Mayor and Executive Staff

News and Updates

Artwork Submissions for Pennsic 53 Cover

Greetings from Oscar Goerijs Goriszoon, Mayor of Pennsic 53,

We are holding a competition this year for the cover art for the Pennsic 53 Event Guide. The theme for the artwork is “Music”.

All artists are invited to submit concept sketches for cover art to publications@pennsicwar.org, using the guidelines below:

Guidelines

– The cover is 8.5″ x 11″, and will be printed in black and white.

– There should be space in the design to include “Pennsic 53 (or LIII)” and the event dates (July 24 to August 9, 2026).

– Event Guide artwork can include the heraldry of the East and Middle Kingdoms and AEthelmearc, or the kingdom symbols (Tyger, Dragon, Escarbuncle).

– You may create the cover art using any medium, as long as you can submit it as a high quality graphics file.

Please submit your concept sketch by February 28, 2026. Once an artist has been selected, the final artwork will need to be completed before June 15, 2026.

Please address any questions to publications@pennsicwar.org

Mayor’s Missive #3

Greetings unto all, may these words find you well,

There are still a few long weeks before on-line Registration opens, but for many Staff Pennsic is year round. In early November we had our first planning meeting. Budgets are being finalized, the Info team is getting ready to load 53 info into the Website, other divisions are working on contracts with vendors after determining what and how many of everything we will need. More staff positions are being filled. Soon it will be May and we will be having our work week, where we do projects and build things to make Pennsic better, while maintaining and repairing the equipment we have, and we have a lot. Personally I am working on a special music project for this year, stay tuned for details! In the meantime we wish one and all a happy and healthy holiday season. May you feel the warmth of friends and family as we shepherd in the new year. What it will bring? Who knows, but if we can help it we’re going to have another great Pennsic!

Photo by Duchess Rustique, snow and decorations by AI……

Mayor’s Missive #2

This is not an announcement I enjoy making but sometimes change is unpleasant.

We are implementing a rule change which will include explosives under the prohibited items in the General Rules. This will preclude the use of the canon(s) on Main Battlefield.

The matter has been a running source of issues for almost a decade and it was, once again, discussed at length during the November senior staff meeting. All sides of the argument were examined. Many, if not most of us enjoy the canon, and will miss the flavor it brought to the battlefield. Yet, the decision was unanimous. The down sides weighed in favor of this change. The main issue remains the continued negative effects on the health and well being of an unknown number of attendees, including but not limited to PTSD sufferers. CAWS (Cannon Alert Warning System) warns those affected ahead of time that they are going to be traumatized, it doesn’t avoid it. Many have no warning.

The entire Pennsic staff would like to thank the Gunner crew for their service and dedication over the years helping to keep the Dream and the Magic of Pennsic alive.

We sincerely regret any grief this may cause.

Yours in Service, Oscar Goerijs Goriszoon, Pennsic Mayor 53

Office of the Mayor

The Mayor is the senior official responsible for keeping all activities at Pennsic in compliance with modern law, the corporate policies of the SCA^[1] and Pennsic^[2] rules. The Mayor works with the SCA and the three main Kingdom Seneschals to assure the orderly running of the event. The Mayor is also the primary on-site liaison with Coopers Lake Campground management. There is a designated Emergency Mayor who is a previous year(s) Mayor and can take over should the Mayor be unable to do the job. Pennsic Staff are organized into eight divisions, headed by Deputy Mayors who report to the Mayor.

Two years ahead of time, aspiring Mayors submit a bid containing a proposed budget, demonstration of support from other prospective staff, and their modern and SCA qualifications demonstrating sufficient administrative and operational experience to run the event. The bids are then reviewed by the Seneschals of the three main Kingdoms responsible for the event (The East, Middle, and Æthelmearc) and the Mayor is then selected by the sitting Royalty of the hosting Kingdom. After selection the applicant will serve one year as a deputy of the Mayor the year prior to theirs, also referred to as being “Mayor on Deck”. At the November staff meeting the torch is passed from the old to new Mayor.

Royalty Liaison

The Royalty Liaison exists to ensure Royalty at Pennsic are provided with a single point of interface with the staff. The Royalty Liaison coordinates transportation and other logistics functions of Royalty at the event. As such, any request for Pennsic resources from Royalty and their associated staff is the responsibility of the Royalty Liaison.

Staff