This is our chance to make that retirement not only palatable but even a viable and attractive way to remain in a hobby they love and are dedicated to. It is an opportunity to establish ways of filling the gaps in the history education of the young people of our country by making history come alive for them through demonstrations, living history, and interaction with researched individuals. It is an opportunity to bridge the gap between military and civilian sides of the hobby by working together to create value added scenarios for all. It is an opportunity to bring our side of the hobby into the national spotlight and tell the stories of how the momentous events we are marking the anniversary of affected the every day lives of the civilians who had war brought right to their doorsteps.
I hope to present not only ways of making "traditional" activities more meaningful, as Miz Liz has detailed in her helpful article here: http://www.elizabethstewartclark.com...d%20Events.pdf but encouraging organizers to look for ways to incorporate civilian participation in events they hadn't thought likely, such as our participation in small tacticals like the most recent Hope's Campaign ( http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/sh...hopes+campaign ). I hope to present some ways for making the Tent City more palatable, as Miz Stephanie attempted at the recent Cedar Creek ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4964.0 ) and Miz Bevin attempted at Old Bedford Village ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4993.0 ), as well as making the most out of available period buildings and structures, as we often are able to do at the Bushong Farm at New Market ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4013.0 ) and the Georgia town used for "Westville" ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4707.0 ).
Please folks, let's seize this opportunity to have a voice.. be heard.
I have recently been attending the organizational meetings for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War "mega events". As you might expect most of the organizing is being done by the military umbrella organizations. They have heard the cry from the citizenry for value added activities whenever they can be incorporated. They would gladly add such events if someone would be kind enough to tell them what such events are and how to get them organized. (I have this strait from the mouth of one of the most well known event organizers we have in the hobby today... if Chris does it, others will follow). They see the organization of these mega-events as an excellent opportunity to notate the collective wisdom on how to organize events. I have offered to collect and organize suggestions on value added activities for civilians to be included in an informational packet they hope to make public on how to organize events. ...this is where I need your help, please. I need suggestions on what value added activities you would like to see, what you have seen tried, what worked, what didn't work, what really irked you, how to "get the ball rolling"... and anything else you think pertinent to add. I will, of course, search through the archives of this and other fora for suggestions and A.A.R.s where we have previously discussed such and will link them here as I find them.
This is our opportunity, while they appear to be open to such, to make some new traditions that will carry the civilian side of The Hobby into the future. It is often made point of that the gents currently re-enacting military are not getting any younger and many may soon need to retire from military life. This is our chance to make that retirement not only palatable but even a viable and attractive way to remain in a hobby they love and are dedicated to. It is an opportunity to establish ways of filling the gaps in the history education of the young people of our country by making history come alive for them through demonstrations, living history, and interaction with researched individuals. It is an opportunity to bridge the gap between military and civilian sides of the hobby by working together to create value added scenarios for all. It is an opportunity to bring our side of the hobby into the national spotlight and tell the stories of how the momentous events we are marking the anniversary of affected the every day lives of the civilians who had war brought right to their doorsteps.
I hope to present not only ways of making "traditional" activities more meaningful, as Miz Liz has detailed in her helpful article here: http://www.elizabethstewartclark.com...d%20Events.pdf but encouraging organizers to look for ways to incorporate civilian participation in events they hadn't thought likely, such as our participation in small tacticals like the most recent Hope's Campaign ( http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/sh...hopes+campaign ). I hope to present some ways for making the Tent City more palatable, as Miz Stephanie attempted at the recent Cedar Creek ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4964.0 ) and Miz Bevin attempted at Old Bedford Village ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4993.0 ), as well as making the most out of available period buildings and structures, as we often are able to do at the Bushong Farm at New Market ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4013.0 ) and the Georgia town used for "Westville" ( http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4707.0 ).
Please folks, let's seize this opportunity to have a voice.. be heard.
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