Members of the USA’s National Association for Interpretation (NAI) gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, for their annual conference.
Held during the last week of November, almost 700 people attended in person with another 200 joining digitally. What struck me about the week of meetings, sessions, special events and field trips was the wonderful combination of traditions that so many of us missed during the covid pandemic and an exciting new energy reflected by a significant number of first timers, a new President in Charnell Parker McMullen Bushman and the appointment of Paul Caputo as our new Executive Director.
The conference opened with keynote speaker Talon Silverhorn, Cultural Program Manager from Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources, a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe intersection of culture, race and tribal lands. Talon oversees American Indian historic cultural content in interpretive programming at 75 parks.
Our closing keynote was culinary historian Sarah Lohman, who spoke on food as a representation and entry to culture. Formerly the Curator of Food Programming at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Sarah currently works with institutions around the country to create public programmes focused on food.
Sessions were diverse and represented all aspects of interpretation, from field practices to planning to academic research. A conference opening at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was heartily enjoyed by all. It was good to be back in the company of fellow interpreters.
You can watch a round-up video of the event here: https://www.interpnet.com/NAI/NAIConference
Amy Lethbridge is the Chief of Staff for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) based in Los Angeles. She was formerly the President of NAI and is still on the Board of Directors. Amy has joined several Interpret Europe conferences and enjoys keeping in touch with events on both sides of the ocean. She can be contacted at: amy.lethbridge@mrca.ca.gov.
To cite this article: Lethbridge, Amy (2022) ‘Interpretation Rocks: Celebrating the old and the new in the home of Rock and Roll’ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2022, pg.26
Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Newsletter-2022_4-winter.pdf
