The Basic Information

[hivemind 0]

"Bicolline is a fantasy live action role-playing game (LARP) campaign in Quebec. Events take place at a dedicated venue covering 140 hectares called the Duchy of Bicolline located in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc near Shawinigan."

 

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicolline

 

 

Event site (French only): http://www.bicolline.org/

 

Bicolline is the only massive LARP in North America that operates on top-tier European LARP standards. These standards are nothing we aren't used to at Kingdoms of Novitas, but they're unheard of pretty much anywhere else in North America that I'm aware of, and certainly not on this scale. Bicolline attracts thousands of participants. This is their 19th year. The Grand Battle is a week-long event in August, similar to the SCA's Pennsic or Dagorhir's Ragnarok, where the different guilds of Bicolline (much like Guilds in WoW) battle for supremacy.

 

This year's Grand Battle of Bicolline is from August 10-17.

 

Up until now, being a native-English speaker was a severe drawback, however, thanks to the efforts of Jordan and Tom over at www.larping.org there is finally a guild forming that's going to operate 100% in English (outside of necessary items like commerce and diplomacy). They have recruited a number of veterans of Bicolline to assist them, they're purchasing tabards for all guild members, they're getting period tents in their guild's colors (green and "natural" white), and are just generally putting a ton of work and money into the venture - and they'd like us to join them in getting it off the ground.

 

Sounds great, right?

 

Well, there's a but. There's always a but, right?

 

The "but" is that Bicolline is expensive. The site fee alone is more than Pennsic and Ragnarok put together - $270 USD. On top of that, the guild organizers have decided on a hefty camp fee to get everything off the ground. Many of us are familiar with this from Ragnarok; it really does take a lot of money to get a nice camp off the ground, and these guys are going father than we did. They're getting custom pavilion tents in our colors, commissioning wooden tables and benches for the camp dining tent, and a TON of other little things, like paying for a week's worth of firewood and ice, buying cots for their guild members, and so on. They're also renting a shuttle bus to pick up people from the Montreal airport, and bring everyone back at the end of the week. They've set their guild's camp fee at $800 (includes the event fee of $270).

 

Now, I've been talking with them, and we are in a little different situation here. For starters, unlike Jordan (who lives in Seattle) and Tom (who's in North Carolina), we're only about five or six hours from Bicolline by car. That's an easy drive. We also have a number of period tents we can use, our own wooden tables and benches, a double-pull tap system, our own cots, and a bunch of other LARP-camp-type things we can pilfer borrow from the Legion's camping gear for Ragnarok. We also have no need for their shuttle bus from the airport.

 

Taking all of that into account, they've decided to offer a lowered fee for those attending from KoN: $650. Now, that's still a chunk of change, but they can't get around the $270 for Bicolline, and Bicolline's camp standards are higher than either Ragnarok or Pennsic - they actually have to have everything set up a week in advance for "inspection" by event staff, to make sure they're aesthetically appropriate, safe, and have no glaring anachronisms. Once you knock off the $270, they'll only be getting $380 a head from us, which is only $80 more than the Legion pays, per-person, for a week at Ragnarok.

 

So, who wants to go? :)

 

They need a firm commitment by May 1, and they need deposits paid by June 1.

[hivemind 0]

 

 

 

[Vincent McFathom 0]

Shut up and take my money!... Wait... Crap. :(

 

Who know's? Maybe I'll hit the jackpot before the deadline hits.

[kyle egert 0]

I better start saving.

[Marcus Arcturus Maximus 0]

this means I would need to get my damn passport doesn't it.... crap decisions decisions.

[Jenica 0]

this means I would need to get my damn passport doesn't it.... crap decisions decisions.

 

Or an enhanced driver's license.

[Arion Lightseeker 0]

If not this year...then next....Bicillone always intrigued me...In Darkon, there were some members in the country of Elidor which had attended events with a unit called Redemption(?) . Heard some good stories.

[hivemind 0]

Yeah, I am definitely out this year as well. Too much going on with the new house and stuff. :(

[Mery 0]

I would go....lets talk.

[hivemind 0]

Your best bet at this time is to head over to http://www.voyagenorth.larping.org

[Ali K 0]

I recommend it. It's quite the experience however there isn't always as much role playing between households. Many of us still do but you've got to find the right household sometimes. You may or may not get attitude to from certain Quebec folks. It depends on the group but thats the same with every larp.