By Joe Donahue
Training, ceremony competitions, and all-around fun sounds like the agenda for a Conclave. However, Shawnee Lodge of Greater St. Louis Area Council made them the central activities at their second annual Arrowman Experience event. Held at Beaumont Scout Reservation on March 1, 2014, over 150 Arrowmen from Shawnee Lodge gathered to learn, compete, and have fun with their Brothers.
Lodge Chief Sam Picus said the lodge wanted to make sure that people had the time to enjoy themselves in the company of their fellow Scouts. "We wanted to create activities that are unique and interesting," Picus said.
The event featured many different activities, including a L.A.R.P. ("Live Action Role Play") event which was pegged as one of the highlights of the event. Picus said that after the previous year's "human hamster ball" activity, the lodge needed to come up with something cool; they ultimately borrowed this event from the council.
"The role play was medieval themed, so we had people dress up as knights and so on," said Picus. "Arrowmen got to determine who the best knight in the lodge was."
The other highlight of the event was a full pig roast on Saturday night. Picus said that many people had not done one of those before. "People were really excited about the pig," commented Picus.
The lodge also hosted various training cells in the morning. Training was not required, however, and the lodge worked hard to come up with some fun alternatives to the trainings, such as duct tape sash making and OA trivia.
In addition to the LARP event, the lodge also had a ceremony competition in the afternoon. Picus said that the best ceremonialists got neckerchiefs and wood plaques. "Both teams and individuals were allowed to participate," remarked Picus.
The event itself stemmed from a ceremonial team seminar, which was structured similarly. Picus said that the lodge wanted to expand the event to get more people to attend, so they created the Arrowman Experience last year. "It was a big success," said Picus, "so we did it again." Overall, Picus was pleased with how this year's event ran. "Scouts came to learn about the OA," said Picus, "and to have some fun, too!"