JASNA Syracuse Assists with JASSYL Summer Concert

The date, time, and place for the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) summer concert have now been confirmed:  It will be held Sunday, July 22, at 3:00 pm, in the Dobson Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles, 97 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles. (This is the same location as for last year's summer entertainment; above, Lt. Kyle Cherchio and Miss Emily Short during last year's dancing.) As always, Dr. Joanna Manring and her Young Ladies are working hard on a program of Regency music and readings.  Several Young Gentlemen will again be joining the Young Ladies for dancing, and JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown is once more acting as dance mistress.  And Syracuse Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry has assisted in selecting the readings and will help Joanna introduce the concert as usual.  Free will donations to support the work of JASSYL are encouraged.  All are welcome, and we hope to see you there!

Now's a Great Time to Join JASNA!

If you're not presently a member of JASNA at the national level, here’s a reminder that now is a great time to join or rejoin JASNA, and to start receiving Persuasions (see the preceding post) and all the other benefits of membership!  The JASNA membership year officially runs from September 1 to August 31--but if you join between July 1 and August 31, you'll receive an extra issue of JASNA News (the Society's thrice-annual newsletter) and otherwise be enrolled through September 1, 2013. To join, or to find out more about joining, you can go to the JASNA national website's "Membership" section.  Remember that joining JASNA at the national level automatically makes you a member of the JASNA Syracuse Region--this is our one and only regional membership requirement at present.  So join JASNA today and let the world know you're a Janeite!

Persuasions #33 Has Arrived!

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Official Spokescat of JASNA Syracuse, can't wait to see what's in Volume 33 of Persuasions--and neither should you!  The newest issue of JASNA's hard-copy journal was put into the post this past week and, as you can see, has already reached your Regional Coordinator's home.  Volume 33 includes many papers that were originally presented at the 2011 JASNA Annual General Meeting in Fort Worth--and the "Miscellany" section includes a short paper titled "When Did Darcy Fall in Love?" by JASNA Rochester's own Leo Rockas.  So don't hesitate to plunge in!  Any JASNA Syracuse Region members who haven't received the issue by mid-July should contact Marie directly (see "Contact Us" in the right column).

Box Hill Photos

Despite the steady rain on Saturday, June 9 (at least there was no agonizing period of indecision as to whether to hold the picnic indoors or out!), members of JASNA Syracuse, JASNA Rochester, and the Colgate JABC-CNY enjoyed good food and good company at the home of Syracuse Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry.  Below, Rochester RC Celia Easton shares a joke with Lisa Brown, Co-RC for both Syracuse and Rochester.

And Marie shares another with Edith Lank, JASNA Rochester's co-founder.

In honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, hats were the order of the day--although (from bottom, clockwise) Samantha, Aniela, Sheila, and Sandra demonstrate that some attendees did a better job of keeping them on all afternoon than others!  (Sandra's bonnet was one of her own stunning creations; see the April 1 post on the Regency fashion show for another example.)

The picnic provided an opportunity for Upstate Janeites from far and wide to meet, many for the first time.  Here, Carolyn and David (from Geneseo) chat with Nadia and Jason (from Verona).

The high point of the afternoon was the ceremonial.  Toasts were drunk to both the Queen and Jane Austen.  And in a very proper demonstration of loyalty to the Crown, "God Save the Queen" was sung by the assemblage, followed by three hearty huzzahs for Her Majesty!  

A Reminder and an Update

First, the reminder:  The joint JASNA Syracuse/JABC-CNY "Box Hill" picnic will be this coming Saturday, June 9, at 12 noon, at the home of A. Marie Sprayberry in Syracuse.  See the May 13 post for details.

Second, the update:  It now looks reasonably certain that the summer Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies concert will take place on Sunday, July 22 (not Saturday, July 21, as tentatively announced earlier), at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles at 3 pm.  Watch this space for further information.

New JASNA Region in NY State

JASNA Syracuse extends a warm welcome to New York State's newest JASNA region, the New York Capitol Region (which includes Albany, Saratoga Springs, and everything else in the 120XX-123XX and 128XX zipcodes).  The Capitol Region is getting off to a fast start with its first major event on June 30-July 1: a two-day Jane Austen Retreat at Wiawaka on Lake George.  Regional Coordinator Patricia A. Friesen says that attendees will make strawberry jam, embellish bonnets, watch a movie version of Emma, and discuss it the first day; on the second morning, there will be a picnic where everyone will wear their bonnets and eat the strawberry jam with scones.  If this sounds like an irresistible weekend, contact Pat at mcfriesen2[at]gmail.com (substitute the @ symbol for the [at], of course), or go to the Wiawaka website for more details.