al-Barran Midwinter & War Practice

To all lovers of merriment & merth, good food & fellowship, worderment & WAR!!! PRAY ATTEND!!! The Baroness of al-Barran, The Honorable Lady Adrianna de Tarente, sends greetings and invites you all to join us at Midwinter Feast & War Practice. This year, we will be celebrating Medieval Germanic traditions of Yuletide. We mean to burn Yule log, along with wishes for the coming new year. We will trim the tree with symbols of life, light and hope. Join us for dancing, music, and games, Be a part of the Ceremony of lights that banishes the gloom of Winter, that we might see a brighter Spring! There may even be a visit from a mischievous Fell Beast…. Don’t forget the feast, chock full of German favorites like Schnitzel & Spaetzle.

On the following day, come and prepare for WAR!! War of the Phoenix, Gulf Wars, and other wars across the Knowne World will kick -off in Early 2026; the Outlands must Prepare! Ready your weapons, repair your harness, and show up ready to fight.

Mark your calendar and watch for updates on Kingdom/Baronial social media & websites. We hope to see you there!

General Information:

Event Location: Ballut Abyad Shrine Center, 6600 Zuni Rd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108.

War Practice Location: Menaul School, 301 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107

Event Site is WET; NO Outside Alcohol. All alcohol must be purchased from the provided venue bar. The bar will be open from 12 noon – 9:00 pm. Valid I.D. required for purchase.
War Practice is DRY

No off-board seating is available during the feast.

Designated smoking area is the parking lot, 50ft from the building.

Service animals welcome, please leave pets at home.

Site Fees:
Adult (18+) Member – $20
Adult (18+) Non-Member – $30
Adult Feast Fee – $15
Children (17 and under) – Free
Children Feast (17 and under) – Free

Pre-reg here: https://sca.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/sca/eventRegistration.jsp?event=1804

Schedule:

12/20 – Ballut Abyad Shrine Center

8:00 – Set-up

9:00 – Gate Opens

10:00 – Opening Court

11:00 – A&S activities open

12:00 – Burning of the Yule Log; Court Dancing Session 1, Light Repast

1:00 – Trimming the Tree

4:00 – Afternoon Court, A&S activities close

5:30 – Grand Procession and Yule Lights Ceremony

6:00 – Feast, Served Family Style; Entertainment

7:00 – Court Dancing Session 2

8:00 – Clean Up

12/21 – Menaul School

8:00 – Site Opens; Peerage Circles at their Majesty’s pleasure

11:00 – 2:00 War Practice; 12:00 – Court (TBA)

2025 al-Barran Midwinter A&S offerings

The Arts & Science area will be set-up in the Fez Club & Club Annex portions of the facility. The area will be open from 11am – 4pm. The following activities will be open for drop-in participation:

Scribal Workshop – Open workshop to work on skills and receive feedback or instruction as desired.

Games of Chance – Many ways to pass the time with friendly competition. Hosted by Noble Arelon

Page School – Sir Daveed is offering youth activities throughout the day

Fiber Arts Playground – Fiber Artisans and those interested in the Fiber Arts! Please join us at the Fiber Arts Playground. Bring your spinning wheels, portable looms, drop spindles, embroidery projects, etc for a day of fiber arts at Midwinter.

Ornament Painting Station – Customize an ornament and add it to our Yule Tree!

Also, at times specified below, there will be the following:

History of Printed Textiles – Presentation 1pm – 2pm; Hands-on Workshop 2:15pm – 4 pm; For the block printing workshop scrap linen and basic paint colors will be provided. All participants are asked to bring a scrap towel.

Participants are welcome to bring their own fabrics (as long as they are linen, wool, or silk) and paints. In this class, speedball acrylic screen printing ink will be used.

Heraldic Consultations – 11pm – 3pm; Master Aethelwulf is hosting a consultation table.

Roman Make Workshop and Demo – 12:30 – 2pm with Lady Aurelia

Feast Menu

The Feast will be served family style.

Soup course of Spargelcremesuppe. It is a traditional German creamed white asparagus soup and would also be served with breads and flavored butters. (The vegetarian non dairy option is a onion leek peasant soup)

Main course would be pork schnitzel served with Jaeger sauce (mushroom gravy) on the side. Also on each table would be lemon juice which is another traditional way to serve over schnitzel. For vegetarian/gluten free options there would be gluten free potato and onion latkes with a homemade applesauce. There would also be spaetzle which is a potato pasta served with butter and salt. (Has egg, some will be set aside that has no dairy, has gluten.) Some add the hunter sauce on top of the spaetzle. Also served is gurkensalat -cucumber dill salad (has dairy), rothkohlsalat -pickled red cabbage (vegetarian, gluten free), and steamed broccoli as an alternative for those who want another dairy free, gluten free side.

For dessert each table will be served an apple strudel with warm custard. (Gluten, dairy) There will be a limited amount of gluten free apfelkuchen -apple cake for those who have gluten sensitivity.

For the midday meal, beef or elk (depending if we snag an elk this year) goulash, or a vegetable lentil soup and fresh bread. An alternative is a leek onion peasant soup