Alestead Uncorking Festival

Date: 32nd - 37th day of Wax-Augul  

History

  The Alestead Uncorking Festival is almost as old as Alestead itself. The Festival was originally arranged by Governor Elfred Parry in 16218 AA to commemorate the founding of the First Caucus of Ale's. It has since grown into a week long festival that draws tourists from across Rema to celebrate the years harvest. The average population of Alestead is around 2,400, but during the week of the festival, Alestead plays host to nearly 5,000.  

Today:

  Today, the Alstead Uncorking Festival is widely recognized as a Harvest Festival. It is the time for farmers to show off the seasons crops, and for all the brewers and sommeliers to pop open their casks and show off their finest spirits. What originally began as a three day festival has transformed into a week long affair.  

Traditions

 

Day 1: The Harvest

 

The first day of the Alestead Uncorking Festival celebrates the crops and aged meats and cheeses from the recent season. Farmers will pick their very best crop or product to present to the Caucus of Ales Judges. These judges will select a winner from all participants, naming that farmer this years Golden Seed. This award will nearly guarantee the farmer a prosperous financial year. Though many of the events that take place on this day will change from year to year, the Golden Seed Competition and the Offering to the Animas, are traditions as old as the festival itself. The Offering of the Animas is a short ceremony where this years Effigy of the Animas is revealed to the people. The shape of the effigy will change from year to year, usually representing an organic form, but a hallmark of the effigy are the hundreds of small cubbies that make up the exterior of the effigy. Each of the cubbies will be filled with offerings from the many citizens who travelled to the festival. These offerings are typically crops or products from the harvest season, but they do not have to be. Some may offer gold, textiles, jewelry, or even an old weapon may be offered by a retired soldier. The Effigy will remain open for offerings throughout the week of festivities, and will be burned on the final day.

  Other events on this day may include:

• The Alestead Berry Harvesting Competition 9 am

• The Golden Seed Competition 8 am to 3 pm. Judging takes place at noon.

• Hedge Maze 8 am to 10 pm

• The Great Bouquet Display8 am to Dark

 

Day 2: The Meal

 

The 2nd day of the Alestead Uncorking Festival is reserved for eating. From breakfast to dinner, there is food to be had for poor and rich alike. The days events change from year to year, but the Kabob Ball has been a staple of the Festival for the last 60 years. The Kabob Ball is usually held at a place of the Town Manager's choosing, and this year it will be held at Sir Marcus Stanton's (the current town manager) manor. The Kabob Ball Proper is reserved for the Alestead elite and costs a pretty penny to purchase a ticket to, but many smaller balls are organized around Aleastead to facilitate the everyday person. The caucus of Ales and their donors typically pay for these Balls. The traditional foods served are a variety of kabobs, made of freshest produce and meats.

  Other events on this day may include:

• The Great Hunting Party 8 am

• Alestead Uncorking Festival Pie Eating Competition 12 pm

• Alestead's Best Kabob11 am to 5 pm with judging at 1 pm

• Grape Smashing Celebrationfrom 10 am to 5 pm

• The Kabob Ball6 to 11 pm

 

Day 3: The Cask

 

The 3rd day of the Alestead Uncorking Festival is reserved for celebrating the uncorking of this seasons Ales, Meads and Fine Spirits. The celebrations that take part on this day are mostly unchanged since the founding of this Festival;

  Traditional Events:

• The Great Barrel Run9 am

• The Ale Garden11 am to 6 pm
  • The Harvest Cup Alestead Uncorking Festival

 

• The Golden Tap Plunge12 pm

 

Day 4: The Celebration

 

The 4th day of the Festival is reserved for parties and celebrations. Attendees can anticipate an afternoon parade through the city and a firework show in the evening. Aside from these two expected events, there are often a plethora of private and public parties across the city.

 

Day 5: The Day of Prayer

 

The fifth day of the Festival is reserved for prayer and devotion. Early in the morning, all are gathered at the site of the Effigy to the Animas, where a service reciting the original doctrine of the Alestead Uncorking Festival is completed before the Effigy is burned. The remainder of the day is supposed to be reserved for prayers of appreciation. It is common for many to fast for the entire day in penance.

 

This morning, we stand before the Effigy to the Animas in stillness and remembrance. We do not gather to celebrate, but to acknowledge—to honor the unseen, the forgotten, and the forces that shape what we reap and what we lose.   The burning of the Effigy is not an ending. It is an offering. It carries our gratitude where words cannot reach and marks the start of a day set aside for reflection.   Today, many of us will fast. Not out of sorrow, but in penance. Not because we are empty, but because we are grateful.   Let this day be quiet. Let it be honest. And may what we give up today return to us as understanding.   Let the Effigy burn.