World Languages Day at University of Washington (Seattle)

SES has been a presenter at this event for more than a decade. The 50-minute presentation this year was done by Arlyn Kerr and myself, with Les Kerr doing the head-count and handing out a packet of materials ranging from "Esperanto - it's in your pocket" to a NASK flyer to "How to order beer" [is it even legal to give that one to high-schoolers?] to each attender. (Those identified as teachers were also given a CD such as Esperanto Elektronike.)

World Languages Day involves presentations by almost a hundred language- and culture-related groups. See the "Session Overview PDF" to get an idea of what we were up against. Our turnout was quite respectable (46 registered, 31 actually showed up; we had guessed there would be 20), and the level of interest, seriousness, and "class participation" was much higher than in some years.

For the last two or three years, WLD has also featured a "Culture Fair" - a room in the Husky Union Building filled with tables offering information, email-list signups, and in a few cases free snacks, from a variety outfits ranging from the Spanish Embassy to a Basque Community group to FIUTS to a dance troupe from Guinea to the UW's Near Eastern Languages department - to the Seattle Esperanto Society. Jody Hurd and Frances and Alazel Acheson staffed the table with occasional assistance from me, the Kerrs, and Mel Hurd, handing out pamphlets and answering questions from visitors to the "Fair", not all of whom were WLD participants...