Reggie, you mentioned "... the participants party ...where ...Genie... was leading a small but dedicated group of singers in ...familiar favorites."
Yeah, we were the ones who: •didn't know where the Wawona was
•wanted to stay where there was free beer
•were too tired to move,
or
• had stayed long enough to notice that the band had either quit or turned their amp way down, so we could hear.

If I was "leading" it was because nearly everyone else had, as John R pointed out, been driven out of the official party location by the overly loud dance band(s).

The Maritime Heritage location is, indeed, a much better place for the party than the Hospitality Suite at the Seattle Center is, but I hope next year arrangements are made to keep the dance music soft enough that jammers and singers can actually utilize the two large rooms upstairs that are available for their music.

Genie