Pennsic Social Media provides information and encourages the responsible use of social media on a variety of platforms and introduces topics of interest with regard to the annual event, The Pennsic War, held in the Western PA region of the Kingdom of Aethelmearc. The event is held every July/August at Coopers Lake Campground. Social Media staff collect and edit content for Pennsic social media accounts and maintain relationships with other relevant groups/media accounts. The information provided by Pennsic Social Media represents official information and updates from all Pennsic War staff.
Please visit the Pennsic War’s social media presence on Facebook and Instagram to connect with the Current Middle Ages!
Please reach out to our Social Media team at socialmediasvc@pennsicwar.org or socialmedia@pennsicwar.org.For queries and submissions to Pennsic War Social Media accounts, please email SocialMediaSvc@pennsicwar.org.
The Pennsic War
Designed as a Medieval "War" between the Kingdoms of the East and the Middle of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Pennsic is also the largest SCA event, with activities include large melee battles, tournaments, archery, stage performances, dancing, and hundreds of classes on medieval topics.
Registration closing info for end of War
Pennsic registration for PW53 will close for the war at 6pm on Wednesday August 5th.
Pennsic registration for PW53 will close for the war at 6pm on Wednesday August 5th.
Visit https://www.cooperslake.com/prereg to register! 🛡
Merchant Gate Update!
Thank you all for the feedback. We want you to know we are listening. Things are rarely, if ever, done for a single reason. Even more rare is Coopers or Pennsic doing anything without discussing it together and no decision is made lightly. Pennsic now is not
the same Pennsic of 30 years ago. Things change and things happen to cause those changes. This is a much different world. This post is about keeping Merchant gate open and will not be about the Sally Port. This post is about keeping the most accessible
path in the center of things, open and usable for as many people as possible.
Here are the details as they stand for the use of the Merchant Gate and a link to the updated map:
https://land.pennsicwar.org/maps/53/T02_S.png
The Merchant Gate will be open 7am to 9pm. It will open starting the Monday of Peace week, July 27 through Friday of War week, August 7.
Due to resourcing issues, the only way this can happen is to use volunteers – similar to the way Pennsic uses volunteers in other critical locations. Your assistance on this is invaluable and you
will be helping ensure your fellow attendees are able to continue to access critical assets.
The Merchant Gate will be staffed by volunteers working 2-hour shifts. You are more than welcome to sign up for more than one shift in a row. Partnering with a friend to share a shift or two is all good. We will have shade, a radio to call if needed, and at least two chairs, but you are welcome to bring your own seating for comfort. We will need at least seven volunteers per day (or less if folks are covering multiple shifts) in order to accomplish this.
During your shift, you will be checking for proof of admittance (e.g., medallions, etc.) on everyone coming through the gate. If there is an issue, you will be provided with a radio to call for the Watch to assist (we will train in its use). We also ask that you use a counter for every person who comes through the gate so we can better understand usage for future analysis.
Volunteer opportunities (sign-up sheets) will open around July 1st. There will be ways for you to sign up online in addition to having a sign-up sheet for the next day’s open shifts at Accessibility Point in Town Hall. If we have unmanned shifts, we will be posting them with the Town Cryer announcements as well as social media the day Prior. Please keep an eye out for them if you are looking to help fill in open spots.
What about Midnight Madness? I’m glad you asked. There will be normal shifts going until 9 pm. We will then have special guests on duty, rotating every hour, so everyone gets a chance to do some shopping.
We are committed to working together to keep Merchant Gate open and staffed with volunteers. To do this, we need your help to make this a success.
For additional questions or concerns, please reach out to me or the Mayor directly.
YIS,
Tree of the Forest
dmeventresources@pennsicwar.org
Thank you all for the feedback. We want you to know we are listening. Things are rarely, if ever, done for a single reason. Even more rare is Coopers or Pennsic doing anything without discussing it together and no decision is made lightly. Pennsic now is not
the same Pennsic of 30 years ago. Things change and things happen to cause those changes. This is a much different world. This post is about keeping Merchant gate open and will not be about the Sally Port. This post is about keeping the most accessible
path in the center of things, open and usable for as many people as possible.
Here are the details as they stand for the use of the Merchant Gate and a link to the updated map:
https://land.pennsicwar.org/maps/53/T02_S.png
The Merchant Gate will be open 7am to 9pm. It will open starting the Monday of Peace week, July 27 through Friday of War week, August 7.
Due to resourcing issues, the only way this can happen is to use volunteers – similar to the way Pennsic uses volunteers in other critical locations. Your assistance on this is invaluable and you
will be helping ensure your fellow attendees are able to continue to access critical assets.
