Ephemera Marks the Day: Holidays & Celebrations
Request for Presentations:
Holidays and celebrations give us a chance to take a break from our regular schedules and focus on something special. They can mark or commemorate historically significant events, such as Independence Day, Juneteenth, or Memorial Day. They may mark a holiday, religious or otherwise, like Christmas, Mardi Gras, Halloween or Mother’s Day. Celebrations may also be held for personal events, such as a birthday, wedding anniversary, religious confirmation or graduation. And increasingly, a plethora of national days have been promoted by industry or interest groups, some of which have been instituted through government resolution. Earth Day (an international observance) is more serious in nature. National Peanut Butter Day, Sibling Day, or Hug an Australian Day are more light-hearted. Almost every holiday has its “trappings,” many of which take the form of ephemera. And the look of these trappings evolves over time and can vary significantly according to culture or region.
Ephemera 47, the Ephemera Society of America (ESA) annual conference, will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut, on Friday, March 19, 2027. Each speaker will address a topic related to a celebration or holiday, relying heavily on tangible ephemera—invitations, decorations, posters, advertisements, greeting cards, tickets, brochures, menus, trade cards, broadsides, receipts, souvenirs, correspondence, itineraries, photographs, postcards, maps, diaries—to illustrate their subject. Keep in mind that our focus is not just the images of your chosen subject but the story of your subject, its significance, how it is celebrated and how it evolved over time.
Each presentation will be 30 minutes in length, followed by a brief Q&A. Please submit the following:
· Presentation title and a written abstract, focusing on the way ephemera tells the story of your chosen topic. Please describe the specific types of ephemera you will use to illustrate your topic. Each presentation needs to feature at least three different types of ephemera. Proposals should not exceed 150 words.
· 5 to 6 representative ephemera images
· Single-paragraph biography, including any affiliations
· A .jpg photograph of yourself for publicity purposes
· Mailing address, phone number and e-mail address
Following a review of all proposals, finalists may be asked to submit 10 to 15 images of the types of ephemera that will be used to illustrate their talk. Proposals must be submitted via e-mail or post by September 15, 2026 to Barbara Loe, Ephemera 47 Conference Chair.
e-mail: bjloe@earthlink.net
post: Ephemera Society of America, Inc., P.O. Box 95, Cazenovia, NY 13035-0095.
Decisions and notification about proposals will be made by November 30, 2026. Presenters will be requested to sign a release at the time of acceptance allowing their presentation to be filmed for use by the ESA.
If selected, a draft PowerPoint presentation must be submitted by February 28, 2027. The final presentation must be submitted by March 12, 2027. Presentations must include 25 or more ephemera images. At this time, funding is not available from ESA to support travel or presentation costs.
ESA is eager to expand the use of ephemera in the classroom, and we encourage presentations on all subjects addressing the use of ephemera in teaching and academic research. We encourage undergraduate and graduate students to submit proposals for the Emerging Scholars Program to be held on Thursday afternoon, March 18th. For more information, please see “Emerging Scholars” under the “Discover” tab on our website: www.ephemerasociety.org
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