a little bit of home for everyone
we know most dc’ers aren’t from the area, so getting to experience a little bit of home is a nice treat. enter: state societies. i’m originally from chicago and just recently found out about the illinois state society. illinois’ is actually the oldest one, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. i attended the anniversary reception and it was a hoot. it’s basically a group of people who are from or have some tie to illinois — and that’s about it. but it was enough to make for an interesting evening.
amongst hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, i witnessed a gathering of politicians, business people, socialites, innocent by-standers and a photo op of past state society presidents — some of whom are in their 80’s now. they also talked about the cherry blossom “princesses” — college girls elected to represent each state and participate in dc’s festivities. oh, and the big upcoming night is the inauguration. most of the state societies will hold a ball on the night of the inauguration — the most popular one by far this year will be texas’ “black tie and boots” ball. a pretty cool excuse to get dressed up and dance the night away (if you didn’t get your fill during new years).
i’m sending mixed messages — slightly sarcastic, but so far the state societies look like fun. if you want to celebrate st. patrick’s day chicago-style, then the illinois state society is where it’s at. if you’re from minnesota, how could you pass up a traditional walleye pike dinner? hawai’in — a luau? louisianan — a crawfish boil? and many more.
check out what your state society is up to (including dc, american samoa, guam, puerto rico, and the usvi).
Vonnegut would frown. Don’t you remember his granfalloons?