The Mount Vernon neighborhood in Baltimore is one of our favorite spots!
This year’s SAI International Convention and Contest is going to be held right here in our hometown of Baltimore, MD, and we can’t wait! It’s been a long time since Sweet Adelines gathered here in Charm City, and really, the last time it happened (in 2000) only Lori D was here to enjoy it. Well, we were all here, but only she enjoyed it. Wait! No! What we mean is, only Lori D was a member of SAI at the time. So I’m sure we would have all enjoyed it, if we could have. Because, what’s not to enjoy, right?
Anyhoooo…
This year is going to be extra fantastic for us, what with all the sequins and rhinestones and eyelashes filling up OUR city. Here are the top 10 reasons why we are excited about contest this year:
10 – Lower travel costs! It’s gonna be sweet to tally up the convention expenses and not have to include a hefty airfare receipt. Though we could choose to stay at home and commute, we are going to go ahead and stay in the convention hotels so we can keep our “contest mode” going. But that airfare bill will not be missed!
9 – No air travel means no baggage limit! We’re free to pack as many suitcases, garment bags, shoe boxes, and grocery sacks as we can fit into our car. And when we run out of room in the car, we can make multiple trips! Woohoo!
8- No adjustment to the climate or time zone! For the first time in a long time, we don’t have to worry about adjusting to a new sleep schedule, or a new altitude, or a new humidity level, or anything else of the sort.
7 – Local food! We get to keep our stomaches happy by eating all the things we’re accustomed to, with no travel-induced queasiness. Yum! Bring on the crab cakes!
6 – Hometown friends and family in the audience! We’re so psyched because we’ll not only have our regular groupie family members in the audience (many thanks to our moms, dads and husband who regularly travel with us to international!), but we’ll also have extra family (more moms and dads, sisters, daughter, maybe more?) and who knows, maybe even some friends from outside Sweet Adelines? Maybe our neighbors or coworkers will take a day off to come see us? Maybe our bosses? … wait, maybe that’s not what we want…
5 – Family Chorus! Because the convention is held close to home, for the first time we will get to participate in the SAI Family Chorus on Saturday! We’re super excited that our moms, sisters and daughter are going to take part in this special event with us.
4 – Local SAI crowd in the audience! Speaking of hometown friends, we’re thrilled that so many of our singing sisters from around SAI Region 19 will be attending the convention this year. With the contest right in our back yard, it will be so much easier for folks to attend and lend their support to their Region 19 competitors. Folks from surrounding Regions 14 and 15 will be attending the convention in larger numbers than usual, too, and so that means more familiar faces, more reunions, and more chances for making more friends!
3 – Harbor City Music Company performs without the stress of competing! We’re thrilled that HCMC has been invited to serve as mic testers for the Harmony Classic on Tuesday evening. The Harmony Classic has been good to HCMC, and we’re honored to open up the convention by giving the first on-stage performance of the week.
2 – Don’t have to learn the local language! Sometimes when we travel, the regional accent and dialect can be troubling to deal with. But not for us this year! We know how to ask for a bottle of wooder, and if sumpin bad happens, we’ll be able to call the ambah-lance. If any of you out of towers have trouble understanding anything when you come to Balmer, jist ax us, we’ll be happy to hep. Let’s get ready to porty, hon!
1 – Sweet Adelines from around the world will get to know and love Charm City as much as we do! We can’t wait for everyone to come here and fall in love with our great hometown. Whether you’re trying your first crab cake, or taking in the inspiring sights at Fort McHenry, or enjoying the shopping at the Inner Harbor, or taking advantage of any number of other fun things to do, we’re sure you’re going to LOVE Baltimore!
We can’t wait to see you in November! Please be sure to say hello when you see us here.
