The Pennsic War

The Pennsic War This page is held and managed by The Pennsic War and is considered the official presence of the event

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.

Land Agents Only July 24th 9am till Noon.ONLY AUTHORIZED LAND AGENTS WILL BE PERMITTED TO PAY AT Registration AND ENTER ...
05/31/2026

Land Agents Only July 24th 9am till Noon.

ONLY AUTHORIZED LAND AGENTS WILL BE PERMITTED TO PAY AT Registration AND ENTER SITE FROM 9:00 AM TO 12:00 NOON ON FRIDAY, JULY 24 (including their single vehicle land agent, their assistant and minor children). If you are not a land agent (including assistant and any minor children) or designated proxy for your group, you will not even be allowed to walk through Registration and pay your site fee until 12:00 noon. As in the past few years we will be checking names against the most updated list Land can provide.

We will do our best to expedite those with medical issues but please be patient. This is a busy, hectic day and we are just getting back into the groove of things after a year off.

The process takes time. Please bring a couple of bottles of water and sunscreen or umbrella to help with the sun. The new building does have an awning, and we will do our best to get as many folks under it as possible.

Those Land Agents or Proxies with disability plates or hang tags on their vehicles will be allowed to drive to the great hall to complete land grab as we have done in previous years, after you have completed Registration. All others will leave their vehicles on the battlefield and walk onto site. These will be the only attendees allowed to drive onto site until their land has been signed off on.

After 12:00 noon, even after you pay your gate fee, you may STILL not be allowed to enter site until either:

• You receive one of five passes that are given to land agents once their entire block has been approved by the Land Office staff as complete (given out by the land agents at their discretion); OR
• Land Grab is deemed sufficiently/mostly complete by the Land Staff and Registration is informed the passes are no longer required. This will likely be well after 12:00 noon!

Note that there WILL still be blocks that have not been finalized until sometime Saturday. If your ENTIRE block has not yet been approved as complete (i.e., ALL the groups on the block have signed off on the block map and the map has been accepted by Land Staff), even if you have paid your site fee and are allowed to enter the gate, you are NOT permitted to begin setting up your camp.

ANYONE CAUGHT SETTING UP THEIR CAMP BEFORE THEIR BLOCK MAP IS APPROVED MAY BE EJECTED FROM SITE at the Land Office staff's discretion. Shade flys are permitted during the Land Grab process for the health of the land agents involved, but personal tents, trenching, etc. will be considered setting up and you could be told to leave.

As in past years, single campers should not plan to arrive until Sunday, July 26, at which time Land Grab will be over and the single camping spaces will be clearly marked on each block for you to choose from.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact DM Event Resources at [email protected].

Gates and Access to Pennsic There are some important changes at Pennsic 53. Please take note so you are not caught unpre...
05/30/2026

Gates and Access to Pennsic

There are some important changes at Pennsic 53. Please take note so you are not caught unprepared. The biggest change is that starting with Pennsic 53, the gates which were known as the “Merchant” and “Main” gates in previous years will be closed and locked for the entirety of the event. (Note: the “Main” gate will be open on land-grab Friday to allow land agents who require it, disability parking access to the Great Hall for purposes of Land Grab and only for this purpose. After Land-Grab, the gate will be closed and accessible only to Cooper’s Lake personnel, emergency vehicles, and delivery/service vehicles.)

So, in summary, the following gate access will be the standard for Pennsic 53:

Battlefield Gate:

Open to vehicle traffic 24 hours a day.
Pedestrians should not be walking outside of the fences on Currie Road and should thus not be accessing the Battlefield gate on foot.
Access to the Battlefield from the southern half of camp across Currie Road can be managed by crossing north from the West Gate towards Registration Parking and then walking INSIDE of the fences on the battlefield side of the road.

West Gate:

Open to vehicle traffic during daylight hours. Close to vehicles during nighttime hours.
Open to pedestrians 24 hours a day.
Access to the battlefield along the southern side should be accomplished via the West Gate during all hours.

North Gate:

Open to vehicle traffic 24 hours a day.
Open to pedestrians 24 hours a day.
Access to the battlefield along the eastern side can be accomplished via the North Gate during all hours.

Sally Port:

The Sally Port will be open to pedestrian traffic during daylight hours. Pedestrians may use this gate to access to the battlefield’s eastern side in addition to the North Gate during daylight hours.
The Sally Port will be closed and locked during nighttime hours.
Reminder to all, tampering with or circumventing gate controls is a violation of Pennsic policy and anyone observed attempting to circumvent (open) a closed gate is subject to sanctions up to an including removal from the event.

Pennsic Registration Traffic FlowThere is a detailed post on the Pennsic Website with instructions and all of the genera...
05/30/2026

Pennsic Registration Traffic Flow

There is a detailed post on the Pennsic Website with instructions and all of the general procedures for attendees arriving for the first time at Pennsic 53. You can find the instructions here: https://www.pennsicwar.org/2026/05/30/pennsic-registration-traffic-flow/

Please read the post in its entirety and note that as this is a new procedure for Pennsic starting this year, it is subject to change. When in doubt, pay attention to the directions you are given upon arrival. Staff will be available at the point of entry to guide you.

The attached image is a reduced detail map of the Pennsic Registration parking area with cues for direction of travel and entry/exit to the site.

