My
involvement with outdoor events began at the 1988 Tewkesbury
Medieval Festival, when I was a small part of creating this:

"Holm
Castle" was a 60ft round and 15ft high construction created
in a week from scrap timber & scrounged materials, and considerable
creative input from local craftsmen and artists. Several seige
engines and hovels were also created and upon the arrival of 300
re-enactors from across the country, the seige was underway. Twice.
The castle was finally stormed Sunday afternoon, with troops crawling
all over the rickety structure. No-one seemed concerned about
risk assessments or litigation in those days...
Times
have moved on however and the risk assesment is now an integral
part of event planning. Tewkesbury Medieval Festival has also
moved on and is now one of the largest annual historical festivals
in Europe, with 3000 traders and re-enactors travelling from as
far as Poland and Hungary to the event.
With
my involvement in Tewkesbury, Berkely Joust, Quest and other historical
events, I have a comprehensive knowledge of historical event planning
and issues, and a very large directory of contacts for every period
from Saxon to Victorian.