Crown Days of Fumaya 1838
The Crown Days of Fumaya is a festival King Henryk III Linijka is sponsoring.
Henryk's son and heir, Prince Casmir Linijka was born very close to Hay Day, so Henryk extended the Hay Day festivities for a full week folding traditional Hay Day activities with a celebration of his son's birthday.
King Henryk is frugal and generally dislikes spending money on public extravagances but he is making an exception for this festival. Given dark political events on the horizon, this is probably the last chance Fumaya has for a relatively light and breezy event. King Henryk also figure if he is going to do one major public extravagance, he might as well do it right.
Entertainments
A couple stages are erected in an open area with multiple performances of varied kinds. Various merchant stalls, carnival games, privies, open spaces, and public services are set up around the fields. A few street performers move about the crowd. Some of them were paid for and invited by the king. Some are freelancers that petitioned the king to let them visit and panhandle for tips.Contests
Contests are a big aspect of Hay Day festivities. Normally the prize is a ceremonial bag of hay and bragging rights. Physical contests -Axe throwing contest -Knife throwing contest -Hammer throwing distance contest -Rock throwing distance contest -Wrestling -Various races with relay items (Racers shovel dirt from Point A to Point B to fill a box first) (Racers roll logs) (Racers sprint with batons) (Racers carry a gnome first half, then the gnome pulls them on a hand cart the second half) (Satyr only race) -Hay harvesting -Rope climbing -The kalazotz are going to do some exhibition matches of Aerial Hackey sack Music contests include -male singing -female singing -male dancing -female dancing -group dancing. -drummers -strings -horns -battle of the bands (easily the most popular) Craft Competitions In most cases, competitors made a show piece long before the contest started, though cooking contests occur during the festival. The art competitions tend to draw a large crowd. A lot of the entry pieces (winners and losers) end up being sold or donated at the end of the festival. There are also speed relays for sculpting and a few other handicrafts. The most anticipated craft competition is the illusion competition.Festival Food
The king has provided free food. The free food being fish stew with rye bread to dip in it. It just so happens that a lot of the king's taxes are paid in fish and grain. For those who don't want fish stew (or don't want to stand in a long line), a wide variety of food vendors sell their own festival food. Vendor food includes but is not limited to fried fish cooked to order, various pork products (especially sausages), sweet breads, roasted chestnuts, pretzel bread, meat pies, various egg dishes and lots of ale stands. Most festival goers bring their own bowls, cups, and cutlery but festival goers can buy commerative bowls, cups and cutlery from merchant vendors.Souvenirs and Trinkets
A lot of merchants are plying their wares. As well as commerative Geu-Puppies, wooden knight toys, cloaks, and any number of silly trinkets. Normal day-to-day goods are traded at the festival too. Some merchants make it a point to travel to festivals like this simply for the deals. A lot of the craftsmanship shows act as marketing for the people involved trying to sell their services.Execution
Basic Set up of Festival Grounds
The king is using his own hayfields as the setting for the festival after most of the hay is harvested. The Festival Grounds are set up in a square that is oriented like a diamond. The fair grounds are separted into four broad quadrants. The morth, south and east quadrants have a temporary wooden raised stage erected in their center. The west stage is centered around a makeshift animal enclosure. The upper class enter via the north quadrant and the commoners enter via the west quadrant. The jousting tournament is just outside the north quadrant. Nearby but outside the quadrant is a fancy tent city where the different noble houses are chilling and keeping their steeds and retainers. A few might even nap there. Just outside the west quadrant is where the commoners are stabling for their steeds if any. The king has provided free wagon rides to and from King’s Lake for those commoners who don’t have steeds and aren’t up for the walk. There is a common folk tent city for folks who prefer to stay overnight than to keep shuttling back and forth between the fair grounds and King’s Lake. Those who don’t have their own tent can rent space in a tent with a straw mat for a quarter of a copper piece. Traditionally it’s not uncommon to take a short nap after the midday meal. There are a couple hay piles just outside the west quadrant where festivals can take an afternoon nap if they want. Technically, no one is allowed to sleep the night there but the guards will look the other way most of the time if they aren’t a trouble maker. The dead center of the fair grounds has a stall manned by some of the king's servants who will sell maps and schedules for a copper piece, that's pretty expensive because maps and schedules have to be copied by hand. Since most people don't want to buy a schedule (and not everyone can read), the king's servants will kindly tell anyone where and when activities they are interested in are. Also, they will ring a loud bell every hour on the hour and they have a crier periodically shout the schedule out to all within earshot. Every quadrant has public privies (holes in the ground with canvas tents for privacy. The privies are cleaned and maintained by well paid members of the king's staff and/or the local Nonagon. Every quadrant has stations with free water, courtesy of the Fumayan Tenders. Every quadrant has vendors selling ale, but the only free ale is in the north quadrant with the king’s free fish stew and the free ale comes in fairly small servings..West Quadrant
The west quadrant is where the livestock exhibitions and most of the food vendors are. This is where Ragani’s family members have set up their two market stalls. One for cups, cutlery and cookware and the other for ale. The West Quadrant is where the cooking contests are. The Masks have a free stall near the main entrance to make change in the West Quadrant so people can use quarter coins and don’t have to chop their copper pieces into pieces.North Quadrant
