STONE SOUP AND THE SCA

There's an old tale of a stranger who wanders into a village with a magic stone that he claims makes soup. So the villagers boil up a big pot of water and he drops in the stone. He tastes the result and declares it's not bad but it needs salt. One of the villagers adds salt to the pot. He tastes again and suggests some carrots would be nice. Someone else produces a few carrots and cuts them up into the pot. Gradually, item by item, the people of the village contribute items to the pot and eventually everyone enjoys the delicious "stone" soup which they all contributed to.

The SCA is one of the biggest pots of stone soup around. Unlike a Ren Fair, where people go to be entertained, an SCA event is a place people go to entertain themselves. From the King and the Queen down to the newest attendee, we make the experience rather than having it made for us. Almost everything you see, everything you experience at an SCA event is a product of SCA members.

While there are many different motives for attending SCA events, we are the event. Collectively, we get out of it what we put into it.

Every time you show up to an event you add something to the soup. Just standing around in costume contributes to the soup pot. Indeed some members have gotten standing around and looking gorgeous down to a fine, high art -- especially some young ladies, but a few older ladies and some gentlemen as well. That's fine. Pretty people in pretty clothes certainly add to the ambiance.

Like any good soup simmering away on the back of the stove, SCA stone soup changes with time. The flavors blend and marry and the taste as new ingredients are constantly added. What remains constant is that the result is entirely dependent on everyone there.

So the next time you go to an event, strive to add some good memories to the pot of SCA stone soup. For yourselves and others.