Q: Do you need liability insurance to start a reenactment group?
A: You do not need insurance until you begin participating in activities that pose inherent danger. Public events should always be covered by somebody’s insurance – be it the hosting facility, or your reenacting group. Commercial event facilities almost always require you to carry insurance before they will agree to a lease.
Q: How can I make history fun for my kids?
A: The trick is to first create emotional, then sequential connection to history. With younger kids you can introduce living history as “play.” For example, realistic “Victorian” tea parties for girls, and authentically recreated “war paint” applied to a horse (or big dog) for boys. Older kids may or may not have interest in living history, but you can always break the ice by having them do family history research. Discovery in learning is sooo much more fun than book learning, that once your kids get a taste of their ancient family history (sometimes you don’t even have to go back that far!), they’ll have emotional connection that sparks curiosity to find out more about life in the past. You can also use movies to spark an interest in history. Challenge them to find out if Hollywood got the story right! And one more idea is to use fill-in-the-blank timelines. Assign a topic you know your child has an interest in, and then have them create their own timeline, complete with pictorial representations. Just let their own natural curiosity lead!
Q: What separates the good history reenactors from the not so good reenactors?
A: Historical documentation. The most knowledgeable and convincing reenactors are those who have hunted down primary sources of information.
Q: What is a reenacting “progressive,” and what is a “farb”?
A: These are terms used in some reenacting circles to describe level of commitment to authentic detail. Some groups should embrace less detail-oriented farbs, while other groups – especially those educating the public – should strive for the higher standards of progressives. Most groups will fall somewhere in between.