The north quadrant is the sort of upper class Quadrant though it does have a large food stall sponsored by the king where anyone can get free meals (fish stew and rye bread) where the North and West Quadrants touch. The stage in the north quadrant where the king addresses his subjects. The same stage is used for Nonagon officials and other high-ranking people to address crowds. The stage is also where entertainers will perform specifically for the royal family. The north quadrant has the Blue Duck family ice sculpture exhibit. Most of the food stalls are in the west quadrant but the food stalls in the north quadrant are fancier and much more expensive. For instance, they sell ice cream near the sculptures. This doesn't mean commoners can't or won't buy fancy food. Some commoners will save their money for many weeks so they can splurge at the festival. The north quadrant is where the craftsman’s expositions are and high end merchants stalls tend to cluster around the craft exhibitions. For instance Ragani’s sister Tanoa and her husband have in tandem with a couple other tailors here.East Quadrant
The main stage of the east quadrant is where most of the most popular shows are. It is where most of the music contests and music performances and it’s where the Illusion contest is. Most of the Nonagon sponsored entertainments are here. Most of the secular performers with recognized names are performing here. Most of the carnival games are in the east quadrant.South Quadrant
The south quadrant has more performers than the east quadrant but smaller names. Performers have to be invited to the east quadrant but almost anyone who wants to perform can get a spot in the south quadrant. Some festival goers prefer the south quadrant's entertainments because the main stage has near constant shows with very little time gaps in between. Performers aren't just on the stage. The area has a lot of musicians, jugglers, and the like milling about with collection bowls. This is where you get the more casual things like Jelly Spear Plays and comedy troupes. This is where most of the athletics contests are. It is also where most of the cheap souvenirs are sold.Dances
Both the south and east quadrants have a few roped off areas where local bands play and commoners can dance to the music. Initially, they play mostly family friendly songs that everyone knows, the Scarterran equivalent “Ist dass nicht ein Schintzelbank!”, the Chicken Dance, and the Cha Cha Slide dance.At dusk, they gradually start closing down the stalls in the north and west Quadrants while the east and south quadrants gradually become a bit more adult. The dances become more couple oriented than family oriented. The singers and actors throw in more blatant innuendos. Suddenly, new ale and wine stands mysteriously pop in these quadrants.
Fumayan mages and a few theurgists will cast light spells on random things and/or summoning some torch spirits to fly around and keep thing lit after sunset.
by me with Midjourney
Components and tools
King Henryk spends most of his time in Fumaya's capital city of King's Lake, but he has a fairly large rural estate which is usually managed by a bailiff.
The king converted his hayfields (after harvest) into a festival ground. In some cases using simple rope barriers as divider, in other cases using bales of hay.
A few simple stages were erected.
Most people bring their own cups and bowls to eat with, but festival goers can buy commerative cups and bowls painted specifically for this festival.
Participants
King Henryk is leaning heavily on Fumaya's Nonagon for support building the festival.
All nine of the priesthoods are putting on at least one show or demonstration.
Testers
Ujarek and most of his men are in the Border Baronies, but he doesn't want to spurn the king's invitation to send representatives.
A few of his followers are having a brief public prayer ceremony but a expedition sparring match.
Tenders
The Tenders are helping provide Purificationists for sanitization of the privies.
They are sponsoring a few supervised dances in the evening. Beslyfle is helping judge some cooking contests.
The Tenders are producing a sappy feel good morality play.
The Tenders also have two stands providing free water.
Stewards
The Stewards are sponsoring a concert, primarily religious music leaning towards somber.
A more informal event is an Animal theurgist/trainer showing off various animal tricks.
They involved in some of the food contests, but it is a little early for harvesting most things. The Stewards role in this festival is fairly small. The big show is the harvest festival which the Stewards are in charge of.
They have a Animal theurgist judging the livestock competition, and acting as "security" in case a spooked animal gets out of of its temporary enclosure, he can seize control of the rogue animals.
Rovers
The Rovers are producing a comedy show. One of the more popular shows. There are also secular comedy performances and many of the Rovers moonlight in the secular shows too.
There is a wide variety of roving individual performers at the festival. Many of these individuals have Rover Ties. In fact a lot of the Rovers are moonlighting in other activities they aren't formally involved with.
Children
Few people like the bleak messages of Greymoria morality plays but these plays tend to have the best illusions, so they draw large crowds.
The Children are putting on three illusion packed morality plays.
Keepers
The Keepers are somewhat uncharacteristically putting on a play with musical accompaniment. Some of the new members have some background in this and they are going all out on this.
Lanterns
The Lanterns are sponsoring two plays and a concert, and are sponsoring couple wandering musicians.
They are also supervising/judging many of the Hay Challenges.
Guardians
The Guardians are stretched pretty thin with most of their members deployed south. A few of the more craft focused members are supervising/judging many of the Hay Challenges.
They are doing a fairly simple sparring demonstration for their performance.
Masks
The Masks have a free money changing stall near the entrance where festival goers can convert their money into quarter coins or half coins, so they don't have to chop their money.
Their presentation is a poetry reading, one of the less popular events. Most of the poets and readers are not actually Masks but it just so happens that Danuta, leader of the Fumayan Masks is a poetry fan.
There is an eucemenical healing tent where theurgists provide magical and basic physician consultations, and the Masks make up the dragon's share of the members involved. This is largely because the Guardians and Tenders have already deployed most of their healers and physicians elsewhere.
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