Eulogy for the Congress Mug
For the first time since the tradition began in 1991, there was no Congress coffee mug this year.
I should say from the outset that this walk down memory lane should not be construed to take anything away from the amazing job the Portland crew did this year. The first job of a Congress Director is to do a good job. The first job of a former Congress Director is to NOT criticize future Congress teams. That job is quite easy for me as the staff in Oregon was simply amazing, always ready to respond to an issue, never succumbing to the understandable temptation to try to enjoy their own event, and always doing their best for their guests.
And, let’s face it, 99 and 44/100 percent of regular Congress goers' significant others are breathing a sigh of relief, and I suspect, most Congress veterans have reached their limit of mugs. Certainly my wife is thrilled. Still, the collector in me mourns the end (?) of, if not an era, certainly a streak. And so, in a classic act of self indulgence, let's look at this mostly ceramic history.
1991: Rochester, New York
The first Congress mug was handed out at the seventh Congress. This simple, yet elegant logo for the Empty Sky Go Club remains to this day one of my very favorites. The logo is repeated on the both sides, always a nice feature. Note the club, not the location, is given prominence.
1992: Salem, Oregon
Keeping with the basic white theme, the second mug contained the Congress logo, a whimsical drawing of two dragons playing our favorite game. Again, the logo is repeated on the other side and again, the sponsor, not the location is featured.
1993: South Hadley, Massachusetts
A black mug this time, with the logo in white. Definitely the busiest design so far. Congress Trivia - this was the second Congress held at Mt. Holyoke College. Here, the AGA logo appears on the other side, and the club not the location is featured.
1994: Washington, D.C.
With the fourth mug we have color for the first time. The art work is by Jim Pickett, former president of the GWRM Baltimore Go Club. This was the second Congress run by Hal Small’s Greater Washington Go Club and was technically held in Northern Virginia. Note another departure - the previous mugs had highlighted the sponsoring club, here the elements of the number, the year and the city appeared together for the first time.
1995: Seattle, Washington
Here we see a very nice colorful design with the whole package, year, number, location, go stones and several very nice local landmarks. To me, this logo packs a lot into the frame, without becoming too busy. A list of the prior Congresses appears on the other side like a concert tour shirt.
1996: Cleveland, Ohio
The incorporation of a go problem as part of the Congress logo seemed like a no brainer. This one relies on the shape of Ohio to convey the location, without reference to the city.
1997: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
A very similar mug to its immediate predecessor, a problem, and similar, if brighter color scheme. All elements are present, with the addition of the unique "Keystone State" shape.
1998: Santa Fe, New Mexico
This great logo is simple, yet conveys a nice Southwestern vibe and color scheme. I particularly love the white stone rising...or setting…over the mountain. Logo repeats on the back.
1999: San Francisco, California
Here color is combined with the abstract feel of the first mug. The go position combined with a suggestion of the Golden Gate bridge makes quite an impact.
2000: Denver, Colorado
A major departure to end the twentieth century (yes, I am one of those pedants). For the first time a different, taller shape is used. Note the two toned theme is gold and black. Also significant is the lack of any direct go imagery. Though very different, it has a similar modern feel to its San Francisco predecessor. For the second time, the AGA logo is on the back.
2001: York, Pennsylvania
Now we come to the Congress I directed. This "2GO1" mug and logo has all the bells and whistles in a clean design based on my personal idea. It is also the only complete wrap around mug we have had. I am rather proud of it, but it hides a mutltude of sins.
Some folks might know that I am the long head of the GWRM Baltimore Go Club. We ended up in York because of this lawyer’s failure to nail down a site properly. The plan was the second Congress in Maryland, with a "Space Odyssey" theme. My blushes were saved by the amazing Sam Zimmerman, who scrambled to come up with York College, although even then we had to swap weeks quite late. Because we had to go "on the road," I came up with the license plate logo. Those who have this mug and did NOT follow the hand wash only instruction, probably no longer have a logo. Sorry.
2002: Chicago, Illinois
A colorful go stone shaped logo for Chicago, incorporating go stones for info and featuring a building that I must confess I do not know - must ask my daughter.
2003: Houston, Texas
This dramatic logo captures the location with its famous connection to the space program. However, this is the most rare mug in my collection because, well, "Houston we have a problem." Unfortunately, and I forget the precise details, but the mugs arrived from the supplier with errors in the color application, and it was decided not to distribute the mugs. I was fortunate enough to receive one of a handful of accurate proof samples. Clearly those forward thinking Houstoners saw this blog coming. I tend to prefer "simple" logos to "busy" ones, but this one is truly out of this world.
2004: Rochester, New York
This Congress, the second in Rochester, although in a different location, remains my favorite Congress. The one color logo echos the first Congress mug, and again features the club not the location, although the flower on the board, a lilac, is a symbol or the city of Rochester.
2005: Tacoma, Washington
This mug's go stone shaped logo, with a nice touch of color, also features the game in different languages. I vividly recall the mountain dominating the view as it dominates the mug, which to me echoes the Santa Fe design.
2006: Black Mountain, North Carolina
Here we have the first, and so far, only, color variants on the mug - I cannot recall how it was decided which color you received, perhaps one was for prizes. The logo which appears on both sides features the now famous NC go board, a beautiful piece that actually exists.
