Promoting Dagorhir

Talked with Kurn a little about this. He said you guys did some promoting at Ren faire and nothing came of it. I know that can be disheartening but it would be great to double our numbers. One thing Kurn and i did agree on though that telling people about it is good and they seem interested but you have to get a weapon in their hand.

So i was wondering what if we try to set up a booth at UNLV? They have booths all the time and maybe we could have a banner set up couple guys in garb with bunch of spare blues and do some promoting and let people fight with the swords for a bit by showing them the rules and such? Wonder if doing a booth at a Store would work. It doesnt cost anything just have to get permission from the store. People always stop to see us fight.

If Kurn can send me a 1page Flyer i would be willing to walk around UNLV posting it. they have a ton of message boards around the campus.

If anyone has Myspace promote it send a bulletin. You never know who would be interested. Show them the Wreckreation videos.
Hopefully after Weapons build day we will have enough extra blues or people with weapons to get some more new people out there.

Anyone else have ideas?

i believe the dbga doesn't like it when you promote dag thru myspace. i know they don't let you make your homepage from one. but the flyer idea is great. maybe we can get a group together? also i really do want to set up and camp at the ren faire. i think if we had a stack of weapons there and let people fight and watch us fight it would do a lot more than flyers did. thats the key to prmoting dagorhir. everyone can do it and its free! your so right, we just have to get a sword in there hands!

I would be willing to camp at the faire. Find out what it would cost us.
K-

Thats sounds good to me, ill help if i can.

Ren Fair booth would be kewl.

Just let me know what i can do to help.

quick bake me a cake! its the only way you can help and you must do it now!

Gah! Im on it! Is German Chocolate Cake OK?

I've been trying to promote Dagorhir amongst my coworkers to get those interested who seem to have that competitive and athletic bent. Not too many at my present job are in that mold, but those that are have shown an interest when I let them view the photos my kids have taken for me at practice.

Good quality photo's are excellent promotion. Especially action photo's and posed photo's with everyone in Garb. You could make a nice one page brochure (Kinkos?) with some good local photos that explains Dagorhir and our chapter with practice times, general rules, and contact info. A cheap wire rack set at practice can have those set out for anyone passing by to grab, read and think about.

Also people love Medieval style pageantry. Think Banners and heraldry and Garb. I have an 8 foot closet pole in the shed I thought would be great for a banner pole along with a christmas tree stand or something. I was thinking of a red banner with a black raven on it. I hate sewing. I thought a large yellow, rectangular banner (maybe with a forked end) that has the word 'Dagorhir' in large red letters would be great to mark our territory. Those color's because they are very noticable, easy to read and would attract attention.

Just some thoughts.

good initiative and great ideas. as for a banner and our symbol we've already come up with colors and the picture. but the poles would be a help. we definitely should get some photos as soon as everyone is garbed up.

What are the colors and picture?

Surt, I took the liberty of sending the URL for our forum to the Dagorhir web buy to include on the locations page. It is now an operational link. I hope that is okay. I think we've already had our first new contact.

Hey Surt,

I contacted the neighborhood newspaper 'the view' about our Dagorhir group. They have covered the SCA, Black Talon and the renaissance festival in their papers. I live in whitney but they have editions in all the neighborhoods of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. The editor is going to have one of her Whitney reporters contact me via email at some point. Enclosed is the email I recieved today. Would you like me to give him contact information for you or Kurn since I am only a newbie. I was looking to write my own freelance piece from the view of a 44 year old just getting involved but they do not accept freelance work. =(.

Konradr


Kurt

Thank you for your email. I will forward your note to my Whitney reporter, F. Andrew Taylor. He has covered similar stories in the past, so will be happy to talk with you. If you do not hear from Andy within a few days, contact him at ataylor@viewnews.com.

As for story submissions, the View does not accept freelance work. But we're always looking for good story ideas. The process begins like this -- readers contact us to let us know why he/she thinks something would make a good story and then we investigate. Great stories stand on their own, and if this one does, we'll write about it.

Thanks again,

Jeannette


Jeannette Carrillo
Managing editor
View
(702) 380-4553


Kurt Bowker <kjbowker@msn.com>

04/19/09 10:27 AM

To
<jcarrillo@viewnews.com>
cc

Subject
Hello, about the view...

I checked the website for information on submissions but didn't see one. I think I've seen one in the printed edition. I get the whitney edition. Anyhow I was wondering what it would take to submit a story with a few pictures. I want to write up a story on a group I recently joined that do medieval or lord of the rings style combat with foam weapons. The group belongs to Dagorhir which is a nationwide organization though the las vegas group is just beginning. I saw them on the discovery channel and decided to find a local group and get involved. I'd like to tell this story with a few pictures to generate interest. Most of these guys are young, 16 to 28 being average, whereas I am soon to turn 45. The group; however, is led by three long standing Dag members. I would like to write the story and have it edited for content by the three officers of the group and then submit to you if I could. I would like to submit to all your editions to recieve city wide coverage. Would you send me info on this plus word count, etc. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kurt J. Bowker
5245 Berwyn Circle
Las Vegas, NV 89122

kjbowker@msn.com

Way to go Konradr!!

You are free to give them my e-mail if you wish. Include please the word Dagorhir in the subject, or I may delete it on accident.

