Welcome to our 2014 season, our 35th year of madcap adventure and derring-do (and possibly even some derring-don't)!

First things first: We've streamlined our appearance schedule to reflect a shiny new slate of events and some new venues at which we'll be appearing. Note also that a few of our "old standbys" - shows at which you could be certain of seeing the Lees in action - are no longer featured there. "Why is this?" you may ask. Good question! Surely someone, somewhere, has an answer. (Alas, it isn't us.)

Mostly, we've been doing a LOT of film work, as well as some new endeavors like historical lectures and demonstrations (and we'll let you know more about these as our educational program develops further)...

In the meantime, please note that certain former venues will still feature Starfire Swords shops staffed by H-LAT personnel, so stop by for a chat and pick up a lovely carbon-steel weapon or two.

On the movie front, The Control Group - the Peter Hurd-directed thriller which finds Taso co-starring with genre legend Brad Dourif - has been officialy completed! The producers are planning a special event cast & crew screening at the Showplace Icon Theater in Saint Louis Park, MN on April 1st. Visit their Facebook page or follow their Twitter feed at @tcgmovie for a chance to win tickets to this exclusive event!

In other cinematic news, H-LAT (in the guise of Taso and our old pal Ash Cary, who took a few years off to become an experienced bird-handler...one of his owls, Ulysses, even appeared in the first two Harry Potter films), provided wrangling services to The Veil, a tale of the dystopian future directed by Oklahoma filmmaker Brent Ryan Green under the auspices of his production company Toy Gun Films.

Also on hand were a couple of good friends: world-renowned equestrienne Laura Amandis (and her trusty Andalusian, Valentino) and Jon Bielich, stuntman extraordinaire, also on hand as a wrangler.

Check out Toy Gun's Facebook page for more info on this project.

Speaking of Ash, he's just returned from Shreveport, Louisiana, where he - and his trusty augur buzzard Congo - took part in the filming of a new series for WGN called Salem, a historical melodrama set during the dreaded witch trials of 17th century Massachusetts which aims to put a new twist on the events of that period. Read more about the upcoming series here.

Meanwhile, Kent and Joe put in some time on a short Western film entitled Another Day, Another Kill, written and directed by another up-and-coming Oklahoma filmmaker by the name of William Tyler. For this outing, we provided horses, wardrobe, and props; Joe also appears in a fight scene (presumably as "Rowdy Drunk" or some such thing).

Oh, and then there's a little thing called August: Osage County; our lady friends Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts were nominated for a couple of awards. Kent (above left, posing with a stylin' production vehicle) did some stunt work on this one (with Jon Bielich - pictured above right - acting as Stunt Coordinator), and he did a damn fine job, winning the coveted "Most Stunted" award at the annual Knights' Rest Ranch ceremony.

Also of interest is the documentary Unconquerable, a recounting of the tribulations of the Chickasaw Nation produced by Hollywood legend Grey Frederickson. For this exciting historical re-enactment, the Lees provided horses, armor, weaponry, and various other bits of equipment as well as expert knowledge of historical equestrian methods and combat tactics.

In non-film-related news, Kent has reprised his role as Marshal Barber at Frontier City, that vast bastion of western lore and pageantry located in the wilds of Oklahoma City. Stop out and visit! (No, he's not a REAL barber. He just plays one on TV.)

And finally, some of that educational-type stuff we've been talking about: H-LAT is proud to announce a new project currently in development called Knight School, an interactive retreat scheduled for several weeks from April to June, beginning in Spring 2014 and taking place at the Knight's Rest Ranch in Luther, Oklahoma.

Over a period of 4 weekends, children, teens, and young adults will participate in supervised training sessions and learn the rudiments of armed theatrical combat (and the historical facts upon which it is based) and basic horsemanship; those with established equestrian skills may also be instructed in the ultimate form of combat: The Royal Joust!

As an added feature, visitors 21 years and older will have the opportunity to camp on the Ranch grounds in a historically accurate medieval encampment. The culmination of the program will be a presentation of a complete theatrical jousting performance for the enjoyment of all who wish to attend.

For more information on this program, please contact Kent Shelton at 1-888-404-HERO; he will be happy to discuss the program in much more detail.

Well, that just about wraps things up for this season's update... Be sure to "like" us on that Face-Booke thingy (find us there via the banner link up above) and come see us at one of our performances this summer... We look forward to seeing you!