2007: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
A travel mug, but still a coffee mug, for this second Lancaster Congress, at the same location, Millersville University. This controversial logo, which appears on both sides comes from my idea, sketched by Todd Blatt, jumping on the 007 theme. It was brilliantly finalized by graphic artist Michael Samuel. Concerns about the logo went beyond possible trademark infringement to legitimate dislike that the go playing hand was made to resemble James Bond's gun. It is certainly different, and Todd did a great job with my idea….but this coffee was not to everyone’s taste.
2008: Portland, Oregon
Ceramic returns in this beautiful logo, which remains many folks' favorite. The Congress' first visit to Portland State University, was the second in Oregon, and again has a dragon theme, also featuring a rose for Portland. The logo appears on both sides.
2009: Washington, D.C.
This design captures the idea of the Silver Anniversary of the event quite…monumentally. It conveys all the usual information (technically this second DC Congress was again in Northern Va., this time at George Mason University) with a bit less go content than usual. A Mike Samuel design.
2010: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Once again, Colorado gives us a different shape for their mug, with a very clean, spacey or mile high look that is repeated on the reverse side. Another Mike Samuel design.
2011: Santa Barbara, California
A color reversal of the year before, and yet another new style. This Pacific Coast and Hokusai evoking wave design works really well on the mug - personally I think it works better in this two tone look than the full color logo. There are some who think people use the wave image too much - but it seemed perfect here.
2012: Black Mountain, North Carolina
Yet another repeat location and very close to a date updated repeat logo. The only addition is the two rocking chairs…Oh my God, as I type this it is the first time I realized they swapped out the North Carolina board for a 48 contiguous one. All who have attended a Black Mountain YMCA event of any kind will remember the array of rocking chairs on the spacious front porch of the old main building. The logo is repeated on the reverse.
2013: Seattle-Tacoma, Washington
Yet another repeat site for this joint run Congress that was held in Tacoma. Perhaps that resulted in a lot of things going on in the logo, with a unique green color for the image, which is repeated on the reverse side.
2014: New York, New York
This two tone mug is dramatic and has real impact. And again, I think it is more powerful in black and white than in color on the t-shirts. Brilliant. Even managed the return of a problem on the logo elegantly. My favorite Mike Samuel design.
2015: Twin Cities (St. Paul), Minnesota
After praising a couple of one color mugs, I just have to praise the beautiful, cool, blue of this logo, evoking the birthplace of the mighty Mississippi. In the running for my favorite mug and, even though I note the Congress number was not included, hard to see where you put it without marring the design.
2016: Boston, Massachusetts
Close inspection of this dramatic mug reveals a shade of grey in addition to the white on this black mug. I happen to know several who consider this logo their all time favorite, I guess I am too old fashioned to join them. But it is always nice to have something different.
2017: San Diego, California
A panda surfing is a nice idea for San Diego, a coastal city and home of the famous San Diego Zoo. Maybe I went too overboard with panda gifts for my daughter to fully love this one.
2018: Williamsburg, Virginia
After a couple of slightly grumpy entries, we come to the mug that I consider a masterpiece. I was on the planning team for this Congress, but I can take no credit for this design. Indeed, I lobbied heavily for a very cool "Connect or Die" image - revolutionary, and perfect for go, but I was out voted. And rightly so, after all it is Colonial Williamsburg not Revolutionary, and the guest welcoming pineapple - a fixture of hospitality at the time that was then unknown to me is perfect. Ever since it seems like I notice pineapple motifs everywhere. Finally the old fashioned deep blue on white coloring takes this mug out of our time and my absolute favorite mug, even if the go elements are not emphasized .
2019: Madison, Wisconsin
I like the color scheme fo this traditional white mug, and the funky font fits the city as the logo portrays its unique geography.
2020: E-Congress 1
Despite the COVID imposed remoteness, organizers came up with a nice logo and made various items available online. A nice option for those like me who want to collect, but a la carte for anything but a pin and a t-shirt seems like a good model. This logo does not feature a Congress number, but it has been counted in the Congress numbering.
2021: E-Congress 2
A very nice, very appropriate, tech logo appears on both sides of this larger format mug, which was again made available for order.
2022: Estes Park, Colorado
The Congress returns to earth, albeit at elevation, and the number returns confirming that the E-Congresses absolutely "counted." This bright colorful logo incorporates go stones in a clever way. Indeed, the precarious cable car will forever remind me of the fortunately successful gamble of returning to face to face play. A Mike Samuel design.
2023: Kent, Ohio
The move to Kent is not reflected on this mug, but when you have a cool logo like this it is hard to let it go. And even though my "5 Stones Dead in my Moyo" won the song contest, as usual, my ideas are controversial. Yes, this mug has a handle, but it faces away as I tried to picture as much of this big logo as possible. Stones form the Congress number for the first time in a while, but there is no problem here. Much of the Congress merch was made available online, including this mug. Not sure how much trouble that was, but it was an excellent idea. Yet another Mike Samuel effort.
2024: Portland, Oregon
To be clear, the Portland folks did not leave us empty handed (well, use of the carabiner could keep you empty anded). We have had water bottles before but this is the first metal one. And the logo featuring the steel bridge echoes the move away from ceramic.
For those that have stuck it out, thanks for reading and feel free to share with the journal any ideas you might have for similar surveys of go equipment, books or other relics.