Togaed students packed San Diego streets recently to compete in the San Diego Red Bull Chariot Races. Teams of three "gladiators" dragged chariots "through a tricky course filled with turns, roundabouts and sprints."

Every child - and some adults - dreams of having his own fairy tale playhouse, castle or pirate ship. Bespoke Play Areas specialises in children's play equipment designed to inspire creative play.

The Barony of Seleone is using a Barnes and Noble "book fair" to raise funds for the Barony and for their kingdom. SCA folk can participate, at no extra cost to the individual, by providing a code number to cashiers at any Barnes and Noble store nationwide. Barnes and Noble will donate funds based on the value of tagged purchases.

The British Charity Commission has accepted that druids' worship of natural spirits is a religious activity, making it the first pagan practice to be given official recognition as a religion.

Photographer E.F. Kitchen wanted to find "people who make or collect their own armor." She found them in the SCA and documented their work in her book Suburban Knights. Claire O'Neill of NPR's The Picture Show has the story. (photos)

Ever wish you could fly like a falcon? Now you can, with a little help from technology and the internet. Experts for the BBC have attached tiny cameras to the backs of a Peregrine Falcon and the Goshawk. The resultant video is amazing. (video)

iPhone users and British folklore enthusiasts may want to download the iPhone app for the Mabinogion, a cycle of Welsh legends collected in the 14th century Red Book of Hergest.

The Honorable Lady Tyzes Sofia called Zsof reports that the 2011 Midrealm Chivalry Calendar is now available to order online from ArtFire.com. The calendar features photos of knights representing the Middle Kingdom's four regions.

The Imperial Constantinian Military Order of Saint George, which follows principles dating back to the Emperor Constantin, seeks to bring their ideals into the 21st century. One way is through the "Quest," the Thirteen Rules of Chivalry.

In a recent article, Wired Magazine's Tim Carmody ponders the reason that eBooks, and other electronic gadgets, are the size that they are. His conclusion: Sheep.

The great interest in medieval themes by the public has led academics to create a new educational organization: The Society for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages, which was formed during the International Congress on Medieval Studies to address how the general public views the historical period.

Fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail are expected to come from around the world to Doune Castle in September, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the movie. The 14th century Scottish castley features prominently in the movie.

Over 200 couples from the United States and Canada competed for scholarship money and $3,000 for their high schools in the latest The Duck® brand duct tape Stuck at Prom® Scholarship Contest. (photos)

Cooper's Lake Campground will play host to the National Fireworks Convention in August 2013, bringing $4.5 Million to Butler County, PA and bumping the Pennsic War forward to July.

A group of SCA folk in An Tir, led by Ariel de Courtenay and Master Eduardo Francesco Maria Lucrezia, are petitioning their Crown and the Board of Directors to allow same-sex couples to enter Crown Tournaments as contender and consort.

Christophor and Emily Wilson have spent the past six months coming up with the concept and direction of the newest website to bring the SCA community together.

Alastair Ronal Kester Aeyalweard has announced the creation of a guild on World of Warcraft for SCA folk who want to adventure together in cyberspace when they can't be together in person at events.

The Tartuca (Tortoise) neighborhood is the winner of this year's Palio, a bareback horse race that takes place in the middle of Siena, Italy.

For the first time in 22 years, there will not be a homebrew competition at the Oregon State Fair. This is because of an 80 year old law saying that homebrewed products may not leave the brewer's home. Oregon is one of several states with laws limiting or banning homebrewing.

In 2007, Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts collaborated to create Al-Andalus, a virtual Alhambra, on Second Life, in order to explore the concept of Convivencia, the "Spanish term for the harmonious 'living together' of Muslims, Christians and Jews in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Islamic caliphat." (photos)

Guttenberg on the iPhone? Really? The Bavarian State Library has released an iPhone app that allows users to download and view rare manuscripts. (photo)

When a would-be robber tried to steal the purse of Yuma, Arizona belly dance instructor Zarmineh Moody, he got a big surprise: her 25-inch Turkish scimitar trumped his knife.

Kristen Eaton has written a column on Pennsic for the mundane arts and culture site Broad Street Review.  "To me," she writes, "[Pennsic is] a cross between a university history department, a theater, a really great pub, and a really bad frat party."

Baroness Maerwynn of the Barony of Brendoken in the Midrealm has announced that her lord husband, Baron Einar Blakklar, will take on all comers to raise money for cancer research.

Salamander, a new fantasy novel written by David Friedman (Duke Cariadoc of the Bow), is available online.

Steampunk has caught on in Australia, just the latest of a series of "dress-up" activities such as LARPing or the Society for Creative Anachronism. Rachel Wells of The Age (Melbourne, Australia) has the story.

In the fall of 2009, the Viking Society for Northern Research received a huge windfall when Professor Peter Foote died, leaving his library of Viking and medieval-related books to the Society. By his request, the collection will be auctioned to raise funds.

Maestra Lucia Bellini, a scribe in the Barony of Windmaster's Hill in Atlantia (Triangle Region, North Carolina), announced today that she has come to an agreement with an unspecified manufacturer over the use of artwork of hers that they made into a t-shirt for sale at Wal-Mart stores without her knowledge or consent.

Sharon Gordon has a radical idea: A Zero Waste Pennsic, one where the SCA's huge annual event does not add to the local landfill as well as the local economy.

THL Serena Kimbalwyke (Sheri Israel) is a semi-finalist in a contest to be named web correspondent for the upcoming World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. SCA members can help by casting a vote for her online, and the deadline is July 12.