BETHLEHEM
       This December the Legion will be taking part in two different Christmas displays, the Bethlehem Market Place at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, and the Walk through Bethlehem at the World Headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.  Luckily, they don't overlap.  We always have LOTS of fun at these!
       The St. Luke's show runs from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM on Friday Dec. 1, and 1 to 4 PM on Saturday the 2nd.  WE NEED TO BE THERE BY 6:30 AND 12:30 respectively in order to get armored and catch the pre-show cast briefing.  Admission for the public is a non-perishable food item.  After closing on Saturday is an hour or two of tearing down the sets, which you don't have to stay for but all help is appreciated.

       Tickets are required for the Adventist show, and cost $2.50 each ($2 if you buy more than ten).  They sell out fast!  Participants' family members can get in for free, so let me know if any such family members want to come.  It runs from 6 PM to 10:30 PM on each of these six evenings:

 Wednesday December 6
 Saturday and Sunday 9,10
 Thursday the 14th    will be all in SPANISH (but Romans can speak English or Latin!)
 Saturday and Sunday 16, 17

        Oh, yes, be there by 5:30 in order to get ready!

       PLEASE TELL ME WHAT DAYS YOU WANT TO ATTEND!   St. Luke's needs a list of names for their bulletin.
       General orders for both gigs:  Pick as many days of each show that you'd like to do and let me know.  If each of us does 2 or 3 shows, that will be plenty!  (From 3 to 5 Romans for each show is a good number.)  There is space to change clothes and secure areas for valuables at both locations.  We generally leave our armor there for the duration of the show, to avoid schlepping it back and forth each day.  Basic battle gear, with shields, but NO PILA.  No packs or other gear will be needed, either.  You may wear your crest if you like.  If you want to lean towards earlier gear such as hamata and Mainz swords, that's fine, but at these shows we aren't very strict. It's all indoors, except for the manger scene at St. Luke's which we won't be required to man.  (And stay away from that goat, soldier!)  Because of the danger of hobnails on tiled floors, I'll have a roll of brown tape to cover your soles.  There will be a bucket of water and some food, but we really won't need much.    (DO try the lentil stew at the Adventist show!)  There is none of the usual living history that we do at other events, rather a constant flow of visitors being pulled into the spirit of the first Christmas.  We will either be posted at certain spots or circulating through the crowd, trying to recruit the kids, warning old ladies not to start riots, extorting protection money from the locals, etc.  Don't worry if you use the same lines over and over again, the public will only hear it once.  The crowds come through almost non-stop as soon as the doors open, so BE EARLY to be ready at showtime.
       Directions:
       St. Luke's address is 9100 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD, at the intersection of Colesville Rd./Rt. 29 and Dale Drive (across from Mrs. K's Toll House).  From the Capital Beltway I-495, take Exit 30 onto Rt. 29 South towards Silver Spring, go through the third traffic light at Dale Drive, then turn right at the first street past the church and into the parking lot on the left.  (If you get there early enough, there may be parking space available in the lot between the church and Dale Drive, but it's a small lot!)
       The Seventh-Day Adventist Headquarters is located at the intersection of Rt. 29 Columbia Pike/Colesville Rd. and Randolph Rd./Cherry Hill Rd.  From I-495 the Capital Beltway take Exit 30 onto Rt. 29 North towards White Oak and Columbia.  Go about 4 miles and turn left at the light onto Randolph Road, then left at the next light onto Old Columbia Pike, and the next left into the parking lot.

AFTER-ACTION REPORT: F&M
       The Classics Fair at Franklin and Marshall College was a great success, more than anyone had expected, I think!  There were no less than 15 soldiers and several women, plus some of the students and faculty were dressed up as well.  The day was very clear if a bit on the chilly side and breezy, and anyone who needed to warm up could take shelter in the adjacent building.  The College fed us a Roman lunch, complete with a guest speaker (with slides).  I understand the Classics Department's Plautus play went very well, as did the fashion show, though unfortunately I missed both.  Our marching demos went pretty well, considering how badly we drill these days, and the crowd was, ah, greatly amused by our pilum practice.  We had to do two sessions of the Kiddie Cohort because there were so many eager kids! (Yeah, and they drilled better than you did, guys...)  And the public!  Gads, there were hundreds!  I was expecting some Latin classes and a few bleary frat men, but it was nuts!  That's the one thing we were completely unprepared for, so next time we will definitely rope off some areas to keep our equipment displays from being overrun.
       After the event was the equally smashing bash at Dave Michaels' wonderful house.  FOOD, live music, antiquities strewn casually about the place, even a very talented belly dancer!  The mystery of the Plot to Assassinate the Emperor was neatly solved by arbitrarily arresting Gnaeus Messala and condemning him without trial.  (He agreed to suicide, very nice of him!)  And after the party we all got to sleep in hotel rooms that the College paid for.  Not a bad deal!
       Dave is considering making it a 2-day event next year.  I still think that late October is a risk, weather-wise, but we lucked out this time.  Many thanks to Dave and the two Professor Flowers at F&M for setting up the weekend, and of course to everyone who turned out to participate or just watch.

