Salve Accolens Debatable Lands,
By now, you may have heard the announcement that Pennsic 49 has been postponed to 2021 for the safety of the populace. You can read the words of King Maynard and Queen Liadain on this here. As Their Majesties say, we applaud this difficult decision and the people that agonized over it, including the Pennsic Mayor and staff, and the Primary Kingdom Seneschals, and particularly our own hardworking Kingdom Seneschal, Master Illadore de Bedegrayne.
Our dear friends… we, like you, have heavy hearts today. Like many of you, we feel Pennsic is more than just a convention for a cool hobby…. it’s home. It’s a place to create space outside the mundanities of modern life. A place where strangers and friends alike greet each other with genuine affection. A place where, when you need ANY kind of help, strong hands and smiling faces greet you at every turn. Pennsic is a distillation, in two weeks, in the fields and hills of Western Aethelmearc, of a great part of the love and happiness in our lives. Our hearts ache today. Truly ache.
And yet, we remember today, too, that that happiness and love and joy does not stem from a field in Pennsylvania. It doesn’t come from tents or even camps and fires. It comes from YOU. The peace and well-being of Pennsic is, at its heart, you. Chosen family and friends, joining together in joy and love common interests to stimulate the heart and mind. We are still here!
Dearest Barony, your safety is more important than anything. We can still join in joy and laughter through these strange and difficult times. It’s just going to look a little different for a little while.
We will eventually gather in smaller groups when it is safe to do so. Until then, let us gather aethereally this Sunday, in the Kingdom Zoom Rooms, from 2pm to 4pm. Link to follow. See you there.
With all our love and affection,
In Levitate et Caritate, and Cheers,
Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda