I think there a few things to keep in mind.
Regarding re-enactors opinion of larping, I don’t feel a need to defend my hobby. Larping is not about combat (though it can involve some form of it) so anyone who gives us gip about being wimpy and not man enough to pick a steel sword is obviously missing the point and isn’t in our target demographic anyway. I think it’s great if we can get on with the re-enactors in the sense of two hobby groups respecting each other’s activities, but I don’t feel any kind of need to liked by the “steelies” to validate my hobby.
The crossover point between our hobbies is that in some way, we are both playing a role that is different to ourselves. No, it’s not the age of jousting and swords anymore. But for a weekend, we can pretend it is. It’s this aspect of the event that we have been invited along for.
We’ve been invited along by the organisers to provide “immersion” at the event (Hawkwind’s word, not mine) and to interact and involve the crowd much the same way we did last year - by wearing costume, being enthousiastic and being “in character” with the atmosphere of the joust. Larping is another way to be involved with the atmosphere of the event without necessarily needing to get involved in combat - Joe Average Public/ Joe Average Junior might want to be involved in the spirit of the event but are unlikely to immediately pick up a steel sword/lance. Everyone realises that that is not safe. Larping, in whatever form we choose to do it at the event, provides a way to be safely involved.
Whatever we end up doing will depend entirely how many people want to go along and do something. I’ve seen a lot of people volunteer ideas but no one has stuck up their hand to go “Yes! I’ll come along!” We need to keep in mind that anything we do will be a “sideshow” because, yes, we’ve all come for the jousting. We need to keep in mind that the audience that comes along largely consists of tourists and families with kids.
I personally think it would be nice to go as ourselves because it would be the kind of publicity that reaches the public, people outside our immediate circle. They probably won’t immediately start larping, but at least they will have heard of it, which they probably hadn’t before. I think it would be equally nice to rock up and be event hands that carry water, play town criers, pretend to be heroes to entertain the kids, disperse ourselves in the crowd to make some noise for the jousters and generically be there.
It all depends on how many others are interested and what they want to do.
