[MR] Kingdom Event Bids in General

[Dessert Duchess]

Jonathon,
Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful comments.
Much of the current problem is exactly as you have said - by the time we have a victor for Crown, it is very late to try and put together Coronation and Crown Tourney due to sites already being booked.  This is a problem experienced by every Coronet and the kind folks who are good enough to undertake such a task.
This very thing is the primary reason that His Majesty and myself requested that Mistress Alesia create a committee to review and revamp the the Kingdom event Bid Process.  Part of that rework is to increase how far out we are reserving sites for Kingdom events.  There are other details that have to be worked out as well to ensure that the new process will function smoothly and have a proper review process, etc.  This is one of the topics that was mentioned at Curia at Our Coronation and at Their Majesties, Bryan and Brianna's Curia at Unevent.
Thank you again,
Seonaid
Regina

Barbra E. Bolt
Duchess Seonaid ni Fhionn
3617 NC Hwy 57
Hillsborough, NC 27278
cell (919) 593-2909

From: David Ritterskamp <jonnyb70 at hotmail.com>
To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 5:44 PM
Subject: Kingdom Event Bids in General


 I've been privileged (/encouraged/begged/whatever) to autocrat a few Coronations, a Crown, and been on staff for a few Ymirs.  I've autocratted a few smaller events (Flight of the Falcon) and even MIC'd one or two.
 
The difference between every other event out there and a Kingdom event is that you simply don't know far enough in advance where it should happen.  When I became aware of the fact that there wasn't a bid out for the upcoming Coronation (or Crown, I believe) I went to my usual places; i.e., all the sites where I have personal contacts.  I emailed or called them and said "this is the date, is your site available?"
 
The universal answer was "nope, it's already booked."
 
So my next question was "is it available for a weekend in April 2012?"  The answer came back "yes" in at least a few instances.
 
So I wasn't able to do a single productive thing about this upcoming Coronation.  And the sites that I'm in regular contact with are too expensive for a typical Crown Tournament.  The one Crown we had at Betsy Jeff Penn was a similar situation ("we have to have Crown tourney and this site is available and there aren't any other suitable bids so I suggest you use this one".)  
 
From my POV the biggest reason there aren't many/any Kingdom event bids is because of this one fact, i.e., we're simply not booking far enough in advance.  I will be the first to admit that I don't recall ever actually putting in a bid and going through the actual bid evaluation process; there simply wasn't time and it was Hobson's choice (i.e., either we use Jonathan's bid or we don't have an event.)  So my "event bid submissions" tend to be backward to the typical submission process.  I'm sure it's caused Mistress Alesia more than one headache over the years, but the sad fact is that we've had to use what worked at the time.  HAD to.  
 
There is actually a very simple solution to this issue that can be implemented rather easily; have the Kingdom reserve the sites a year in advance, like every other (non-SCA) group out there does.  The single biggest stumbling block I've ever seen to getting an event bid is that the site isn't considered good enough to use.  
 
Think about it this way:  My favorite site hands down is Betsy Jeff Penn.  There are MAYBE five weekends a year that the kingdom could hold an event at this site and have everybody come out happy, including a small profit:  Two Coronations, two Crowns, and a Twelfth Night.  And Three of those weekends, right now, are a borderline "MAYBE".  Simply because attendance at these events isn't high enough to guarantee breaking even, let alone making any sort of profit.  
 
So if we KNOW in advance that there are really only two weekends a year that we MIGHT need the place, let the kingdom go ahead and put down two $500 deposits and book those weekends.  That solve the site problem, which solves the biggest hurdle you have.  Then you have the kingdom put out an event bid process that starts with "this is the weekend and this is the site; any group can host."  Then the groups that want to host get to think in terms of what they can do with that site and submit event bids that have more to do with the cool things their group wants to do, which would give everybody more flexibility.
 
And no, I'm not trying to mandate that BJP be the only site used; I'm simply presenting a scenario that will work.  I simply am not aware of any other site that has the amenities BJP has.  
 
So the question will then arise; "what happens if TRH's don't want to use the Kingdom event bid?  What happens to the $500 deposit?"  
 
Well, if it's a refundable deposit before a certain date, all good.  If it's not, whatever event bid TRH's want to use needs to have that $500 baked into the event budget so that the kingdom doesn't lose money.  If TRH's want a particular event in a particular location, I'm sure that either they or their supporters can pony up that much $ to realize their dream.
 
The only other alternative I know of is to start reducing what's considered an acceptable site for a Kingdom event.  And that's not a solution I favor.  Events as they stand right now have what are called "hooks", i.e., things that people show up for.  People show up to an event because there's something there they want.  
 
Like what?  Glad you asked.  
 
Some people show up because there's going to be heavy fighting.  
Some show up because there's going to be target archery.  
Some show up because they can drink alcohol.  
Some show up because there's a main hall for them to sit in and hang out with their friends.
Some show up because....fill in the blank.
 
Point is, if the site starts to get "dumbed down" then lots of those things either can't or won't happen, or won't happen on a basis consistent with what people have come to expect from a Kingdom event.  And you'll have a Coronation or Crown happening in the middle of a big, empty field like Elchenburg.  And attendance will dwindle even further.  And I don't think that anyone wants to see that happen.
 
Regards
 
Jonathan Blackbow