The SCA is a practical history society, recreating the arts and skills of pre-17th century Europe. While dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, you can experience tournaments, royal courts, feasts, and dancing. You also have the opportunity to learn and practice ancient arts and skills — calligraphy, cooking, armoring, metalworking, carpentry, and needlework (to name just a few) — within an all-ages social group. The SCA is a great place to make friends and learn transferable skills. 
"What is the SCA? Not only is it some of the most awesome fun that you'll ever have, but the people you meet here will become the best family that you'll ever have." -- The Honorable Lady Jerusha Kilgore
The Society began as a graduation celebration for Diana Paxson (Countess Diana the Listmaker) in Berkeley, California on May 1, 1966. That gathering, based on a 19th-century recreation of medieval life called the "Last Tournament," was the start of new era in research and recreation of the Middle Ages!