What better way to spend a Thursday night than drinking beer, eating great food and watching football? That's what we did at the Smithsonian American History Museum last night at History After Hours' presentation of The Great American Tailgate. We snapped fans: ERM's Sara Buchanan, Optimity Advisors' Laura Kost, Kelly Dixon, and Michigan State University PD's Valerie O'Brien.
The evening included a panel discussion about the history of tailgating and its role in America. University of Notre Dame Professor Tonya Bradford shared findings from her research paper Domesticating Public Space Through Ritual: Tailgating as Vestaval. She's flanked by panelists Eric Jentsch, Smithsonian Division of Culture & Arts Curator, and Hot Takedown podcast host Chadwick Matlin.
Guests enjoyed tastings of tailgate grub from five US regions, including gumbo, Texas chili and keilbasa, as well as beers from Star Hill Brewery. Here, longtime friends: Rich Peterson, Janet and Glenn MacKinnon, Janet and John Quinn, and Chris Peterson.
After Hours evenings at the museum mix historic topics with delicious food and drinks several times a year. Here, Director of Smithsonian Food History Programs Susan Evans McClure with Keenan Marshall and Kate Byom.
