The CF Subcommittee

The Canterbury Faire Subcommittee is a group of volunteers who have the general responsibility of overseeing the running of Canterbury Faire and consulting on, and  implementing improvements to ensure the long-term viability of the event.

The members of the subcommittee are not the stewards of Canterbury Faire and cannot over-rule the stewards on decisions made about their event.

The subcommittee can be contacted on the following email address: cfsubcommittee@sg.lochac.sca.org

The Canterbury Faire Subcommittee was established in 2024 under the below proposal:

Canterbury Faire Sub-Committee Proposal

Preamble

With Canterbury Faire being New Zealand’s longest-running and largest SCA event, the complexity of running it, and ensuring that it continues to evolve and meet the needs of participants typically exceeds the capacities of the regular Southron Gaard council members. Also since there is no specific officer (other than the Seneschal) with any direct responsibility for the event, efforts to improve processes, systems and the experience at the event are likely to be fragmented. This limits the opportunity for proper strategic planning and sustained change management when it may be required.

Proposal

That the Southron Gaard Baronial Council (council) authorize the formation of a sub-committee with the general responsibility of overseeing the running of Canterbury Faire and consulting on, and  implementing improvements to ensure the long-term viability of the event.

Specific responsibilities would include:

• Liasing with the site during the periods when a steward is not actively running the event, to advocate for such improvements to the facility as would benefit the event, and determining the site costs as early as possible to allow event budgets to be prepared
• Reviewing event bids and budgets by potential stewards and providing commentary on the proposals to council in a timely manner to support selection of a bid.
• Compiling and updating documentation about processes, logistics, systems, suppliers, scheduling suggestions and any other such topics as may be useful to stewards.
• Reviewing any legislative or regulatory changes, including compliance issues, and providing details to council and stewards along with recommendations for meeting such requirements.
• Continually evaluating whether the current site and other major providers of goods and services to the event offer the best fit and value, and to identify potential alternatives.
• Developing such systems that might be required to streamline the management of Canterbury Faire, and reduce the workload of volunteers.
• Ensure the site is booked at least 1 year in advance for appropriate dates
• Overseeing the event management by the current steward, including requiring regular updates from the steward
• Actively supporting stewards and potential stewards with information and guidance during all phases of the event, including
  • Event bid and budget preparation
  • Pre-event management
  • A de-facto crisis management team at the event
  • Post-event support to ensure that all event reporting and finalization tasks are completed by the steward in a timely manner
• Consulting with the populace as deemed necessary on any major changes
• Providing final determinations on decisions related to Canterbury Faire as specifically delegated by council.

The Committee would NOT:

• Have the power to authorize expenditure. All expenditure proposals must be submitted to Council for approval as per standard financial procedure
• Be required to run the event if a steward cannot be found, though they would be expected to assist the Seneschal as much as possible to find a steward
• Have the power to overrule a steward’s decisions, though they would be expected to communicate any significant objections to the steward and also to Council on any matter they are concerned might significantly affect the overall experience at the event.

Structure of the Committee and Appointment Process

The committee would consist of no fewer than 4 and no more than 6 people. At least 4 members must be residents of Southron Gaard. The Southron Gaard Seneschal would not be a committee member.

All committee members must be financial members of SCANZ and otherwise eligible to hold a branch office.

Members of the Committee would be appointed by the Southron Gaard Seneschal using the standard officer appointment process used in Lochac. The committee may maintain a list of pending nominations so that when a committee member steps down, the next pending nominee may be appointed (following a commentary period) without requiring a call for nominees.

The standard term of a committee member would be 3-5 years. No person may serve on the committee for a period of more than 5 years. When a person steps down from the committee they may not be nominated again to the committee within 2 years of stepping down.

Stewards of the event would be specifically encouraged to nominate themselves for the committee on completion of their steward’s responsibilities.

The Southron Gaard Seneschal may remove a committee member for just and stated cause.

Reporting

The committee would report to Council with a summary of its activities at least quarterly, and as needed on specific matters to ensure Council has timely information to support decisions (e.g. selecting a bid).