The Run for the Golden Poppy
Greetings -- it is hoped that these pages will try to answer as many
questions as a possible about the run for the poppy and the journey
of some participants. I hope that this information will prove useful
for those considering a run for the Kingdom of the West's Order of
the Golden Poppy or other Kingdoms' versions (i.e. Pentathalon).
-- Sabrina de la Bere
Kingdom Artisan A.S. XL/XLI and 25th Member of the Order of the Golden Poppy
The Order of the Golden Poppy was created by HRM William and HRM Joanna at Beltane XIX (1984). It was their concept that those who achieve a "win" in the overall kingdom competition deserved recognition. In addition, it was hoped that this would also identify people who would be additional resources in the Arts and Sciences. At the time 7 people were admitted to the Order for their prior "wins" of Kingdom Arts & Sciences competitions. Trude Lacklandia was also named retroactively for her win at Purgatorio AS X -- she entered 15 competitions. Since then, the award has usually been given whenever there was a qualified winner; which was not every year. For the year following the admittance, you are named "Kingdom Artisan". A list of the members of the Order may be found here.
Historically, each of the members was given a wreath of cloth California poppies to wear upon their induction into the Order. In more recent times, the regalia consists of a cloak with the symbol of the poppy and a cloisonne pendant that the Kingdom Artisan is permitted to wear during their year. Once admitted to the Order, members may wear poppies in any appropriate form.
West Kingdom Law states:
§8.5
Membership in the Order of the Golden Poppy shall be offered by the
Crown to the winner of the Annual Kingdom Arts and Sciences competition.
§8.5.1
The most recent member of the Order of the Golden Poppy shall be named
as Royal Artificer or Royal Artisan, depending on the field of expertise.
§ 8.5.2
Duties of the members of the Order of the Golden Poppy during the
year following their victory shall include: assisting the Minister
of Arts and Sciences in running the following year's competitions,
offering seminars at Kingdom events in those areas of the Arts and
Sciences in which they are particularly knowledgeable, undertaking a
project to complete Kingdom Regalia needs, or further enrich Kingdom
level Arts and Sciences, if possible and subject to approval of the
Crown. This project may receive funding, at the discretion of the Crown.
There are 20 competitions each year - from March Crown through 12thNight.
The competitions are scheduled as follows:
March Crown - 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
Beltane - 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
June Crown - 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
Arts and Sciences Tournament - 4 Arts and 4 Sciences competitions
Purgatorio- 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
October Crown - 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
12th Night - 1 Arts and 1 Sciences competition
The competitions are further broken down into 5 Fine Arts, 5 Performing
Arts, 5 Technical Sciences and 5 Practical Sciences competitions. These
are then scheduled through out the year as above, with 2 of each type
making up the 8 A&S Tournament competitions.
A list of the competitions for the year, resources, and copies the
judging sheets can be found on the A&S Website.
You must enter a minimum of 8 competitions including 1 in each of the
4 categories. The person with the most number of points from the 8
competitions "wins" entry into the Order. If you have multiple entries
in a category, the top one is used. Once you have qualified in each
category, then the next 4 top scores from your competitions are used
to determine your total. The scores, must also be qualifying scores
which means that they are 51% or greater than the available number of
points for that competition. Currently each judge may award a total
of 35 points x 3 judges = 105 possible points; making a qualifying
score of 54 points or higher.
Thus, the Poppy Run is about breadth, depth, and stamina.
There is also the "8-Legged Race" where in you enter ALL 8 competitions
at A&S. You can qualify for the poppy run if all your entries have
qualifying scores.
These are the questionaires and some responses from members of the
Order. Click on their names on their page to view pictures of them
from the West Kingdom History Website. They are in order of admittance.
Elina of Beckenham
Danaë FitzRoberts
Rowan of Hakeslea
Francesca von Hesse
Sabrina de la Bere
webbed by Sabrina de la Bere AS XLI (2006)