Held in the fall, Queen's Prize Tourney is one of two Arts & Sciences display events in the Kingdom.
A labour of love of Duchess Adrielle Kerrec with support from her household House Arrochar, Queen's Prize Tourney (QPT) began in 2015 when Kingdom Arts & Sciences was moved to the Spring. Occurring roughly biannually, QPT is a welcome opportunity to get together with the Arts & Sciences community as the Kingdom heads into Winter.
QPT offers artisans who have not yet achieved the grant level award in arts & sciences the opportunity to display an arts & sciences project for feedback and networking purposes. Entrants must have a “sponsor” who is a either member of the Order of the Crucible or the Order of the Laurel. Both the entrant and the sponsor are encouraged to attend the event in person.
QPT welcomes all projects, whether they are complete, in progress, or perhaps not what the artist had hoped. Experienced artists and artisans (sometimes called “judges”) meet with the entrant to discuss the project including methodology, what went well, what can be improved, and to possibly provide advice on how to improve or solve a particular challenge.
The sponsors must prepare prizes equal to the number of entrants they are sponsoring. The sponsors then choose an entrant to give their prize to, in this way, every entrant receives a prize. Sponsors do not provide a prize directly to the entrants they are sponsoring.
Unlike Kingdom Arts & Sciences, there is no score for the project. The point of this tournament is to have discussions about the project, not to grade it. At the end of the event, their are special prizes for the Judges' Choice, the Princess' Choice (when applicable) and the Queen's Choice.
Queen's Prize Tourney is typically held in Lindsay, ON, and hosted by different branches on different years.
Queen's Prize Tourney is usually held in November.
QPT is beloved of eligible entrants, sponsors, and judges alike. There is a Facebook group that facilitates entrants and sponsors finding each other, and some sponsors advertise their willingness to sponsor folk well in advance.