A taste of home
June 14, 2010 (The Hill)
Catfish, sweet tea and musicians — hauled hundreds of miles from Mississippi — will transform the National Mall into the Magnolia State for an estimated 500 celebrants later this month.

And, just a few weeks back, the Mall was the Pelican State, when Louisianans gathered to enjoy 2,500 pounds of boiled crawfish, barbecued cuisine and live Cajun music.

“People love to experience the culture we bring here,” said Kim Allen, an organizer of the Louisiana event. “It’s just a nice little taste of home.”

These events, known as Mississippi on the Mall and Mudbugs on the Mall, come thanks to Washington’s network of state societies — civic associations focused on bringing together the scores of people who move to Washington every year. The highly active organizations — many of them holding multiple events and boasting memberships of around 500 to 1,000 people — have thus far bucked the national trend of declining membership in civic groups.....read more

Matters of State: For State Societies, No Place Like Home
March 25, 2007 (Washington Post)



Fifty-six years ago, the Wheel of Fortune stopped at "Wyoming."

And there she was: Maldi Tarris, chosen Cherry Blossom Queen 1951 by fate, her smile a veritable picket fence of pride. For a time in April, she and her fellow princesses were the public faces of their state societies -- Washington's social clubs for transplanted Wyomingites, Dakotans, Carolinians and the like.

The tradition continues today. The wheel will spin again at the Grand Ball on April 13, the climax of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, but the state societies' activities happen year-round.

Are you from the state of Washington? Prepare for Potlatch in May.

Mississippi? Eat catfish on the Mall in June....read more

2007 Mississippi Cherry Blossom Princess
March 6, 2007 (U.S. Senator Trent Lott)



Caroline Robinson is Mississippi's 2007 Cherry Blossom Princess. Caroline is a 2006 graduate of Pascagoula High School in Mississippi, and currently attends Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She is a first year student, majoring in business.

While in high school, Caroline was a member of Beta Club, National Honor Society, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. While attending college, Caroline is serviing as an intern for Senator Thad Cochran's office in Gulfport, MS.

Caroline has two sisters, Jennifer and Katie, and is the daughter of Jim and Sarah Robinson of Pascagoula.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close relationship between our two peoples.