We Can Bring ROMAN TIMES to You!

Roman Times, which is part of a larger network of other Roman Legions on the East Coast, is interested in working with colleges, high schools (public or private), museums, or educational organizations to host a ©RomanTimes event. Our goal is to educate the public and preserve the historical significance of ancient Roman culture and life through quality public exhibitions and demonstrations.

We have organized large public events at colleges, museums, historical sites and Latin clubs at high schools interested in allowing us to set up our exhibits, which is a Roman Army encampment. Our events and demonstrations are family friendly and our demonstrations include drill, tactics and one-on-one discussions with the public. Our members are skilled presenters and have successfully presented at Military Through the Ages (MTA) held at Colonial Jamestown each March. Many of us are teachers, or involved in education.

Demonstrations have included ballista firing, pilum/javelin tossing, a Roman crane, gladiatorial combat, etc. The event usually includes setup on Friday; public demonstrations and presentations on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at about 9 or 9:30 a.m. until about 4 or 5 p.m. We can adjust these times as you wish. This can be scheduled at your convenience. Adding some of the "specialty" demonstrates may result in the need for underwriting some of the transportation costs.

We would provide the following:

• Development of the schedule of events, presentations and demonstrations
• Invitation to presenters and members to participate — we will coordinate contact and coordination of participants
• If you wish student participation/involvement, information and demonstrations provided to students to help them develop a reasonable “kit”, which includes tunics, armor, etc,
• Suggest items for Roman food tasting. We can provide some items and/or suggestions — this cost could be covered under the event fee.

Our goal is to minimize the need or workload of your staff.

• Admission Fee: We do not charge the hosting organization for this event, however, some of our members travel as far away as North Carolina, Mass. Ohio, etc. and would appreciate any contribution to help offset their costs; especially, the engineer who brings the ballista and crane. Therefore, we do ask for a modest admission fee, $5 for adults and $3 for students, which is collected as "Roman taxes". The small fee also deters those not really interested in the event. We may discount any students who come dressed in a tunic or toga.
• Vendors: Many of the reenactors make and sell products based on original designs, which is often used to help defray travel costs. They usually will set up with tents or blankets. However, there are some who are more professional and would add to the fun of the event.
• Food: In addition, we provide information about Roman style food — no door mice, etc, — which would appeal to the modern palette. We set up on an open table for sampling Roman food. The cost for the food, again, comes from the admission charge.
• Encampment: We would prefer a forested area, away from modern buildings, to help simulate a Roman encampment, which would allow for tents, campfires, etc. We would set up a perimeter with an entrance for people wishing to walk through the camp. We would need to have an open area for drill and tactical demonstrations, as well as, for pilum (spear) tossing.
• Demonstrations: Presentations would include basic drill (facing and marching), and also forming a Testudo (Turtle), shield wall, etc. We also make a timeline formation and describe what the men are wearing. We actually will have variations of style that will give a good overview of how armor changed in design throughout Roman history. In addition, we also can have some of our nasty barbarians attend. They can be uncivilized at times because we have not yet completely Romanized them. They are a surly lot, but we tend to keep them under control. In addition, we can train some of our younger recruits (students) in drill and tactics by having them learn to throw a pilum and follow direction from our officers — great fun.
• Special Demonstration: We have a group that performs gladiatorial combat. However, this requires an area filled with builder's sand. They bring equipment and complete setup. Again, the admission fee is to help offset their transportation costs.
• Security: Some of our participants would spend the night in their tents, while others prefer the softer comfort of a hotel. You may wish to arrange for overnight security regardless, which again could be covered by an admission fee.
• Advertisement: We can help prepare news releases to local news sources; however, the host group would be responsible for contact local papers or media. We request a copy of whatever is sent out or printed, just for our archives. You may send invitations to other private or public schools. We do not care about the number of people who attend - this is up to the host. Certainly, our purpose is to let people know what we do and to also interest people in possibly getting involved as members.

Please contact us if you are interested in either hosting, or participating, in a Roman Times event

Page Author: Gaius Vorenus Last edited: June 12, 2014