Mayor's OfficeSo what does the Mayor do? I’ve been asked, together with heads of the various divisions, to introduce our...
05/30/2026

Mayor's Office

So what does the Mayor do? I’ve been asked, together with heads of the various divisions, to introduce ourselves and explain how Pennsic works. I have been on staff for a decade or so, and have filled various positions until someone said “You won your bid for Mayor” and here I am.

In short, together with the Emergency Mayor and various dedicated assistants the Mayor is the Event Autocrat responsible to the Kingdoms and the SCA for the safe and orderly progress of the event, in compliance with modern law, SCA policy, Pennsic Rules and agreements with our land lords: Cooper’s Lake Campground. Together with the Exchequer the Mayor shall also maintain a financial budget for the event and make reports to the financial stewards as required.

And, unfortunately, sometimes when people don’t play by the rules the Mayor may un-invite them. Assisting the Mayor in the ex*****on of this grandiose plan are the 8 Deputy Mayors, or division heads: Tech Services, Transportation, Event Safety, Cultural Affairs, Information, Land and Martial Activities. Over the next few months each one will come here and say a few things about their division.

Our aim is to make the organization as transparent as possible, as well as to provide clear pathways in for those who would like to help out. We’re a family within the family and we’re always looking for people that could be happy and helpful in the organization. If you want to get a sneak preview, navigate to the staff pages on www.Pennsicwar.org. And, if you want some more in depth intsight into “How PENNSIC Works”, come take my 1 hour class by the same name, both Wednesdays at 1pm somewhere in the University. I’ll be having office hours every day from 9-11. Stop in (check in at the Watch) if there’s a question you can’t get answered. Thank you, safe travels and have a great Pennsic War!

Baron Oscar Goerijs Goriszoon, OP
Pennsic Mayor 53

05/29/2026

New Watch Telephone Number

Greetings! There is a new telephone number to reach the Watch starting with Pennsic 53. The new number is: (540) 428-9630. This number is also linked in the tag line just below the banner on the Pennsic website.

Remember, the Watch number is not an emergency number. All emergency calls should be directed to 911. The Watch number is for use by attendees to report potential concerns or ask questions about site rules or other issues which may be of interest to staff or require a staff member’s attention.

Reminders:

The Watch phone number is only active during the event itself.
The Watch phone number is for use of onsite attendees to request assistance from the Watch. We cannot assist people calling from offsite and will not be able to locate attendees for anyone calling from offsite.

https://www.pennsicwar.org/2026/05/23/new-watch-telephone-number/

05/19/2026

CLASS REGISTRATION DEADLINE

Greetings from your friends at Pennsic University! The date for the book pull is quickly approaching! Please, if you are planning to teach at Pennsic go into Thing 2 and register your class by May 25. This is only 7 days from now! To assist you in registering classes, we have developed a demo video showing the updated process.

The link to access the video is https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W4vVqO2lBbsx6IyOsC4SPwwHhpRygK8o/view?usp=sharing

If you want your class to be in the printed Pennsic Guide book, you must register it by the end of the day Monday. This will give the Registrar and Track Coordinators time to schedule your class, the Development Team time to generate the reports for the book pull, and time for the Chancellor to check and verify the accuracy of the data in the reports. Of course, you can continue to register classes after this, it just means they won't show up in the printed book. They will, however, be available in the online class list. While looming deadlines are always stressful, we balance that with the excitement of knowing that we will soon be opening the University. We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!

Thanks!
Mistress Ciara McRobbie
Pennsic University Chancellor
Pennsic 53

Greetings from Coopers Lake. This past week the Technical Services division had its annual work week. Numerous construct...
05/18/2026

Greetings from Coopers Lake. This past week the Technical Services division had its annual work week. Numerous construction and repair projects were completed despite weather challenges. Many, many thanks to this team of hard working volunteers! And today, Saturday, we held the traditional May all Staff planning meeting. The Coopers told us all about the new registration building (it WILL be open). The 8 Deputy Mayors introduced their teams and after a general briefing broke out into departmental meetings. From where I am sitting everyone is doing a fantastic job and we are looking forward to a great Pennsic. Don’t forget to pre-reg, June is right around the corner!

Oscar Goerijs Goriszoon, Mayor Pennsic 53

Ask the Coopers!Greetings, friends! Our friends at Cooper's Lake Campground are excited to get involved with our social ...
05/14/2026

Ask the Coopers!

Greetings, friends!

Our friends at Cooper's Lake Campground are excited to get involved with our social media to help share the work they are doing to help make our Pennsic experience the best ever!

After discussing with them, we're going to implement an Ask the Coopers segment! Please feel free to leave your questions in the comments below or send a DM to our page with the title "Ask the Coopers." Please remember to be chivalrous and respectful. We'll try to get as many questions answered between now and the big day!

Pennsic staff hard at work at War Practice getting ready and planning for Pennsic! Keep your eyes on this space for prog...
05/14/2026

Pennsic staff hard at work at War Practice getting ready and planning for Pennsic! Keep your eyes on this space for progress photos and projects! We have a YouTube channel we'll also announce soon and a special "Ask the Coopers!"

Cold and wet weather today, but here are some more progress photos of our new Registration building (new check in process video coming soon) and the Beautification team has been hard at work on several projects.

Address

Cooper's Lake Campground, 205 Currie Road
Slippery Rock, PA
16057

Website

https://www.cooperslake.com/prereg/account/index.php

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