The CTA International Translation Day Happy Hours continue to grow in popularity. Now in the third year, CTA members gathered with fellow translators and linguists in Colorado Springs, South Denver, Fort Collins, Lafayette and Palisade on September 30. A brief recap follows.
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs translators, led by CTA Vice President Marion Rhodes, celebrated International Translation Day in a location as eclectic as the group of attendees: Bristol Brewing Company, located inside the historic Ivywild School, which once housed elementary classrooms with art-filled hallways and unique decorations (think bicycles on the wall) made for a charming atmosphere. The small group of five CTA members had a wonderful time tasting hand-brewed ales and discussing topics such as the upcoming ATA conference in Miami. Old colleagues enjoyed reconnecting, as well as meeting newcomers. Everyone left saying they should get together more often.
South Denver
The Denver area group gathered at CTA President Thaïs Lips’ home, where she hosted translators with a cheese and wine celebration. The weather was good and allowed the Happy Hour to take place outdoors so that translators could enjoy the mid-autumn sunset while discussing new trends in the industry, the next ATA conference, and the 2016 CTA Conference next spring. The party had a great time, and even included a visiting translator from abroad, as well as an agency owner and a project manager to enrich the profession’s celebration.
Fort Collins
The Northern Colorado contingent of CTA members and guests, organized by Yvonne Paez, gathered at The Mayor of Old Town in Fort Collins for brews and dinner. It was a delightful evening of camaraderie and networking for the 14 translators and friends in attendance. A decision was made to try to get together at least quarterly at cafes and/or our eclectic collection of local brewpubs. Their next mixer is planned for January 2016.
Lafayette
With a bunch of other events clustered together in Boulder in September and October, the Boulder contingent decided to get out of the city for its CTA International Translation Day Happy Hours, and the cute Lafayette 95a Bistro & Sushi couldn’t have been a better place. A group of around 15 people turned out for tapas and a glass of wine; they ranged from translators new to the field to people with decades of experience. This year, CTA Treasurer and Webmaster Mery Molenaar invited non-CTA colleagues in the area, and as a result, CTA members were happy to welcome several new translators. Mery noted that it was great to see how valuable (and fun!) networking with one’s local community can be, while business cards and email addresses were exchanged. Among them were translators who moved here from France only a month ago as well as veteran translators, who brought some great conversation to the table. Other than English, as many as seven different languages were represented around the table.
Western Slope
The second CTA gathering on the Western Slope, held at Social Media Coordinator Sharon Heller’s house in Palisade, this year saw a group of seven – numbers are growing! CTA members were joined by several Western Slope translators and linguists. Discussions included the role of CTA, the ATA exam, and a commitment to get together more frequently during the year. The group enjoyed a variety of tapas and wines. The early arrivals took a walk around the vineyard, with several people having their photos taken outside with the Bookcliffs as a scenic backdrop, a ‘proof of life’ shot in the Grand Valley.
Sharon Heller points out: There are many other CTA social occasions throughout the year, besides the CTA International Translation Day Happy Hours, including First Friday Coffees – an informal morning get-together in Boulder on the first Friday of each month. The CTA events calendar is continually updated – be sure to check it out at
https://citacolorado.org/sessions/events/upcoming-events.
