| 1. June accordion boat party in Washington, DC Each June, Paul Aebersold hosts a lovely accordion party on his boat in Washington, DC for the members of the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society (WMAS). We welcome summer together and celebrate with German food, beer and accordion music as the sun sets over the harbor (note the Washington Monument behind “Captain Paul’s” head). |
| 2. Tom Fabinski at Brewer's Alley Frederick, Maryland’s celebrated Brewer’s Alley Restaurant has evenings for showcasing local talent. Tom Fabinski played to an appreciative audience in June. |
| 3. WMAS June greeters Mara & Yimeng The theme of the WMAS annual spring concert was “The Founders”. We honored the founders of the American Accordionists’ Association (AAA) to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Mara Cherkasky and Yimeng Huang were our greeters, playing beautiful duets before the concert. |
| 4. Peter DiGiovanni conducting PAE in Founder's Tribute Peter DiGiovanni led the Potomac Accordion Ensemble in his composition, “Founders’ Tribute”. Joan Grauman brought some of her AAA archival displays and spoke about the founders during breaks between performers. |
| 5. WMAS members having fun Singing along with Ken Kunec (accordionist) after the concert: L to R: a guest from the French Embassy, Robert Ford and Luis Uribe. |
| 6. MAC July 4 parade 1 For the past ten years, accordions have been a huge hit in the July 4th Catonsville, Maryland parade. The lovely Victorian town attracts thousands for this annual event. The Maryland Accordion Club (MAC) dresses up their wonderful float (equipped with a ceiling fan!) and the Baltimore area accordionists play patriotic music as the crowd cheers and sings along. |
| 7. MAC July 4 parade 2 MAC president, Joe Fertitta (in red shirt) waits for the signal that the parade has started. |
| 8. Luba Pak concert Our WMAS July meeting featured a very talented 15 year-old girl from Russia, Luba Pak, shown here with her mother, Tatyana. |
| 9. Silvia Eberly sings Happy Birthday My husband, Dan, chose a wonderful German restaurant, the Old Stein Inn in Edgewater, Maryland, to celebrate his birthday. Terrific musician and performer, Silvia Eberly, sang “Happy Birthday” to him on her Steirische Harmonika. |
| 10. Cathie Travers house party We were very fortunate to have Australian accordionist, Cathie Travers, stay with us before her performance at the AAA Festival in NYC. We invited close to 60 neighbors and friends for a house concert and Cathie was a tremendous hit! |
| 11. Cathie Travers & Joan Grauman Cathie Travers and Joan Grauman prepare to play a couple of duets at the house concert. |