A brief reminder about two off-site events during the AAA meetings in DC:
The SAFN distinguished lecturer, Paula J. Johnson, is a curator, project director, and public historian in the Division of Work and Industry at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Along with presenting her work to us at our reception on Friday evening (December 1, 7:45 pm, details here), she has offered to give us a personal tour of the exhibit: “Food: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000” (which she curated).
Ryan Adams, who organized all of this, reminds us that this tour will take place on Saturday, 12/2. We will meet at 11 am at the Constitution Avenue entrance (1st Floor) to The National Museum of American History.
Ryan has also called our attention to a cooking demonstration occurring the same day at the museum. For those of you who may be confronted with fruitcake during the upcoming holidays, this could be a transformative experience. Ryan sends us the following information:
Holiday Traditions with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Guest chef: Jennifer Selman
1:00 p.m. Saturday December 2, in the Demonstration Kitchen
Celebrate the holidays and the 50th Anniversary of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival with a trip to the Caribbean. Jennifer Selman, chef/owner of Crown Bakery in Washington, DC, will shatter any negative notions you have about fruitcake with her Trinidadian version. She will also brew up the healthful and tangy holiday drink, sorrel. Chef Selman will be joined by long-time Folklife Festival researcher and presenter Camila Bryce-LaPorte, who is also the last person in her family to continue her own Caribbean and Panamanian fruitcake traditions. Learn how the Caribbean community of Washington, DC builds community through food and fellowship, especially during the holidays.
