The First Farewell

Drawing by Lawrence Mynott, graphic design by Anthea Pender

The eagle – hats off to artist Lawrence Mynott and his American eagle balloon on our invitation cards – has taken off, or almost.  Actually, we’re still here for a couple more weeks, so last night’s farewell was the biggest but not the last farewell.

Thanks to the generosity of Madison Cox, we were sent off with full flying colors by our Tangier friends, a cross section of this multidimensional city, with donors, staff members, artists, artisans, academics… everyone who has helped us make this place a livelier, more open venue for our wide range of activities.

Four years seems like a brief snippet of time to many who have made Tangier their home, but we wanted to inject as much activity and innovation into those 48 months as possible, and then leave on a high note.

Speaking of notes, we were also graced by the presence of Gospel ensemble the Campbell Brothers, who joined us prior to their open air concert on the Grand Socco, Tangier’s lively square which is the transition between medina and modern city.

“Amazing Grace,” sung a capella to a hushed audience, was the perfect preview for what was a rousing performance post-party organized by the US Embassy and the American Language Center.

This is not “the last post,” so stay tuned for a few more under this byline in the next couple of weeks.  And heartfelt thanks to Madison Cox for putting on a great party, and helping us celebrate this great institution and our brief moment helping more people get to know it.

Gerald Loftus