Saturday Evening
View from the Hyatt Regency’s Grand Foyer South
Cash Bar/Authors’ Signing
5:15 pm-6:15 pm
On Saturday evening, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a no-host cocktail while strolling through the Hyatt Regency’s Grand Foyer South, with stunning views of the ocean and beach. At the same time, you may purchase autographed copies of the latest research and fiction produced by our AGM speaker/authors at the Author Book Signing event, or capture the memory of the evening by sitting for a professional photographer.
Judeee Pronovost
Ball
7:45 pm-12:00 am
It wouldn’t be an AGM without a ball! Following the banquet and traditional promenade, led by bagpiper Emily Bergman, you’ll have the opportunity to dance the night away. English country Dance caller Judee Pronovost will be accompanied by her favorite musicians, the Whirled Peas. Judee leads dances in many of the villages in Southern California and has even taught Andrew Jackson how to dance on the History Channel!
Austenesque Writing: Appreciating Austen in the Internet Age
8:00 pm-9:15 pm
And although we know that “every savage can dance,” if the pleasure of a ball is not your thing, a panel of Austen-inspired authors discussing “Austenesque Writing: Appreciating Austen in the Internet Age” might pique your interest. This engaging panel will feature an interactive discussion of how Austen has inspired the individual author-presenters and the role of the internet in allowing and encouraging conversation among Austen’s fans. Participants include authors Diana Birchall, Grace Castor-Scheufler (Maria Grace), Abigail Reynolds, and Carol Roberts (Suzan Lauder).
The Battle of Prague Programmatic Sonata
9:30 pm-10:30 pm
And later in the evening, you may participate in a performance of The Battle of Prague by Franz Kotzwara, a famous programmatic sonata first published in about 1788. Popular in both Great Britain and America, performances are mentioned in two of Mark Twain’s novels. The Rocky Horror Picture Show of its day, The Battle of Prague invites listeners to participate as the cannons roar, the bugles sounds, the bullets fly, and the cavalry charges, and ends with a rousing, if inexplicable, rendering of God Save the King! Because of the presence of the manuscript in Jane’s personal collection, we know the Austen family must have enjoyed the revelry! Our performance will be narrated by Amanda Jacobs, with Lisa Davidson at the piano.
Whirled Peas: Patty McCollom on flute, recorder, and whistle; Bob Altman on keyboard; David James on fiddle