Event Service: For Autocrats and Event Staff

Have you had young SCAdians offer to help at your event, but you just didn't know where to put them to work?

We’d like to offer some suggestions!

As part of the Atlantian Pages’ Academy recognition program, young SCAdians (ages 9-14) are encouraged to do service work for the Society. Here are some suggestions on activities they could do to help you with your event, with the cooperation (and supervision) of adult volunteers on your event staff.

In order to have their service hours credited, Pages will need you (or whoever supervised them in their work) to sign a Request for Credit form. Students receive a credit for each fifty-minute block of time they spent working. (Pages generally wear a blue baldric or armband.) Please avoid overwhelming kids with lots of work. While they are enthusiastic volunteers, they need a break! We recommend that you only let them volunteer for two hours worth of work in a row, and then let them take a break to enjoy the event. If you have additional recommendations for opportunities for kids to help at SCA events, please contact the Dean.

Pages will need to submit a Request for Credit form to the Dean to have their service hours properly recorded.

Pre-Event Tasks

Make signs or decorations

Make site tokens

Stuff envelopes for event announcements sent to other groups

Design, fold, and/or assemble event maps, programs, or feast menus

At The Event

Event set-up (including setting up the fighting field, etc.) and hall decoration

Post signs on site

Help at a newcomers’ information table, a heraldic consult table, the Arts & Sciences displays or competitions, the Minister of the Lists’ table, merchant’s coordinator, or fundraiser activities. Communicate with the event staff running these activities to make sure that the staff is willing to accept the child’s help, and that they understand that the child should not be responsible for handling money. Children can help set up and clean up these areas, greet those who require services, distribute blank forms and pens, etc.

Fill water for Waterbearers’ stand, and assist with waterbearing except for on the fighting field

Check that the site’s bathrooms have sufficient toilet paper, paper towels, and soap, and take out trash from bathrooms

Help run errands on site, take messages to other event staff, or make announcements

Distribute site maps and schedules

Pick up litter during the day

Attend the Baron and/or Baroness or visiting Royalty as a page

Be a feast-server, and/or go around the hall and pour water or lemonade, serve bread, take used platters and bowls to the kitchen (kids should be grouped in pairs so they can more easily handle heavier items, but kids should not handle any hot liquids, hot sauces, soups or extremely heavy items. Kids should not serve high table unless they have been trained in such service and must first receive the permission of the High Table Coordinator)

Help with formal High Table service (such as hand-washing, etc.)

Site clean-up

At Troll

While minors cannot handle money (and cannot be collecting site fees), there are things they can do:

Help set up Troll area

Greet people arriving to check in, and direct them to the proper Troll area for pre-registration or on-site registration

Hand out site tokens

Check in pre-registered event attendees

File and organize waivers and other event-related paperwork

Help people sign up for spaces at feast-tables

Help provide information (such as directing people to changing areas and meeting rooms)

Help clean up Troll area

Run errands and take messages to other event staff for Troll

At Children’s Corner

Volunteers above the age of 14 may be counted as your official helpers for the Children’s Corner, but younger volunteers can help out too.

Help set up Children’s Corner

Help parents/guardians sign their children in or out

Be a “teacher’s aide” for crafts, games, or other activities

Accompany younger children on bathroom runs (remember that no adult or older teen can ever be alone with a single child, so bathroom runs if you do them need to have either two adults and one child, or two children and one adult, or everyone will need to go)

Help clean up Children’s Corner

In the Feast-Kitchen

Remember, children younger than 12 should not use sharp knives without the permission of their parents, work with hot dishes, or work with hot ovens or stoves.

Wash and peel vegetables

Mix flavored butters (honey butter or herb butter)

Make lemonade, iced tea, or other non-alcoholic beverages

Arrange platters of food

Take messages to the Head Server, Herald, Troll, Autocrat, Head Table Server, etc.

Wash dishes, platters, cooking utensils, etc.

Take out the trash

Chopping vegetables (if the child is over 12 and with permission of the parent)

Slicing bread (if the child is over 12 and with permission of the parent)

Being a schedule minder for the cook (remind the cook that announcements need to be made for start and stop times of feast, scheduled tasks or removes for the feast)

Filling water jugs for the feast hall and bring to the feast hall