By: Chase Zagurski
Dozens of local Omaha chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) members came together Sunday for a gathering at Hillcrest Health Services Education Center in Bellevue.
The SCA is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving pre-17th century history, in which members gather to partake in period-accurate costumes, crafts and even combat styles.
The Omaha metro’s local SCA group is known as the Barony of the Lonely Tower. The Lonely Tower chapter is a part of the larger Kingdom of Calontir, which encompasses SCA activities in most Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and part of Arkansas.
Sunday’s meeting was one of many Baronial Revel events held every two to three months by the group, intended to bring members together. The event began with a social gathering and ended with a potluck of food prepared by the attendees, while scrolls detailing individual SCA members’ histories and exploits within the organization were laid out on tables for attendees to read.
In addition to the social time and potluck, the baron and baroness of the chapter held court, handing down important announcements about goings on in the barony and awarding three members for their crafts and contributions to the organization.
Shaun Gilpin has acted as the chapter’s baron since June, serving as the ceremonial figurehead for the Lonely Tower and “voice of the crown” within the Omaha metro area. Gilpin, now going by the SCA persona Nikolai Gornostai Spiach’ev, has been involved with the SCA for over 40 years, and noted the sense of community and inclusivity that the organization brings to its members as a significant draw.
“The Lonely Tower has been here since the late ‘70s, and we’ve got a wide variety of different personalities, backgrounds, everything you can imagine,” Gilpin said. “And yet, we still all get together and we have fun and we learn some things as well, not just the history, but about how similar people were back then to people today.”
According to figures available on the SCA’s national website, the Kingdom of Calontir had 1,012 paying members as of June 2026. Gilpin said the Lonely Tower chapter counts about “60-ish active people” consistently attending events but noted that attendance had fallen somewhat since previous months due to the fairer fall weather.
Tamsin McDonald, known in the SCA as Aleit de la Thomme, was born to two active SCA members in Virginia and came up in the organization throughout her childhood. Since moving to Nebraska 14 years ago, she has acted in various capacities within the Barony of the Lonely Tower.
McDonald is the Barony of the Lonely Tower’s current seneschal, acting as the local group’s president and legal representative and handling “out-of-game” organization for the chapter. McDonald has also acted as the chapter’s baroness (ceremonial head) and exchequer (financial manager) in the past.
McDonald highlighted the wide variety of disciplines and expressions that individual members brought to the group – from archery, to heavy combat, to simple weaving or cooking.
“If there’s a particular craft or interest that you have, there’s a medieval way to do it, and I think that’s really exciting,” McDonald said.
The Barony of the Lonely Tower will be hosting Calontir’s Fall Crown Tournament, during which the kingdom’s next regents will be determined through a heavy combat tournament. The Crown Tournament will be held at the Relevant Center in Elkhorn on Nov. 14.
