Social events

Welcome Reception, Monday 26th September, 19:00-20:30

FREE with your conference registration. Venue: Library of Congress Madison Hall in the Madison building. An excellent opportunity to network and socialise with colleagues. Drinks (beer, white wine, soft drinks) and canapés will be provided.

Madison Hall reception area

Performing at the opening reception will be the OCEAN Celtic Quartet (Jennifer Cutting on accordions & keyboard; Lisa Moscatiello on vocals, whistles & guitar; Andrew Dodds on fiddle, and Steve Winick on vocals and percussion) play music packed with pure pan-Celtic pizzazz, putting their unique spin on traditional songs and Cutting’s original compositions, from soaring ballads and stirring sea chanteys to blazing fiddle and accordion tunes.  American Folklife Center staff members Jennifer Cutting (ethnomusicologist) and Stephen Winick (folklorist) comb the AFC Archive for interesting songs and tunes, lending a deep archival and scholarly dimension to the group’s performances.     

More information and photos at:  www.oceanorchestra.com

Noon-time Concert, Wednesday 28th September, 12.00-13.00

FREE with your conference registration. Venue: Coolidge Auditorium.

Every year the National Endowment for the Arts recognizes individuals from diverse traditions for their artistic excellence and for their continuing contributions to the traditional arts heritage of the United States. www.arts.gov/honors/heritage

It is the practice of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to host several events in honor of the awardees, including a noontime concert in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium by one of those honored for musical achievements. This year, that concert will take place on Sept. 28th, and IASA conference attendees will be most welcome to attend. The 2016 awardees, who will be performing, are:

Artemio Posadas (Master Huastecan Son musician and advocate) https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/artemio-posadas

A video of Posadas demonstrating huasteco dance plus samples of the huastecan son repertory can be heard on this site: http://www.folkways.si.edu/los-camperos-de-valles-trio-huasteco/latin-world/music/article/smithsonian

The Coolidge Auditorium is a renowned concert venue in Washington, D.C. You can read about its history through 1997 here:  www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/esc.html

IASA 2016 Conference Dinner, Thursday 29th September, from 19.30 hrs.

Price: €60 per person

The dinner, to be held in the ballroom of the National Press Club, will be a buffet with plenty of vegetarian options. The menu is subject to change but is likely to include 3-5 hors-d’ouevre options, selecting from:

• Soups: fresh and flavourful soups in demitasse cup portions with artisan breads and accompaniments. All soups are made from scratch including coconut chicken soup, shrimp bisque, butternut squash soup, chilled cantaloupe ginger soup, Chinese hot sour soup and Mediterranean fish chowder.
• Crudités and veg dips
• Cured salmon: selection of dill gravlax, Norwegian smoked salmon or horseradish-beet cured salmon served with bagel chips, toasted baguettes and black bread with classic accompaniments, including capers, onion and eggs
• Pasta: assortment of pasta and sauces prepared to order; for example, fusilli, orecchiette, and/or vermicelli pastas, with marinara, Alfredo and pesto sauces and toppings including sausage, mushrooms, shrimp, peppers and olives.
• Smoked whole turkey with rye rolls, cranberry sauce, country mustard selection
• Baked country bone-in ham with sweet potato biscuits, apple butter, Dijon mustard and horseradish
• Sundae station: chocolate and vanilla ice cream with syrups, sauces, nuts, candies, fruit, marshmallows, cookie pieces and/or jimmies; self-serve or chef attendant; dairy free sorbet available
• 2 drink tickets (extra drinks may be purchased)

The venue is one where national and international figures frequently come to meet the press and address current issues.  (Samplings of recent speakers and topics are here:  www.press.org/speakers/past-newsmakers and www.press.org/news-multimedia/new-noteworthy .)  As we walk through the hallways, we are surrounded by photos taken here of presidents, politicians, musicians, and other notable figures, while the lobby is lined with original newspaper mats dating back to 1820. An evening in the National Press Club promises to be both interesting and tasty, with several regional foods among the choices.

"The National Press Club is known as "The Place Where News Happens." Global leaders in government, politics, business, music, film and sport visit the club every day. They speak here at public and private events because the press is here.

"Our Club has more than 3,500 members, including journalists from every major news organization. Journalists work at the Club every day. . . . The Club is more than just the social and professional hub of journalistic life in D.C. - it is where news breaks and flows out to the world. It is where history can be seen in the making. And it is where today’s journalists train to become the next generation of storytellers, with writers and editors using cutting-edge platforms and techniques still being fully imagined. . . . The National Press Club is a place bursting with excitement, history, technology and good humor. It is truly a national treasure." (From http://www.press.org/about)

Ballroom of the National Press Club