Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)-Cont.

Alongside these martial pursuits, the SCA strives to encourage research and expertise in medieval arts, having developed a thriving market in which craftsmen can learn medieval trades and grow in their artistic expertise. The Order of the Laurel is awarded as a peerage award to recognize the pinnacle of artistic excellence. Service is also very highly valued in the Society, where the Order of the Pelican and many lesser service awards are awarded to gentle who give ceaselessly of their time and energy for the good of the Society, often in administrative capacity. The SCA is broken down into a number of kingdoms, each of which has a separate governing structure ruled by a king determined in Crown Tournament. Each kingdom has developed their own culture and ‘flavor’, populated by an enthusiastic body of participants. The SCA is not like the Renaissance Faires where the experience is performance-oriented. In the SCA the essence of the experience is participation; the SCA strives to teach something of courtesy and ethics by developing an interpersonal network that reinforces the desired values. Visit the Society for Creative Anachronism's web site, located at http://www.sca.org .