Flashback to December - Afternoon Tea & Assembly

We have been a bit quiet, thrown into a state of limbo by Nora's tragic accident and some other negative things that happened during the past months. But we're still here, and planning is underway for a spate of new events, including a Winter Ball! We're very excited to have Stephanie Robertson Maier back in the fold, and she is inspired. And you all know what happens when she is inspired... all I can say is GOOD THING Her last little assembly was a delight. A delicious tea followed by dancing and a lively round of Speculation! Here's a little movie of the group warming up with the old and simple standard "Hole in the Wall"

   

 Please also know, I (Stephanie Johanesen) am arranging some dance workshops to be held possibly once a month at Sandy. Along with those, and the new events, we also have a large costume fair that will be for all manner of costume periods and styles, including cosplay and more. Details to come! Keep checking our events page for more details. Here are some pics from December's tea & assembly.

Topsails & Tea - A resounding success!

Great fun was had this past weekend; our costumed membership took over the city of Astoria, and could be seen promenading in their regency finest at any given time during the three days.  We've complied a little slideshow movie that summarizes the events of the weekend.  Enjoy!

Join us next year for Topsails & Tea. We're not sure yet, but we'll let you know when we do. :)

Topsails and Tea 2014 - a stellar event!

Topsails and Tea will be taking place in Astoria this year, the first permanent settlement west of the Rockies, and Oregon's oldest.  We will be there to welcome our lovely lady friends, the Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington.  The event takes place over the last weekend in May, starting Friday night, May 30 with the Astor Ball.

The Astor Ball will be held in the beautiful Masonic Center in Astoria, a building that has a lovely Grecian/Roman appearance.  Inside is a spacious ballroom and a mezzanine room from which participants may view the dancing while at cards.

Columns and a classic portico to welcome ballgoers.

The ballroom below, the mezzanine room across,
an elegant space for our purposes.

On Saturday, there will be a museum visit, and tea at the infamous, and historic Flavel House, a graceful Victorian beauty in the center of Astoria.

The Flavel House Museum.

Saturday evening will then feature the evening sail on the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain. These are ships out of the Grays Harbour Historical Seaport.

The Lady Washington

The Hawaiian Chieftain

We will tie up the weekend with a picnic at Fort Clatsop on Sunday.  It is a full weekend of all-regency-all-the-time fun, so pack your trunks and join us! All are welcome to all of our events in the beautiful, historical Astoria, Oregon.

A soaring view of Astoria and the bridge.

Astor Ball event page on Facebook (must be logged in and a member of the ORS group to view)
Topsails & Tea event page on Facebook (must be logged in and a member of the ORS group to view)

A date for the ORS's 2014 retreat!

Hello all! We have a date for our 2014 retreat, as well as a stunning and lovely, private location. We will be having the retreat at the Chateau at the Oregon Caves this upcoming year. We have the whole lodge to ourselves! So save the date.  The first five registrees will qualify for a very special prize (TBA).  There are only 40 spots available for this retreat so book soon. We will allow the retreat fee to be paid in installments, which will be provided on our event page soon.

In the meantime, mark your calendars, start arranging transportation (if you are coming from afar) and start working on your autumn wardrobes! We will post details on the events page as they come! Keep checking with us, and click HERE to view the Facebook event page, where surely there will be lots of chatter. :)

Only 40 spots available, so register today to secure yours! Download your registration forms here.

Productive meetings = new events!

The ORS leadership had a meeting this past week, and the result is a nice busy list of events that reach well into the spring of 2014. Yay! Amid other plans, we are also working on the retreat for our state as well, but those plans will be announced when we have settled things.  In the meantime, we've already got something for our membership every month through March of 2014, which is faboo, and as it always happens, new things will pop up in between as we go along.  For now, our events page will be populated as venues are confirmed, with a few 'save the dates' so people have time to plan.

Among the many new events are a few new additions to the ORS Workshop Series, including two day workshops to create foundation costume pieces for a Regency wardrobe, including the 'unmentionables', and even gowns.  So keep checking in!

The first workshop to come up is a weekend workshop to create a set of Regency stays. With the assistance of experienced costumers, like Nora Azevedo, participants will be able to create a set of stays from start to finish (hopefully) during this workshop.  Materials for the foundation of the stays will be provided as part of the fee, and all participants have to bring is their sewing kit and fashion fabric if they want something fancy to cover the exterior of their stays other than plain white.

The ORS's Northwest Chapter has two very popular posts about Regency stays, and participants can use them to help decide which type of stays would best suit them.

An Overview of Regency Stays

Achieving a Proper Fit With Regency Stays

The Regency stay is a crucial, foundation item that is required to achieve the proper regency silhouette, there is no doubt about it. There are very few substitutes for the stay, even a bodiced petticoat has its limits. Gowns designed to work with modern bras have longer backs, and although superficially they have the regency shape, they do not have the accuracy of a period costume.  Any participant looking to advance their skill level and their accuracy in regency costume, and to have the foundation garments that they can build their wardrobe on, this is the workshop for you.  It's over a two days on a weekend, and will be held at the private home of ORS leader Mary Whittaker (aka Aelfgyva). See the events page for details.

And remember, all ORS workshop series events are costume-free. Show up in jeans, a t-shirt with a latté clutched in your hand. We don't always play dress-up, but when we're not all trussed up for Regency fun, we are at least getting together to prepare for it. ;)  See you at our next event!