MITHRACON IV
       **This is from Jane Sibley, for general information, not a Legio XX event.
 The Fourth New England Conference on Mithraism
       This is an informal research convention concentrating on early mythology and religion, especially Mithraism and other cults of the Roman Empire.  It is held in New Haven, CT, the home of Yale University.  We plan to spend most of Saturday in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library doing whatever research your heart desires.  After dinner (the usual pilgrimage to the New Deal Steak House), there will be informal presentations (a Carousel slide projector and an overhead projector will be available), as well as some darn good discussions.  Sunday: visit the Dur Europa mithraeum (Yale Art Gallery).  The hotel is within walking distance of the library and gallery.  A Staples (cheap Xeroxing!) and a Barnes & Noble bookstore are also close by. We can also plan a used book shopping expedition for Sunday afternoon; there are some good dealers in the area.
    Dates: Friday, April 6 - Sunday, April 8, 2001.
    Hotel: the Holiday Inn at Yale (203) 777-6221.  Mention MithraCon IV for the con rates.  Rooms: $79 + tax (12% includes city/state/etc. taxes ) (2 dbl beds or 1 king); rollaway $10 extra.  Free courtesy van from public transportation (arrange that when you reserve your room);  including from Tweed-New Haven airport.  Free parking at hotel.  Please reserve your room early, as the hotel fills up fast and we only have a smallish block reserved  (10 rooms).  Rooms *must* be reserved by March 23 to get con rates; the price goes way up after that. More rooms can be added if we fill the block early and if the hotel still has space.
    Con registration: $20 to February 1, $25 to March 1,  $30 to March 15, and $35 thereafter.  Send reservations (and make checks out) to:  Jane T. Sibley.  If you have questions, email me at ... -- I'm the entire concom.
    Dealers: there is no dealers' room per se, but you can bring items to our function room.  Since you'll probably want to hit the library during the day instead of sitting there hoping for a customer, folks can see what you've got during the evening sessions.
    Directions to the site: From I-95, take exit 47 (Downtown New Haven).  From I-91 S, take exit 1 (Downtown New Haven).  Proceed to the 2nd exit off the connector, and continue to the 2nd light.  Take a right onto York Street.  You will pass the traffic light at Crown St., then the one at Chapel St.  Turn left on Broadway (Au Bon Pain is on the far left corner.  Broadway becomes Whalley Ave. after 2 blocks (just at the end of the parking lot on the left); the hotel is on the left.

CALENDAR
 December 1-2 -- Bethlehem Market Place at St. Luke's Church, see above.  (Since this is the first Saturday of the month, there will be no December Muster.)
 December 6, 9-10, 14, 16-17 --The annual Walk Through Bethlehem at the Seventh-Day Adventist headquarters, see above.
 February 2001 --Lupercalia, tentative.
 April 14-15? --Marching Through Time, Marietta Mansion
 April 28-29 --Universal Soldier, Fort Washington
 September 2001--Large timeline event in Paris, France.  Contact Bruno Dienot.  (This isn't an official Twentieth Legion event, but a number of people have expressed interest.)
 October 4-6, 2001--ROMEC XIII at Vindonissa, Switzerland.  For more info, see http://www.unibas.ch/arch/ROMEC/index.html
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Sorry, there's probably a TON more that needs to go in this issue, but I've had the flu and it's just too late.  Next time!  Adlocvtio is the official monthly newsletter of the Twentieth Legion, generally written and produced by the Editor and Commander, Matthew R. Amt.  www.larp.com/legioxx/index.html.