I dont get the battle at 8pm thing.
That sounds horrible. Who would ever do that?
And yeh, I am certain that there will be some stupid high ranking people/politicians/whatever present. That and the organisation being made by people who dont know shit about reenactment probably caused all that security bullshit. Maybe they are scared that someone wants to shoot a politician with a musket, or something.
Or load a cannon with grapeshot...
It is gonna take hours to get everyone on the battlefield, and it is gonna take hours to get everyone off the battlefield. Now, if the battle is at 8pm, that means that you have to eat dinner either really early or really late, and that after the battle you can basically go sleep. That sounds stupid.
About the powder, you never know. If the security really is as bad as it seams to be, I would not be surprised if there is only a minimum of powder available. I guess bringing your own powder, or making your own powder wont be allowed either.
TBH, I am quite scared that a lot of people won't be accepted to the event because of all that stupid background checks and what not. One wrong word in the formula, one thing they do not like and youre out. I am also scared that they will not allow younger people (and/or people who are new to the hobby) in, simply because they are not mature enough (or do not have the experience) and therefore can not be trusted. You know, by law people can only be trusted when they are atleast 18. So it might end up in the experienced guys being accepted and the young guys having to stay home, which is completely retarded.