Greetings one and all! Please join the good people of Gryphon's Lair as the year turns and Twelfth Night celebrations commence. This will be a singularly joyous event as we invest a new Coronet on the thrones of Gryphon's Lair, Sir Math Halfdane, called the Fish, and the Honorable Lady Daria de Salamanca.

As all Twelfth Night celebrations must, there will be merchants, games including a Hnefatafl tournament and other board games, singing, story telling and, of course, activities for the children. The close of the celebration will include a sumptuous feast created by the talented HL Meraud des Belles Feuilles.

Hnefatafl Tournament
Hnefatafl is a game similar in form to chess in that it uses a board with squares. The board we will be using for the competition will be 11 X 11 squares. The game itself simulates a Viking Raid. The attacker begins with 4 ships of 6 men beginning along the 4 edges of the board. The king begins on the center square, called the King's Seat, and surrounded by his 13 trusted soldiers. None my rest on the King's Seat but the King himself. The object of the game is for the attacker to either capture the King or for the defender to get the King into one of the corners of the board, called a Burg. Again, only the King can rest on any of the Burgs. All pieces move in straight lines, like the Rook in chess. Pieces are captured when they are "surrounded" or two opposing pieces are on either side of another piece. The King, though, must be surround on ALL FOUR SIDES. Any piece can be captured by one piece if that piece is adjacent to either the King's Seat or a Burg. Also, the King can be captured with only three pieces if the King is against an edge.
There are several sites where the rules for Hnefatafl can be found. THIS SITE has the rules that I will be basing the rules of the competition on. Before the competition, competitors will be given a list of the rules with basic explanations and Brynjólfr will be on hand during play for any questions.

Premiere Baron and Baroness Arts and Sciences Display and Baronial Arts and Sciences Champion Competition
To honor the Premiere Baronage’s contribution and support of the Arts and Sciences over the past two and a half years, there will be an Arts and Sciences display and choice competition. All artisans are asked to bring any and all pieces, in any medium (other than alcoholic), that you may have completed over the last two years to display. These pieces do not need to have documentation.

There will be several Choice awards and to assist with the evaluation and understanding of the piece Their Incumbent Excellencies have asked that the artisan provide the following minimal documentation for consideration:
-Inspirational source, as in a photograph or a notation of the primary or secondary source (ie heiroglyphics of ancient Egyptians eating bread or photo of statuary of men wearing embossed leather armor).
-The name of the artisan.
-A small description of the piece.

Along with various Choice awards, the Baronial Arts and Sciences Champion competition will be taking place, though participation in the competition is not a requirement to display your work. The same minimal documentation is requested. The entrant forms can be downloaded as either a PDF or a DOC file. Pieces for the Baronial Champion competition should have been created within the last two years and not entered previously in a Baronial level competition. The Baronial Champion will be selected from the artisans of the Barony of Gryphon’s Lair.

Tables will be provided to display your works with a separate area for submissions to the Baronial Champion competition.

Site Information:
The event will be held at Union Station  2501 Wall Avenue Ogden, UT 84401. You can get directions from where ever you may be coming from by clicking HERE. Site will open at 10 am with opening court, including the Investiture, commencing by noon. Site closes at 10 pm following the feast. The site is DRY and will be enforced by other onsite entities. Also, although we would like to set a more period mood for the feast, no candles are permitted.

Site fee:
Preregistrations for the event will be accepted by mail until December 24, 2007.
Preregistration site fees are as follows:
$10 for Adults
$4 for children (6-15)
Family cap of $28 (immediate family only)
After December 24, site fee will be:
$12 for Adults
$6 for children (6-15)
Family cap of $36 (immediate family only)
The standard $3 non-member surcharge will apply.

Feast:
We HAVE received the 50 paid preregistrations for feast so the feast will be taking place. Feast reservations are now closed. There will be space for offboard seating.

New and Improved Feast Menu:
1st Remove

Squash in Broth
Pickled Herring
Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
Breads and Spreads
Assorted Cheeses

2nd Remove

Swedish Meatballs with Noodles
Dilled Red Cabbage

3rd Remove

Lamb and Mushroom Pirog
Pinaattiohukaiset (Spinach Pancakes)

4th Remove

Fløtevafler (sour cream and cardamom waffles)
Ligonberry jam
Swedish Sugar Cookies

If you or one of your family needs to know of the ingredient list for the feast, please contact Brynjólfr and he will forward the ingredient list to you.

Accommodations:
Please contact the Event Stewards regarding crash space. Additional information regarding local hotels will also be available.

Merchants:
Please contact the event stewards. All merchants are welcome!

Event Stewards:
Lady Signý Gyðadóttir and Lord Brynjólfr Álarrsson
(Holly Goudy and Brian Johnson)
2234 Oak Hollow Dr, Layton, UT 84040
signyg@mindspring.com and brynjolfr.ulfhedthinn@yahoo.com
801-554-9175 or 801-682-8268
Please contact the event stewards regarding crash space or merchanting.

Feast Steward:
HL Meraud des Belles Feuilles
(Melanie Clay)
801-390-5317