Slight Change in Christmas Meeting Plans; Rochester Birthday Lunch

First, there's a slight change to JASNA Syracuse's plans for a joint holiday gathering with the Colgate JABC-CNY at the Colgate Inn in Hamilton on Saturday, December 8: Instead of meeting at the Inn at noon for lunch, we will be gathering there for dessert at 1:00 pm. 

As the RSVPs for the 8th started to come in, we discovered that the Colgate Inn has a limit of 14 people for ordering individually from the Inn's lunch menu, and quite a few more than 14 people have expressed interest by now.  The alternative for lunch would have been a buffet that would cost $15 plus a gratuity per person.  But since there is no limit on the number who can order just dessert individually, the decision was made to go with the dessert option.  Lisa Brown will still be giving her presentation on Regency Christmas customs; we will still be raising a 237th birthday toast to Jane Austen; and, most definitely, we will still enjoy ourselves! So do plan to join us for dessert at 1:00 on the 8th.  If you haven't already done so, please give JABC leader Heather Elia an RSVP at this address by November 29, so that she can give the Inn a head count.

Also, a few of us Syracuse Region members always try to make the trip to Rochester for JASNA Rochester's annual JA birthday luncheon at the Chatterbox Club, 25 North Goodman St., Rochester.  This year's lunch will be on Saturday, Dec. 15, starting at 11:00 am.  Professor Alice Villasenor of Medaille College in Buffalo will be the speaker; she will describe her research on Catherine Hubback, a niece of Jane Austen's who wrote a completion of JA's unfinished novel The Watsons, as well as several other books.  Alice was a participant in the Young Scholars Panel at the recent JASNA AGM in Brooklyn.  If you'd like to attend, go to this link on JASNA Rochester's website and download the registration form from the link you'll find there. The cost of the luncheon will be $27.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

JASNA Syracuse/JABC-CNY Joint Christmas Meeting at Colgate Inn, Sat., Dec. 8

Your JASNA Syracuse Regional Coordinators and Jane Austen Book Club-CNY leader Heather Elia hope you'll mark your calendars now: A joint JASNA Syracuse/JABC-CNY holiday gathering will be held on Saturday, December 8 at noon at the Colgate Inn in Hamilton. We'll have lunch (in a private room with a roaring fire); raise a glass in honor of Jane Austen's 237th birthday (December 16, 1775); and hear JASNA Syracuse/Rochester Co-RC Lisa Brown discuss Regency Christmas customs.  Christmas, of course, was one of the four Regency "Quarter Days"--a topic dear to Lisa's heart!  

Lunch will be each-pays-for-him-or-herself from the Colgate Inn's lunch menu.  Heather (who is making the arrangements with the Inn) will need to know by November 29 whether you can join the  party, so please either email her at this address or contact JASNA Syracuse RC A. Marie Sprayberry (see "Contact Us" in the right-hand column") before that date. We hope to see you there!

The 11/3 Binghamton Meeting Is On!

Your Regional Coordinator writes:

I checked yesterday afternoon with our hosts at RiverRead Books (5 Court St., Binghamton), and they say that the state of emergency for Broome County has been lifted, the store is open for business, and they are looking forward to seeing us on Saturday.  So our meeting there (Saturday, Nov. 3, 2 pm) is on as scheduled!  As noted earlier, our topic will be parents and parent figures in JA's works; bring your favorite examples of "the good [if ineffectual], the bad, and the ugly" to share!

Also, we'll talk a little about the recent JASNA Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn.  And I have the usual assortment of little "freebies" from the AGM to distribute--so come and claim a small prize!