Black Gryphon Inn

Black Gryphon Inn – 2024
Feb 25th 2024
Hours – 11am to 7pm
Welcome to the Season of Love in Canton of Gryphonwald.  From Chaucer to Shakespeare, and everyone in between, Love has often been a source for poetry, literature, song and dance, and so we too will use it as our Muse.  Come join us for The Black Gryphon Inn as we drive the cold of winter away with warm food and companionship.  Not only will we serve up traditional fare at our Feast but we will also be celebrating the traditions of love through our Period Dancing, Brewer’s competition, and Bardic Competition to award our Baronial Bardic Champion for the new year.  Returning from last year will be our “Works in Progress” A&S Competition and weather permitting….Kubb.

So come and celebrate Black Gryphon Inn by exploring the traditions behind the feast of St.  Valentine’s Day.  We’d Love (see what I did there?) to see you there.
Events
• Music in the Inn.  Whether provided by the “Bard in the Box” or by live acts
• Period Dancing taught for all
• The Canton of Gryphonwald’s A&S Tournament
• A Brewers Competition
• The Bardic Competition for the new Barony Bardic Champion
• A Kubb Tournament
• And a light Day Board prior to the Feast
• Feast

Timeline:
11am Troll opens
12pm A&S Comp Begins
1 pm Kubb Tournament Begins
2pm Dancing begins
2:30 Brewers Comp and judging for A&S
3:30 Bardic Comp
4:30 Court and Announcement of winners
5:00 Feast
7pm Site closes

Bardic Competition Guidelines:
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
-William Shakespeare
Greetings, I am Brogain O’Riain,
Baronial Bard of Settmour Swamp's domain.
To Gryphonwald, Black Gryphon Inn we hail,
On February's twenty-fifth, a tale.
The Baron and Baroness extend invite,
To gentles skilled in tales that gleam so bright.
In storytelling, song, and poetry,
Be Bardic Champion for the year to be.
'Tis "IT TAKES TWO" this year's bold decree,
Two rounds unfold, a test of artistry.
Eight minutes long, each piece, before the court,
Perform, enthrall, with every skill and thought.
First round, a work in progress, raw and true,
Canton A&S theme, now revealed to you.
From book's embrace, or sonnet incomplete,
Fear not to wing it, let your art compete.
Second piece, love in various array,
Romantic, Platonic, in the light of day.
Familial, Unconditional, or Self-love,
Express through song, tale, or haiku thereof.
Of Classic Greek Loves, five in number,
In sonnet, epic, or in rhyming blunder.
Tell us how your piece embodies these themes,
In just one sentence, share your artistic dreams.
I'm eager for the wondrous works you craft,
Questions, fandom, my door is daft.
Crack those books, weave tales, but not too tight,
For one must remain, a work undone, that night.

This year's competition will be IT TAKES TWO.  The competition will be broken in two rounds.  In each round, the competitors will perform a period or period-style piece, of no longer than 8 minutes before their excellencies and all good gentles in attendance.
But as with all good love stories there is a twist...
We ask that the first piece be a work in progress, sticking to the Canton A&S theme of show me your work.  The piece can be something you are working on or a piece you have yet to polish.
Maybe a reading still on book.  Or a sonnet left incomplete.  Don't be afraid to wing it.
For your second piece all we ask for is love...Romantic, Platonic, Familial, Unconditional, or Self-love.  We humbly request your piece contain, express, embody, or evoke any one of the five Classic Greek Loves.  Whether as a song, a sonnet, an epic tale, or a haiku we just want you to let good vibes of blind Cupid in.
We also ask you tell us how you feel this particular piece embodies the themes.  It can be only a single sentence.
I can't wait to see what you all have accomplished.  And if you have any questions about the competition or just want a new rabid fan feel free to get in touch.  My door is always open.
With that, crack those books, get to work on your entries.  But don't work too hard as you need one undone.

Brewing Competition Guidelines:
This year’s theme will be to brew a beverage that incorporates food & flavors associated with love or as an aphrodisiac within period.
An extra point will be given for beverages that represent the theme with documentation demonstrating period appropriateness.
In addition, the following items are required:
• Documentation demonstrating your process (i.e., specific gravity, rounds of racking, reasons for choices made, etc)
• An ingredient list with quantities.
Scoring:
We will utilize the East Kingdom Brewers Guild scoring rubric as a guide to score submissions

Site Opens: 11:00 AM
Site Closes: 7:00 PM