[A-RP] The Festival of Beltane

Argent Dawn
1

Details

When?
30th April - 1st May 2020

Where?
Thelsamar, Loch Modan

Why?
Celebrating the first day of summer; holding games and rituals to bless the crops and animals of Loch Modan for a fine harvest.

The Festival

The Festival of Beltane is a public event open to all Alliance and neutral roleplayers. Centered on the town of Thelsamar in scenic Loch Modan, the festival’s aim is to bring together all kinds of roleplayers from across the Eastern Kingdoms (and beyond!) for a communal celebration steeped in dwarven culture.

What is ‘Beltane’?

Beltane is the anglicised name of a Gaelic festival celebrated across the British Isles. Traditionally observed on the 1st May, Beltane marks the beginning of summer, the start of the growing season, and the movement of animals out to their summer pastures. Many of the traditions of the real-world Beltane were associated strongly with fire, and as such have combined over the years with the other festivals of Midsummer and May Day.

Why Beltane?

This event was originally planned to be the Midsummer Fire Festival, though due to the coronavirus pandemic and the myriad of troubles affecting the globe we decided to bring the date forward to foster some positivity in the form of celebration for the Argent Dawn community to enjoy. As the festival of Beltane observes many of the same customs and traditions as Midsummer with an earlier date, it was an ideal choice. In character, ‘Beltane’ is considered to be an old tradition observed in areas of Loch Modan, as the zone is the breadbasket of Khaz Modan.

Activities

We have many, many activities planned for participants! This list is still being added to and edited, so check back regularly!

The Summer Ritual

Join the town’s tavernkeeper and shaman as he holds an ancient dwarven ritual to bless the local livestock as they venture out into their summer pastures.

Feast of Beltane

All are welcome as the Stoutlager Inn overflows with food, drink, and merriment!

Strongest of Stomach

An ancient tradition is observed in the form of a difficult drinking game for seven chosen participants. The last man left standing wins a hefty bag of gold!

Traditional Folk Music

Two local dwarves entertain listeners with a half hour of folk music native to Loch Modan, played on the fiddle and Thelsamar smallpipes.

Pig Chase

Ten volunteers chase a greased-up pig around a small pen. The victor wins the pig, and a decent amount of coin!

Fishing Contest

Though the Loch has seen its share of hardships, the water still offers its bounty! Those who catch the most Modan Tench by the end of the festival earn a bag of gold!

Rules

This event is designed specifically to showcase some dwarven culture as well as bringing life to Thelsamar. As such, we would prefer to avoid any conflict where possible, and if characters feel the need to fight we ask that they remain away from the main Thelsamar area. Aside from that:

  • No ERP
  • No OOC in IC channels
  • Musician and Listener addons recommended

Sign-Ups

Drinking Game (30th April)
  1. Grahda Stormheart
  2. Galvrin Stormheart
  3. Lothis Dawnfall
  4. Rhenna Runefist
  5. Sygrun Blightbraid
Pig Chase (1st May)
  1. Dilidin Stormtalon
  2. Grongul Stormheart

Thank you for reading!

27 Likes
2

Great stuff! Clan Stormheart are coloured interested, you’ve got yourself a bunch o’ Wildies lad :muscle:t2:

7 Likes
3

Looks awesome, you can certainly count me in for this!

2 Likes
4

The Assemblage of Uld will be there!

3 Likes
5

This sounds wonderful :blush:

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6

Thanks for the kind words, all! We’re still hammering in some details, but I expect sign-ups for the events to open very soon!

7

That’s actually my religion, and I am I no way offended by this, I will totally rock up, I would love to on my main, but I think I would get ganked by town guards, so will try to either take the Elixir of tongues and lurk on the outskirts, or try to work out why an Alliance character of mine would hold that in reverence, my Alliance main is Gilnean by birth if not an actual Worgen so could kind of work. What a lovely idea. Thank you.

1 Like
8

Tapadh leat, a charaid! Hope to see you there!

9

It is a great idea, Loch Modan is beautiful zone, though a bit destroyed by Cataclysm. Hammerguard will come around with few dwarves.

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10

Fantastic idea!

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11

Lovely idea.

Really nice to see positive things brought up now.

I wondered why i hadn’t heard of the celebration until I realised it was Gaelic and not something us Brythonic Celts did :joy:

Edit: Ours is called Calan hâf

Second edit - it’s the same thing, just called different things for the Gaelic’s and Welsh.

1 Like
12

Bump for this cool idea.

Looking forward to it immensely.

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13

Thank you all!

Sign-ups for the competitions are now open! Simply reply to this thread following the template here to get your name down:

IC Name:
OOC Character Name:
Event(s): [drinking game/pig chase/ram race]

You are more than welcome to sign up for more than one event, though please be aware the slots are limited due to the small number of available staff for this event, so be considerate to others if demand is high! Slots are available on a first-come first-serve basis.

14

I think I’ll probably just rock up on my Gnome, just for the social occasion, so I won’t sign up for any games, I’ll just rock up for the RP.

1 Like
15

That’s not a problem! The main aim is to create enjoyable RP; if there isn’t enough demand for the competitions they’ll just be saved for another event. :slight_smile:

16

IC Name: Grahda Stormheart

OOC Name: Grahda

Event: Drinking Game!

2 Likes
17

IC NAME: Dilidin Stormtalon

OOC NAME: Dilidin

Event: Pig Chase

3 Likes
18

IC name: Grongul Stormheart

OOC Name: Grongul

Event signup: Pig chase

3 Likes
19

IC Name: Galvrin Stormheart

OOC Name: Thunderlung

Event: Drinking Game

4 Likes
20

Sounds like fun! If my guild wasn’t in Kalimdor atm and we weren’t planning to attend the spring festival there, I am sure we would’ve come your way. Good luck with it!

1 Like