Portland Convention

Several weeks have passed since the Portland convention and I haven't seen any reports, which is a rotten shame since the world should know what a terrific show they put on up there.

I'll start, of course, with the food. With 215 convention registrants(!) I was worried about being last in line for dinner. My doubts were relieved, though, when I saw Julie Griswold's three tiers
of quiches. The fact that Portland has actually had to resort to incorporating multiple tiers of food on their serving table is I think representative of the abundance and attentiveness that characterized the whole convention.

For instance, it's easy to think of the Pacific Northwest as being "too eco for school," but the Portland singers wear their ecological sensibilities so gracefully that one feels not pushed, but inspired. This was accomplished in part through their use of metal utensils and cloth napkins, but moreso through their endless array of incredible vegan offerings - which were so satisfying as to leave no one wanting (except for recipes). And though half the table each day was labeled
vegan, there was no lack of falling-off-the-bone ribs and knee-weakening cheese grits for the lard-leaning among us, and fancy-schmancy pear-brandy-ganache pies and "I *must* have that recipe" apple cakes for us aspiring diabetics. (And though I spent close to $100 on pastries over the weekend at Portland's top-notch bakeries, I never found a scone I preferred to Marie Brandis's tea table offerings.)

Choose any other aspect of the convention, and it was equally impressive. Marie chaired the convention with efficiency and delicacy. The socials - a low-key Denson book singing at a neighborhood coffeehouse on Friday night, Carmen Doerge's well attended (and well
provided for) Saturday's evening social featuring, among other things, plenty of Northern Harmony singing, and Sunday's decompression at Heather Ikler's (and didn't we sing at a bar somewhere in there, too?) - were a great respite of informality amidst the more decorous daytime singing.

And what singing it was. After starting Saturday morning with an engaging singing school by Judy Caudle that was a welcome mix of information, participation, authority, and invitation, we launched into the fine singing of the day, which only improved after dinner. Sunday's singing similarly grew throughout the day, punctuated only by a personal and moving memorial lesson by Carmen, Connie Stanton and Lyle Lindsey, and by another incredible dinner.

It was great to see such far-flung singers as the always present and always appreciated Mike Hinton, honorary Portlandeers Bridget Hill and Judy Caudle, Reba Dell and Bill Windom, Sharon DuPriest and Daphene Causey, and Louis and Janice Hughes stopping off on their road trip down the Pacific coast, and others from, if I recall correctly, at least seven states. But the truth is that Portland needs no help from outside to stoke their fires; that group is a raging inferno on its own, incredible to behold and a great light for others.

Once final note before closing - about the hospitality of the Portland singing community. It rocks. It so raises the bar for all of us who would like out of towners to come to our own singings that I'm tempted to not mention it at all. But it would be a great untruth to not mention all kindnesses they showed me and the other non-locals, from airport pick-ups to last-second housing scrambles to, say, helping us pick out shirts when we left our dress clothes in Berkeley. The Portland singing community is an inspiringly kind and generous one.

Thanks for everything.