K-

I will write up a contact email for the reporter within a day or two.

Konradr

Wow we might be in newspapers? That will boost our ranks quite a bit im betting.

I'd like to say that I am a new member, my friend told me all about this and i am very interested to join you guys on the fields.

I know this isnt the proper thread to post my hello message, so here's the point of this post.

Being as interested as I am, I've already contacted people from my school, three other ones, and we're going to get together and make weapons and shields and stuff of the sort, based on the web guides. We'd end up coming to the Dagorhir battles in about two weeks, most likely. This looks really interesting and the four of us can not wait to go.

Also, if I were you guys, I'd give props to Claire Soffe (idk her Dagorhir name) as she recommended me to this game, and ebcause of her I'm also recruiting new people for the sport.

I look forward to joining all of you.

Well...I have no idea who that is but, absolutely pass on our thanks.

You are ,of course, welcome to make your own gear right away. However, you may want to consider coming out once or twice before you do. Some of the tutorials on the main sight are rather old and outdated. I would be happy to lend a hand or even give advice on weapons building.

My background includes 22 years of Dagorhir fighting. I have (literally) fought with and made every weapon you will see on the field today.

I am (as we all surely are) extremely happy to see new faces. I wish you luck in your new career as a fighter for Barad' Dun.

I look forward to meeting you all.

K-

Claire is Barrikade's daughter-in-law

Step daughter. Ya i met Rod he is definitely very excited about fighting.

How old is Claire? My middle daughter who I bring along to watch the littlest two has shown an interest in maybe giving the fighting a try. She is 14.

Konradr

Well make sure you give her props for promoting!!

K-

Kurn here is the copy of the contact email I sent to the view reporter. Let's see if he contacts either you or I with an interest in the story.

Konradr

Hello,

My name's Kurt Bowker and I've lived here in Las Vegas, pretty much since kindergarten. Man it sure seems to be getting hotter though. Anyhow, I emailed your editor Jeannette (copy of email and reply are enclosed) about a story idea you guys may want to pursue. I've noticed articles here and there on local medievalist or reenactors and fighting groups as well as the rennfaire. I was an off and on member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronisms) for about 10 years, fighting their heavy weapons first then rapier as I am also a fencer. But for some reason I never really had the time to devote to those and I was missing something. I used to think what I wanted was what the kids in the SCA fight. Boffers or foam swords, full contact. I wished there was an adult group that fought with such weapons. Fewer rules restrictions, full contact means more competition and a better physical workout, and maybe a little less of the historicalness and political aspects that seem to slow down the SCA. Plus getting in and out of that armor at 100 degrees tired me out quickly.

So just when I dropped out of the SCA again after attaining an authorization in Rapier along came a show on the Discovery Channel called Wreckreation nation and voila, I found out about Dagorhir. They have been around since the late 70's and are almost as big an organization as the SCA. They fight with Foam weapons, full contact except for head blows (Darn!) So I got on the internet and found their Website www.dagorhir.com. All the info you could want on who to contact and how to get started. You can download their handbook and info on making weapons. There is a forum with excellent information, all you have to do is look. Come to find out there are three long term dag members here in Las Vegas who have just started up a group here. The group is Baraddun. Our forum is on https://baraddun.forumotion.net and is also listed on the Dagorhir website.

At first I hesitated. These guys are like 16 to 28 years old and I am soon to be 45. So I checked and hey, there are old guys like me playing too, so I contacted the group via their forum. These guys are great, enthusiastic and friendly. I have been playing for a month and a half now and it is fun. New people keep showing up and the group is growing. The long term guys though young, are great font's of knowledge and helpfulness. The group fights with honor and respect which I find most appealing.

We meet every Saturday at noon at desert breeze park right at the corner of Twain and Durango. The officers in order are Surt, Kurn Blackwolf and Heretic. Surt is 21, Kurn is 37 and Heretic is 18. All have extensive knowledge but Kurn has been at it the longest. 22 years in Dagorhir. For any information on our group he is willing to sit and talk with you. You may contact him at his email address kurnblkwlf@yahoo.com just be sure to put 'dagorhir' in the message topic so he won't delete it.

I am encloseing a few pictures of our local group. Hope this will make a good article that could be posted in all you view editions. We want to get the word out and get other's to join up and swing some foam!

Sincerely,

Kurt J. Bowker (aka Konradr)

I also have a friend coming with me. His name is Farris. He and I are taking k's advice and coming weaponless, and trying ourselves out with this game, using loaners. If all goes well, we plan to get a couple more people in to make some weapons.

Either way, I have someone coming with me, so including me that is two new peope, and Farris has a few friends who also seem interested in joining. The more the merrier.

Good job Konrad. I'll be sure to let everyone know if they contact me. Maybe we could get Mordrauk and some of his crew over here if they decide to do the story.

Rhodrip (don't know your actual name) we are in the process of planning another weapons build day, sometime soon. We will post all the information when it becomes applicable.

K-

K'urn wrote:

Good job Konrad. I'll be sure to let everyone know if they contact me. Maybe we could get Mordrauk and some of his crew over here if they decide to do the story.

Rhodrip (don't know your actual name) we are in the process of planning another weapons build day, sometime soon. We will post all the information when it becomes applicable.

K-

Okay sounds good. Keep us updated.