Baron Brawl

Baron Brawl is a traditional play that takes place during the warmer months of winter. It satirizes some of the more notorious figures within the Trade Lands and celebrates the coming spring. Luger Fritzman and Christoph Wohlmes were 2 figures that maintained one of the most heated rivalries, their employees often getting into trouble with law officials. It turned into a 3 day event where a series of performances are scheduled throughout. Lots of food and beverages are prepared for the event. Peanut spread coco pastries are the treat of the event. On the 3rd day the play "Grease Upon the Wheel" is performed along with the play goers. Crowds will shout lines with the performers, throw objects during certain scenes, and sing along with the few music numbers. 
   The performances before are a series of mini plays based off the other barons during the Brawl of the Barons era. Performers dress up in outlandish costumes based off of the sigils of the baron they represent. A specialized arena is brought in in front of the main stage. Seating arranged around for spectators, who often dress up as their favorite baron. The performances are broken into matches between individuals or groups, loosely based on history. The performers confront each other before breaking out into acrobatic wrestling. At the end a winner is declared, although it is normally written out beforehand. 
   A speech is normally given afterwards once the crowd calms down a bit. In it the speaker gives thanks to the gods, friends & family, the host city, and to the upcoming year. Music performers send off the crowds, usually playing well into the night.

History

The Trade Lands had a very conflicted history, there was a time when there were multiple barons competing for commercial dominance. These rivalries were very heated and reached a point where barons would hire local thugs to assault or vandalize the competition. This lead to a period in time call the Brawl of the Barons. It was illegal for barons to maintain a regular standing militia due to anti-warlord policies. However, it was possible to skirt these policies as long as they hired employees and did not directly arm them. Often employees would arm themselves with clubs or similar blunt instruments for self defense purposes.
A playwright named Luntzen Geholt wrote and performed a humorous play about the 2 with his troupe. The performance was titled "Grease Upon the Wheel" and became a huge hit within the Trade Lands. It was a baron in Shinnaric that began regularly paying this troupe to perform at one of his taverns. Over the years the crowds would be in the streets. Before long the mayor decided to host the play in the festival grounds. Luntzen began writing other performances to get the crowds riled up before the play. The first Baron Brawl event took place and became a huge success. People would travel from all over the globe to see what had Trade Landers keyed up about. They began moving the host city throughout the Trade Lands. This allowed easier travel for those tucked away in farther corners and brought in economic boosts to smaller cities. 
During modern times the play is still emphasized as well as the coming new year, but the oligarchy nature of the barons have become more present. It was a different time when it first began, numerous numbers of barons throughout, but as decades past those numbers slimmed. Now there are only a handful of barons who own most of every business and the stands that are present each year show.

Components and tools

A stage large enough for the play props and a padded arena for the performances are all that are needed.

Participants

All are able to attend the ceremony. The performances are paid for by the host city. Spectators often wear colorful clothing depicting their historic barons. 
A storyteller dressed up as an elder god a mischief, Ruln, weaves the scenes together for the spectators.

Observance

After the winter star reaches its peak in the sky is when people can start anticipating Baron Brawl.  Once the host city see patches of green the announcements are made.