The Merchant Gate will be staffed by volunteers working 2-hour shifts. You are more than welcome to sign up for more than one shift in a row. Partnering with a friend to share a shift or two is all good. We will have shade, a radio to call if needed, and at least two chairs, but you are welcome to bring your own seating for comfort. We will need at least seven volunteers per day (or less if folks are covering multiple shifts) in order to accomplish this.
During your shift, you will be checking for proof of admittance (e.g., medallions, etc.) on everyone coming through the gate. If there is an issue, you will be provided with a radio to call for the Watch to assist (we will train in its use). We also ask that you use a counter for every person who comes through the gate so we can better understand usage for future analysis.
Volunteer opportunities (sign-up sheets) will open around July 1st. There will be ways for you to sign up online in addition to having a sign-up sheet for the next day’s open shifts at Accessibility Point in Town Hall. If we have unmanned shifts, we will be posting them with the Town Cryer announcements as well as social media the day Prior. Please keep an eye out for them if you are looking to help fill in open spots.
What about Midnight Madness? I’m glad you asked. There will be normal shifts going until 9 pm. We will then have special guests on duty, rotating every hour, so everyone gets a chance to do some shopping.
We are committed to working together to keep Merchant Gate open and staffed with volunteers. To do this, we need your help to make this a success.
For additional questions or concerns, please reach out to me or the Mayor directly.
YIS,
Tree of the Forest
dmeventresources@pennsicwar.org
In-Camp Armor Inspections for Pennsic 53
In-camp armor inspections will be available during Pennsic 53 under the process outlined in the Pennsic 53 General Armored Combat Conventions. https://www.pennsicwar.org/2026/05/28/pennsic-53-general-armored-combat-conventions/
Please note that this service is a privilege, not a right or a guarantee that a camp will be visited.
Important details:
• In-camp inspections must be arranged and coordinated with your Kingdom KEM and Pennsic MoL (Marshal Point)
• These inspections will only occur on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Peace Week due to tight scheduling with other martial business.
• The KEM or representative must be accompanied by a Pennsic MoL to verify each fighter’s authorization status.
• No paperwork means no inspection.
• Armor only will be inspected in camp.
• Weapons must go to Inspection Point.
• This process applies to all fighters equally, regardless of station.
• If multiple helmets are being inspected, all helmets must be checked and logged.
• If there is any issue or discrepancy with an authorization card, the fighter will need to report to Marshal Point to sort it out.
• This process is a partnership with the Pennsic MoL office and will be enforced according to these guidelines.
Additional authorization note:
Authorization rules and availability may change, so please watch for additional announcements from the appropriate Kingdom and Pennsic channels.
At this time, authorizations are currently allowed by the Kingdom of the East, and secondary authorizations are expected to be allowed by Æthelmearc on site. However, it is strongly recommended that AE fighters complete any needed authorizations before Pennsic if possible, ideally at Bog Day on July 12 for Æthelmearc, or at a practice before July 12.
Yours in Service,
Bruce
Master Alessandra Brucioli
DM Martial Activities, PW53
In-camp armor inspections will be available during Pennsic 53 under the process outlined in the Pennsic 53 General Armored Combat Conventions. https://www.pennsicwar.org/2026/05/28/pennsic-53-general-armored-combat-conventions/
Please note that this service is a privilege, not a right or a guarantee that a camp will be visited.
Important details:
• In-camp inspections must be arranged and coordinated with your Kingdom KEM and Pennsic MoL (Marshal Point)
• These inspections will only occur on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Peace Week due to tight scheduling with other martial business.
• The KEM or representative must be accompanied by a Pennsic MoL to verify each fighter’s authorization status.
• No paperwork means no inspection.
• Armor only will be inspected in camp.
• Weapons must go to Inspection Point.
• This process applies to all fighters equally, regardless of station.
• If multiple helmets are being inspected, all helmets must be checked and logged.
• If there is any issue or discrepancy with an authorization card, the fighter will need to report to Marshal Point to sort it out.
• This process is a partnership with the Pennsic MoL office and will be enforced according to these guidelines.
Additional authorization note:
Authorization rules and availability may change, so please watch for additional announcements from the appropriate Kingdom and Pennsic channels.
At this time, authorizations are currently allowed by the Kingdom of the East, and secondary authorizations are expected to be allowed by Æthelmearc on site. However, it is strongly recommended that AE fighters complete any needed authorizations before Pennsic if possible, ideally at Bog Day on July 12 for Æthelmearc, or at a practice before July 12.
Yours in Service,
Bruce
Master Alessandra Brucioli
DM Martial Activities, PW53
We have received several emails that people are still using the old form. Please use this link to fill out the new form. The header looks like the picture below.
