2020, 2021, and 2022 CONVENTIONS CANCELLED
Posted on the Facebook page for the 2020 Convention on March 21, 2020: "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 Potomac River Convention due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. We will miss singing with you, and we wish you all well. With love and in harmony, The Potomac River Steering Committee. Addendum April 16, 2021 (unofficial): Because the pandemic has not subsided, the 2021 Convention was never organized, announced, or formally cancelled. Addendum March 20, 2022: Because of valid concerns about the safety of a large singing convention during the persistent Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no 2022 Convention. Hopefully in 2023.
The Hall is on the second floor of the Fire House, up a flight of stairs. Enter through the side double-door clearly marked "Binns Memorial Hall" and located near the back of the building. There is no elevator.
Registration begins at 9:30 AM.
Potluck lunch: Local singers, please bring plenty of prepared food to share, as you are able.
Registration begins at 9:30 AM.
Potluck lunch: Local singers, please bring plenty of prepared food to share, as you are able.
Copies of The Sacred Harp (1991 Edition, successor to the Denson Revision) and The Shenandoah Harmony (first published in 2013) will be available for loan and purchase. Singing at the Saturday session will be limited to The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition, while singing at the Sunday session will be limited to The Shenandoah Harmony, in order to enhance the musical and emotional momentum.
The Fire House Hall is acoustically lively, with plaster walls and ceiling and a hardwood floor. Unfortunately the space is not ADA-complaint, as it is up a flight of stairs.
2020 Convention Chairpersons: Leyland DelRe, Chair; Nora and Joel Miller, Co-Vice Chairs. See Contacts link below.
- Directions and parking
- Lodging/housing with local singers and hotel recommendations
- Contacts for information on the Convention and other local singings
- More information on Sacred Harp music and the Sacred Harp tradition
- Bringing children to the Convention
- Information on cherry blossoms in DC during the Convention dates
- Minutes of the 2019 Convention
- YouTube videos taken at recent Potomac River Conventions (mostly songs from The Shenandoah Harmony (ShH)
- Images from the 2007 Convention at the Great Falls Grange, taken by Rachel Speer
- Expected Dates of the 2023 Convention: April 1-2