Starting a Unit

[jbook]

Has anyone thought of starting Lord of the Rings reenacting "units" as they are most commonly called in the historical reenacting community.
Basically a group of people focusing on a certain culture or branch of military. You join them based on point of interest and location.

Just a thought to maybe help enhance the Lord of the Rings community. So say you want to portray Gondorian Rangers or Moria Orcs etc...
You start a group or "unit" and see how many people want to join. We started a unit called the Dale Company. We portray men of Dale during the War of the Ring. We have 5 members and hope to keep growing. We do have a dress code which is helpful just so everyone looks relatively close and look like they belong.

Just something to think about. Don't know if its ever been brought up before.

[kaelln]

I know we have a few members in North Carolina, but I'm not sure whom is where geographical proximity-wise. I hate to say it, but most of the people I know personally in my town are only interested in drinking and drugs, neither of which interests me. You seem to have been successful in attracting folks. What are your suggestions for finding others with similar interests?

[jbook]

Well the people that are in our group are either historical reenactors who love Tolkien or they are just huge Tolkien fans. I'm sure we all friends who like Tolkien but have never thought that they could actually be a part of the world. A good place to start would be to just invite some friends over and show them what you do. Go camping or something to that affect. Show them pictures etc...

An important thing is to pick a group of people your group is going to focus on.
-Riders of Rohan
-Gondorian Rangers
-Men of Dale
-Gondorian Regular Army
the list goes on....

So there are tons of options.

[Greg]

You've got FIVE members now?!

Awesome!

For starters, I think this is an excellent idea. I have a (very) small group of people here that focus around Rangers, but we have one that branches out into the Rohirrim. It sounds like a great thing you've got going out there! Getting it to happen may not be easy for everyone, but I'm glad to hear that there's a strong following for the men of Dale!

On that note, while I've got you here...you should get your group involved in this year's photo contest! Also, If you Dale guys could check out my Media project thread, we could use some input from people outside the ranger bubble!

[jbook]

We would like to take some photos! One of our members lives in Ohio and the rest of us live in Iowa. But I think we could get some photos soon. We have 3 women members and 2 male members. Our company consists of 2 Mirkwood Elves and 2 Men of Dale and 1 Woman of Dale. So we have a decent group. Hope it grows a little. If anyone on this Forum is interested in Men of Dale please contact me. We would love to have you!

[Elegost]

why do I live in the uk...

[kaelln]

why do I live in the uk...

Dude! The UK is totally cool! You can skip down to Stonehenge for the Solstice, then hop over to Ireland for the greatest Celtic music in the world, at any pub, for free! Then there is all the great European bands like Avantasia, Apocalyptica, Epica etc. that tour through Britain all the time! We never get to see those guys over here! Then there is all the great British tv! I have to wait until Saturday night to see any British tv, and then it's only 30 year old sitcoms, and then only if it's not preempted by high school basketball or pledge drives. I love the UK! I'm like, totally jealous!

[Mirimaran]

Kaelin, you have to get BBC America! Believe it or not, Are you being served is no longer on the air in Britain LOL

As for units, love the idea, but always imagined a group of Rangers as a troop, for some reason or another. Still, trying to get 5 or more of us together at once might be a bit like herding cats, but I am game!

[Greg]

Then there is all the great European bands like Avantasia, Apocalyptica, Epica etc. that tour through Britain all the time!

...and Blind Guardian!

[David]

Then there is all the great European bands like Avantasia, Apocalyptica, Epica etc. that tour through Britain all the time!

...and Blind Guardian!

And Nightwish! =)

[kaelln]

Then there is all the great European bands like Avantasia, Apocalyptica, Epica etc. that tour through Britain all the time!

...and Blind Guardian!

And Nightwish! =)

Oooh! I have all Nightwish's albums except the last one, and I actually got to see Apocalyptica live two summers ago! (It was funny, I bet, to see this group of fifty-somethings head-banging!)
Blind Guardian is new to me; thanks! What a great song "Valhalla" is! I can't wait to hear more!

[Greg]

Go immediately and buy the entire "Nightfall on Middle Earth" album. It tells the story, in song, start to finish, of the Silmarillion. They're awesome.

[Elegost]

Thanks guys you make me feel better about living in the UK!

[Eric C]

But then again, if you ever skip across the pond you're more than welcome to look some of us up.

I'd love to get a group of like-minded folks together. Most of my friends look at me funny when I even tell them about the website. Maybe I need cooler friends?

[Willrett]

Eric I get the same look from my friends and family