Archery is held twice weekly (Monday and Thursday) spring through to fall in the Courtenay area, 5pm - 7pm. It's held weekly (Tuesdays) on Denman Island, 5pm. Archery is held occasional Wednesdays in the Nanaimo or Duncan areas, with dates announced on the Facebook Discussion group.
Please see the Facebook event for addresses, or contact the Chief Archer. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on the Facebook group.
Our ranges are all outdoors; be prepared for sun, wind, and maybe light rain by dressing appropriately, and bring drinking water and a chair, as needed.
We maximize safety on our range, so we have Rules:
Be safe, be supportive, and have fun!
Armoured Combat (also know as Heavy Fighting) is an exciting full-contact sport that mimics the Knights of old, fighting in full armour with sword and shield. Heavy fighting can be broken down into two distinct forms, war fighting and tournament fighting. Both share the same skill set but are greatly different.
Practice takes place on Wednesday at Camp Calliet in Nanaimo between 6PM and 9PM throughout the spring and summer. We move indoors for the fall and winter; information will be updated once location is confirmed. There is loaner gear available for newcomers upon request (note: a fitting prior to practice must take place as the gear needs to fit well to provide the proper protection). Youth combat is not available at this time, though we hope to have this available in the near future; at the moment participants must be 18 years or older.
For practice notices and cancellations, see the Facebook event page.
Arts and Sciences is held weekly in the Courtenay on Wednesday Nights, Campbell River on Thursdays, and Duncan on Tuesdays. The times are from 6 pm to around 9ish and locales in those areas can change, so it's best to contact me the A&S Minister of Hartwood to confirm the locale.
The get togethers are very social and friendly, and many bring their own projects when there is no group project on the go. Attendees can number from 2 - 8, and the discussions are fun and informative.
We hold workshops as often as we can, in the past we have had banner painting, flower petal rosaries, simple lamp making, paper making, and arrow making to name a few. We also hold two Tutr’s a year. These are a collection of classes that our members teach to our populace and encompasses a full weekend, such a Calligraphy. Weaving, drawing Celtic Knots, pouring Pewter, Period Cooking, making Armour and much, much more.
The Arts and Sciences Office has a large umbrella that includes Bardic, Craftsmen Challenges, Dance, Music, and the many sciences. It is inclusive and fun! Come check us out!
You can imagine a medieval recreation group of 50,000 members takes a little coordination. Now our little Shire is only a portion of that number with just over 60 current members (though we continue to grow) but managing offices, events, reports, and Shire business takes a bit of effort. Council is where we review events gone by and plan for our future activities such as events and practices. All are always welcome.
We try to meet on a monthly basis, typically at the Quality Foods meeting room in Parksville. For more information on our next meeting, please see the Calendar below.
Rapier combat is a full-contact sport emulating historical rennaisance sword techniques. Participants use rapiers and a wide variety of off-hand weapons to take part in war mele and/or tournament style fighting. This is a touch-sport, so light armour is worn to better sense when one has been hit.
Practices take place on Wednesday at Camp Calliet in Nanaimo; Mondays at Duncan Centennial Park; and every second Saturday at the Comox Marina between 6PM and 9PM throughout the spring and summer. We move indoors for the fall and winter; information will be updated once location is confirmed. There is loaner gear available for newcomers upon request (note: a fitting prior to practice must take place as the gear needs to fit well to provide the proper protection).
For practice notices and cancellations, see the Facebook event page.
Thrown Weapons practice is held weekly in the Courtenay area at 1pm on Sundays weather permitting.
Its held weekly in the Nanaimo area at 5pm on Wednesdays during the summer.
Instructors and loaner weapons are available at each practice. As a practical note children under the age of 13 rarely have the strength to throw the weapons. All attendees under the age of 19 MUST be accompanies by a perent or responsble adult and sign a liability waiver.
Location and cancellations will be found on the Shire Facebook page. For more information contact the Chief Chucker.
Join us for a day of feasting, tourneys, and comradarie! Come meet our Craftsman Champion's challenge, regail audiences with story and song in the Bardic Championship, or cross blades with friends in the prize tourney. While there are a multitude of activities planned throughout the day, Yule is primarily an opportunity to catch up with old friends and eat some fine food.
The Shire of Hartwood is proud to host the King Christian and Queen Helene of An Tir, as well as the Prince Havordh Ættarbani and Princess Mary Grace of Gatland of Tir Righ, and the Baron Edward and Baroness Lucy Holgrove of Seagirt! Guards and Ladies in Waiting will be needed, so please contact Cunegonda van den Bossche to volunteer.
Other activities will include our annual Xmas tree trade; bring a small crafted item and place it betneath the tree, then later in the evening select one to keep.
Please bring your gifts of Largess, which will be collected by our Seneschal.
Enter with one completed item that would have been used by your persona. Documention to include a paragraph on your persona and information on both the item and the process used to create it.
Please have your intent to enter to John MacAndrew at lionsgater @ yahoo.com by Nov 10th to allow him to line up judges.
This year, the challenge will be -two- pieces of differing genres. Knowing how singing is popular, one is permitted but not required.
What other performing arts are applicable? So glad you asked: dance, drama, juggling, poetry, puppetry, riddles, songs, stories, tumbling, and instrumental music.
Deadline to indicate intent to enter is November 10, 2018, to Halima al-Rakkasa at halima.dancer @ gmail.com (Subject: Bardic Champion). Information to include names, type/genre of piece, and title, if any.
Volunteers are needed for:
As always, site clean up is a group effort. Thank you for considering lending a hand!
Please note there will be no ticket sales at the door.
Please find your way to the smaller building behind the Greater Hall, and there you will find the entrance to the Hartwood Yule Feast.
Whispers carried upon the Autumn Winds bring rumor that Tir Righ will soon have an Heir to the Storm Thrones. In the Shire of Hartwood, Prince Liam and Princess Nadezhda shall step down and bow before the new Prince and Princess of Tir Righ: Vikingr and Lishinia!
As well, not only will this Event host the Rapier Championship to select the new Scar for Tir Righ but there will be contests and activities for Heavy Combat, Archery, Thrown Weapons, and an A&S Largess Competition. Information regarding these contests, classes, food services, site directions and event fees can all be found on the Kingdom Website.
The Shire of Hartwood invites you to a weekend of learning at our Spring TUTR. We will be offering two full days of classes. Onsite sleeping space will be provided; please bring your own bed/bedding. There will be some day food and coffee/tea offered during the day and there are plenty of restaurants and grocery stores close by. There will be a potluck meal in the evening; attendees are asked to contribute side dishes and desserts. A main course (both meat and vegetarian) will be provided.
The class schedule and registration information will be posted; online registration closes April 13. All class fees must be prepaid. Cheques are made payable to Shire of Hartwood. A mailing address will be sent with your class registration confirmation. For more details, please see the Kingdom Website.
This will be Hartwood's Heavy, Archery, Rapier, and Thrown Weapons Championships.
Come test your mettle or come cheer on the competitors!
For further details, please see the Kingdom Website.
Join us for our annual Forester's Challenge, an extraordinary archery practice.
This year we will be in garb and we will be starting with a potluck breakfast. We ask you bring a food item to share. There will be no fee for this practice.
If you choose to meet the challenge, the requirements are as follows:
For questions or further details, contact John MacAndrew.