Welcome

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international non-profit volunteer educational organization.

The SCA is devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, culture, and employing knowledge of history to enrich the lives of participants through events, demonstrations, and other educational presentations and activities.

Hartwood is the local branch spanning from Duncan to Campbell River, Denman & Hornby Islands to Port Alberni. We have meetings and practices in the Campbell River, Courtenay, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Duncan areas on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis year round. Our regional branches include the Principality of Tir Righ (British Columbia & Bellingham, WA), within the Kingdom of An Tir. (Oregon, Washington, the northern tip of Idaho, British Columbia, the Yukon, and the Northwest territories.).

Newcomers are the lifeblood of any community, and you are very welcome! We recognize some of the habits, customs, and expectations may seem a little confusing or intimidating at first though, so please, don't hesitate to ask anyone for an explanation or assistance. To help get you oriented, we have several resources, including a branch officer dedicated to answering your questions and helping guide you. We call them a Chatelaine, and they can be contacted directly.

There are many ways to introduce yourself to us. We have a Facebook discussion page where we post updates on upcoming practices and events. Some people like to dive straight into an event, while others prefer to show up to an arts & sciences social, or martial arts practice. A listing of our meetings and events can be found on the calendar page; loaner gear for martial arts is often available, but its best to message the officer in charge to ensure 'iron key', as we call it, is available. Contact emails can be found on the officer's page.

Below are bits of advice curated from long-time members; we hope you'll find it useful. If you find that something important is missing, please let us know! We'll be happy to add it.

Welcome to Hartwood! May you enjoy your stay.