Food & Shelter

Food

Most Canterbury Faires provide a range of eating options.

Catering and Meal Plans

Free (included in site fees): Soup kitchen (Sunday before event), breakfast porridge and fruit (Monday-Sunday)
and a light supper at the Ball are available at no extra charge to all attendees.

Catered: A catered meal plan is available this year: Lunch and dinner, Monday - Saturday, excluding dinner on the evening of the Feast.

DIY

The site has three kitchen areas, including the main kitchen facility and two smaller kitchens in the main bunkroom building and in the lower Tui Lodge. Kitchens have some equipment, i.e. pots, pans, roasting dishes etc.

Cooks preparing a meal plan or the feast are assumed to have priority or, on the day of the feast, exclusive access to the main kitchen. The other two kitchens are usually available at all times.

Please ensure that you clean all messes for which you are responsible!

If you are wanting to cook in an encampment, please check the site Camping Advice rules.

Eating Kit Hire

If you wish to hire eating kits for the event (drinking vessel, plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife, napkin, tea-towel), Lord Bjorn is privately offering them for $5.00 for the week, with a $5.00 refundable deposit. You will be able to pick them up from him at the start of the event. Contact Lord Bjorn directly to reserve a kit, first come first served. Note: this is a private arrangement, not part of your event booking.

[Back to top]

Drink

The site has clean potable tap water, and we encourage people to ensure that they keep well-hydrated, especially if fighting. Please cover any sipper bottles or other modern drinking vessels.

The Mangy Mongol can supply coffee, hot chocolate, cordials and other beverages.

We have special permission from the site operators to bring alcohol on to the site IF CONSUMED IN MODERATION.

The site is "discretely damp", meaning that alcohol consumption should not be obvious. Drinks should be decanted into medieval-looking vessels, and empty vessels should be kept out of sight and disposed of in the recycling bins. Moderation should be observed and obvious drunken behaviour is not acceptable.

[Back to top]

Mangy Mongol

Purveyors of fine comestibles by Royal Appointment
The Mangy Mongol Tavern will once again be providing the premiere venue for convivial company and hot Turkish coffee day and (especially) night throughout Faire. This year for 15 shiny gold pieces you too can have a personalised Mong ceramic cup filled through the event with the strongest and sweetest coffee this side of Constantinople. These bottomless-cup subscriptions will be available late Sunday afternoon, but the Mong will not be officially open until first thing Monday.

Turkish delight and Jumble cookies will be available for purchase, but for more substantial commestibles, please keep an eye on the large timetable next to Veronica's Kitchen for the itinerant food vendors. The Mong is a smoke-free community establishment, and runs by the goodwill of all faire-goers.

Current patrons are Lady Elena Sophia Luciano de Medici & Lady Agnes ðe Kyrri.

[Back to top]

Accommodation

Indoor accommodation at the Canterbury Faire site is in the form of bunk rooms situated in the two main buildings. Most bunk rooms contain between 4-11 beds each. The smaller bunk rooms will be allocated to families and persons preferring quieter evenings. The larger bunk rooms will be allocated to others. Indoor accommodation should be pre-arranged with the steward prior to the event.

For the bunk rooms, beds and mattresses are supplied, other bedding is your responsibility. Please note that the mattresses are available on site for indoor accommodation only and may not be removed from the buildings. Outdoor campers should therefore make suitable bedding arrangements.

Tents are available for hire. They are supposed to be 8-man tents, but will comfortably accommodate 4 SCA people plus gear. These tents do not have fitted floors but thankfully New Zealand has no snakes, scorpions or fire ants and no commonly encountered venomous spiders, making a fitted floor less necessary. You will need to provide your own ground sheets and bedding..

All tent guy-ropes must be marked with material visible at night (e.g. white pennants or cloth).

Billeting arrangements in Christchurch before and after the Faire can usually be made.

[Back to top]

On-site Storage

Southron Gaard has a large storage facility at the CF site, with space available for private rental so you can store large, heavy or awkward stuff between events. See the guidelines here or contact the Baronial Constable for more information.