To date, we have requests from the following groups and we are moving through our emails as quickly as possible.
Reminder that this form will close on WEDNESDAY 1 JULY 2026 at 11:59PM CENTRAL TIME.
Flaming Gryphon
Aethelmearc combat archery
West
Kingdom of the East
Vito's Minions
Bogatyr
Kingdom of Trimaris
link to form:
To date, we have requests from the following groups and we are moving through our emails as quickly as possible.
Reminder that this form will close on WEDNESDAY 1 JULY 2026 at 11:59PM CENTRAL TIME.
Flaming Gryphon
Aethelmearc combat archery
West
Kingdom of the East
Vito's Minions
Bogatyr
Kingdom of Trimaris
link to form:
Pennsic 53 Battlefield Pavilion Space Request Form
Please fill out the form to request a pavilion space around the Pennsic battlefield. Any questions please contact us at bfpavilions@pennsicwar.org. We will confirm your registration and space as soon as possible once we receive the completed registration form. Deadline to complete is Wednesday 1 Jul...
Mayor Missive #4
Greetings to all good Gentles,
To say that we got a lot of feedback on the new Gate Rules would be an understatement, you broke the record for number of emails in 24 hours. But, I’ve read them all and we have heard your concerns. In fact we share many of them, so we have diligently worked on a solution to try and soften the impact.
Let me begin by explaining the “why” of the closure. With the new registration building operational there will be no more attendees entering Main gate, which will also no longer have an attendant. Said attendant used to also keep an eye on the Merchant gate which would now be completely unmonitored. As a result the difficult decision was made to close the gate.
The only option left is for us (Pennsic) to cover the task of monitoring, and we are talking a lot of volunteer hours here, which initially seemed prohibitive. Fortunately, the Event Resources division (these are the people that take care of a fair part of the accessibility at Pennsic) has stepped up to take on this major task and provide limited opening hours, based on volunteer availability. We can’t thank them enough for this. Details are still to be ironed out and further information will be forthcoming. And, if at any point in time this solution proves more trouble than it’s worth we may have to turn back the clock on it. I am hopeful that it will work. All that said, for safety reasons it was strongly suggested that we have ONE pedestrian crossing and not two in that location. Also it would not be fair to the volunteers securing the merchant gate if we left the back door wide open. Therefore, the Sally Port (fighters gate) will be closed 24/7. This means you HAVE to have your medallion on you to enter main site from Battlefield/B-Blocks at any of three the entry points………Please remember this.
I cannot emphasize enough that it will be fellow attendees who will give of their precious vacation time to maintain this valuable convenience for those whose lives it will make easier. Please, thank them when you enter/exit and possibly consider volunteering yourself.
In the end it’s not a perfect solution but I believe it is the best compromise we could achieve at this time. Stay tuned, there will be more information coming from the Event Resources department.
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Oscar, Pennsic Mayor 53
Greetings to all good Gentles,
To say that we got a lot of feedback on the new Gate Rules would be an understatement, you broke the record for number of emails in 24 hours. But, I’ve read them all and we have heard your concerns. In fact we share many of them, so we have diligently worked on a solution to try and soften the impact.
Let me begin by explaining the “why” of the closure. With the new registration building operational there will be no more attendees entering Main gate, which will also no longer have an attendant. Said attendant used to also keep an eye on the Merchant gate which would now be completely unmonitored. As a result the difficult decision was made to close the gate.
The only option left is for us (Pennsic) to cover the task of monitoring, and we are talking a lot of volunteer hours here, which initially seemed prohibitive. Fortunately, the Event Resources division (these are the people that take care of a fair part of the accessibility at Pennsic) has stepped up to take on this major task and provide limited opening hours, based on volunteer availability. We can’t thank them enough for this. Details are still to be ironed out and further information will be forthcoming. And, if at any point in time this solution proves more trouble than it’s worth we may have to turn back the clock on it. I am hopeful that it will work. All that said, for safety reasons it was strongly suggested that we have ONE pedestrian crossing and not two in that location. Also it would not be fair to the volunteers securing the merchant gate if we left the back door wide open. Therefore, the Sally Port (fighters gate) will be closed 24/7. This means you HAVE to have your medallion on you to enter main site from Battlefield/B-Blocks at any of three the entry points………Please remember this.
I cannot emphasize enough that it will be fellow attendees who will give of their precious vacation time to maintain this valuable convenience for those whose lives it will make easier. Please, thank them when you enter/exit and possibly consider volunteering yourself.
In the end it’s not a perfect solution but I believe it is the best compromise we could achieve at this time. Stay tuned, there will be more information coming from the Event Resources department.
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Oscar, Pennsic Mayor 53
