What is a Newcomers Event?

Lia has asked about our Newcomers event. Our Newcomers event is aimed mainly at University students. The event is run by the College of St Crispin, who are the uni branch of our Barony. During Orientation Week (O-Week), all the clubs and societies on campus have stalls to let people know what they do and to allow them to join. This is the main place we advertise Newcomers Feast. However, the event is open to ANYONE who wants to come and find out more about the SCA, but letting those outside Uni know about it relys on word of mouth and any promotion we do on the web or other means. So mostly, we end up with Uni students.

Newcomers is a full on feast, same as we would hold any other time. However, if it is your FIRST event, it is totally free. Free food and Uni students are generally a good combination! We got about 15 new people on Saturday night, which is pretty good. But we will be lucky if say 5 or 6 stick around. Last year, we had 4 people who are still there this year, but they are keen, so still a good way of bringing new blood into the group.

All of our events are run by a team, as they are too big for one person to do. We supply alot of food but usually break even or only make a small loss. Regular members who attend pay, so that covers most of the costs.

If you don't have a Uni near by, there are probably ways you could adapt this strategy for the wider community. But don't worry, recruiting is a problem for all SCA groups, especially those in less densly populated areas. Lochac is a single kingdom but geographically, nearly the size of the USA.