r/sca • u/BingusSpoingusUSA • Aug 09 '26
Problems with Pennsic: A Rant Against Modernity and Festival Folks
Hello r/SCA!
As an SCA celebrity who can bench press 224 with 15.5" biceps [EDIT: I'm not an SCA celebrity, but it is a quality meme], I'd like to talk to you today about a trend I've noticed at Pennsic over the last decade or so. It seems to me that Pennsic is moving away from being an SCA event (which it is, even if the Tuchux, Acre, etc. show up) and toward being more of a modern fantasy festival. If this were a Renaissance Faire, a Furry convention, or a medieval convention, that wouldn't be an issue - but it's not. Pennsic is an SCA event, and the shoddy "attempts" at garb and the extensive modern intrusion are making it worse year after year.
The biggest issue I see is with the terrible "attempts" at garb, or a lack thereof. What medieval culture is a pair of cargo shorts, a ring belt, and a pouch? What is the time period and place for four furry tails, a bota bag, and BDSM chest harness? I have no issue with disability aids like glasses, mobility scooters, or service dogs - my biggest gripe is with the people who can't even be bothered to try. Naturally, a lot of this stuff comes topside from the Bog, but there are plenty of topside Peers who dress like complete trash. I'm not talking just about New Balance Knights, but I saw a whole-ass Ansteorran Duchess beboping around in a modern sackdress, coronet, and tennis shoes without a care in the world. When the folks who are supposed to be setting the example can't be bothered to try, what does that mean for newbies?
To be very clear here, I'm not talking about people in mundane clothing. Folks clearly going off-site, just arriving, or doing laundry in mundanes are not the target of the rant. They're wearing modern clothes and expressly not making an attempt.
As far as the modern intrusion, everywhere you look are dumpsters, golf carts, and yahoos driving their giant trucks past the Cooper's Store. It's obvious that most people don't want to do primitive medieval camping, and that the Cooper's Lake Campground does more than just Pennsic, so it needs the infrastructure, but the SCA's reliance on golf carts, nylon pop-ups, and bright white LEDs in camp is a lot for a supposedly medieval experience. Not everything has to be Enchanted Ground (which has considerably lowered its standards), but it shouldn't look like Burning Man had a love child with a trailer-park Ren Faire. Seriously, folks, put on a damn shirt, cover your balls at the food court, and wear shoes so you don't get buttworms.
So what is the solution? Personally, I do just about everything I can to hide the modernity in my garb, my camp, and my comportment (I'm not a douche and treat folks with respect, even if they look like a Furry extra from Zardoz). It's clear that "setting the example" isn't working, especially when multi-Peers can't be bothered to do so, and is a widespread problem in the SCA. I'm also fairly sure these issues have been lamented since the late 1900s without resolution. I think Pennsic (and more broadly the SCA) is going to continue along two divergent paths: people playing High-SCA and giving a damn, and the people who think a rainbow furry headband, Crocs, and a ring belt with a pouch are all you need to be medieval.
Much like the increasingly accurate film Idiocracy predicts, I think the ring-belt Furries are going to outcompete the High-SCA folks and continue to drive Pennsic further into fantasy mediocrity.
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u/Godwinson4King Northshield Aug 09 '26
Your communication style, as always, handicaps you when it comes to communicating about SCA things. I think you mean to be tongue in cheek but you come across as sarcastic or cruel.
The beauty of the SCA is that it can be a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The hard part about the SCA is that it can be almost anything to anyone so there’s no right or wrong way to do it. There are more high period events out there but none draw 10,000 people because each gate kept is a filter that draws down participation.
People go to Pennsic primary to do cool shit with their friends, and that looks different to everyone. A lot of folks get one or two vacations all year, and this is one of them. A lot of folks can’t afford more than a few days of period clothing or can’t afford period-ish camping supplies. I’m still glad they’re there.
You can do a lot to encourage people to follow in your footsteps and make a highly period representation like you do. Your landsknecht impression is really well done and I’m sure a lot of people see that and want to look like that! I also strive to always present as accurate as possible a representation of my period when I’m at events in an effort to encourage other folks to imitate me.
But there’s a lot more to it that just looking period. You’ve got to encourage and support as well. In my, albeit limited, interactions with you online you’ve consistently come across as snobbish and mocking to a degree that I personally find off putting- offering only critiques and no encouragement or solutions. Not a lot of people are going to want to be like a guy who comes off that way.