We gathered for the first Althing of the Asatru Free Assembly on June 28-30, 1980. The site was a private resort nestled among the tree-covered hills near Lafayette, California. We hadn't done anything like this before (nor, so far as I know, had anyone else in Vinland), but we knew how to fill up an agenda! Workshops, rituals, and fighting demonstrations kept us busy and there wasn't a lot of slack time. The feast centered on a whole roast pig, washed down with kegs of Lowenbrau. To our credit, no one had too much to drink or got rowdy, and mellow frith was the tone for these three days.
Edred Thorsson gave a workshop on runes, and had us all in rows doing runic postures; I've got some great photos of this in the scrapbook. David James was out from Connecticut to tell us of his work, and a contingent from the SCA bashed and battered for our entertainment and education. A bagpiper provided music.
We didn't have guilds in the AFA yet, but our special interest groups met and discussed their activities- the Varangian Guard (forerunner of the Warrior Guild), People of the Lord and Lady (a Vanir-oriented group focusing on Frey and Freya), and the Committee on Odinist Social Concerns.
Since we were still feeling our way, organizatinally speaking, we didn't really discuss a lot of business. There were no kindreds yet, membership procedures were in their embryonic stage, and it wasn't until next year that we'd get around to statements of purpose and structural details. This was simply our first time together, our initial inkling of what the future could be like. And we must have liked what we saw, for even after the Asatru Free Assembly went by the wayside, the Asatru Alliance picked up the banner and has continued the tradition. Alliance Althing number seventeen is coming up soon!
Get your own Free Home Page