RSVP

We have passed the halfway point between AI-XXIX and the highly anticipated AI-XXX, making this post only six and a half months later than planned. From AI-HQ, much has happened—little of it worth recounting. There’s been golf, mahjong, cards, dinner parties, dog walking/ball playing, TV, cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out at AI-HQ Highlands, followed by golf, mahjong, cards, dinner parties, dog walking/ball playing, TV, cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out at AI-HQ West Glendale.

We are sure that AI-XXIX provided moments that will live forever in AI lore, and had we posted the intended recap immediately afterward, we would be happy to share them. Instead, we turn to the wisdom of the great Jimmy Breslin: “reminiscences are to be enjoyed, not authenticated.”

Who was there? Stalwart Stans Jim, Kate the Elder (KTE), Gordon, Rich, Sean, Nick, Emma, Nora (back after a year’s sabbatical), Edie, and Kate the Younger (KTY), The BD and The TD. The youngest Stan, Ari, made his second appearance. Emma’s beau, Kevin, made his inaugural pilgrimage. Neighbors Paul and Marilyn made their first appearance as invitees, after crashing lip sync the previous year. Wally was MIA.

Some traditions gained traction, many held strong, one is barely holding on. Cards, scribbage, and other games were ascendant, led by game mavens Edie, KTE, and Emma. Lip-sync performances dazzled with unbridled talent fueled by liquid courage. The BD and staff produced unending culinary masterpieces throughout the weekend. Meals stretched long into the night; glasses were rarely empty, vision blurred, conversation opaque. Meanwhile, golf—the erstwhile centerpiece of The AI—continued its relentless slide into irrelevance, accompanied by its historical incompetence.

And now we turn our lonely eyes to AI-XXX. Who woulda thunk it? From four guys in a hot tub to a toddler in a golf cart. From a “golf tournament” to a weekend bacchanal. From MetroWest to Palm Lake to Wildcat Cliffs. From idea to institution. From here to there. From here to eternity. From THE AI to that other AI. The bar we’ve set is high (and always open), the expectations incongruous, the reality warped. The arc of The AI is long, but it bends toward inertia.

OK, on to the point—if there is one. When? Where? And, if so, why?

AI-XXX

JUNE 18-21, 2026

72 OAK POINT, HIGHLANDS, NC 

Italian & Lip Sync Night

Day 3 of AI-XXIX, aka Italian Night followed by Lip Sync, was an epic affair that stretched into the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Showing questionable judgment,  neighbors Paul & Marilyn joined The AI Stans for the festivities. Things kicked off with an order for 7 Stanhattans which were mixed all at once in the world’s largest cocktail shaker provided to The AI several years ago by the erstwhile Baroness von Sidecar.  The BD’s annual tour de force was eagerly devoured by the faithful whose ravenous behavior perfectly encapsulated what was possibly The BD’s best effort in Italian Night history….and that’s saying something.  Something.  Dinner was washed down with copious bottles of wine and capped off with a scrumptious peach cobbler courtesy of Official AI Pastry Chef, Sean.

Stans were having so much fun chatting, drinking & eating that The BD had her hands full getting them to move inside for Lip Sync.  But, in they went and the performances will be remembered (?) as the greatest in Lip Sync’s XI years.  There were disco lights, not one, but two gimbals, setting a new AI record & possibly world record for most gimbals used at a lip sync party.  

Nick:  The Godfather

Paul:  You Can’t Do That

The BD:  Big Yellow Taxi

Sean:  Let’s Go Crazy

Emma: Pink Pony Girl

Marilyn:  He’ll Come Again

Rich:  Along Comes Mary

Reef:  Here Comes My Baby

Mitch:  Mama Told Me Not To Come

Nora:  Devil Is A Friend of Mine

Kaz:  I Want It That Way

Mitch & Jim on tape lip syncing themselves with Do You Wanna Dance

The performances were over but no one wanted the party to stop.  And it didn't.  A couple of oldie but goodies from The AI Production archives followed by a handful of classic music videos that had the Stans rocking and rolling and still drinking.

Three days complete.  The Banquet awaits…

Days 1-2 Recap

 It’s Flag Day at AI-XXIX and the Stans are gradually assembling at AI-HQ for day 3 of action and somnambulance.  By 7 pm on Day 1 everyone had made their way here and the frivolity commenced in earnest as well as in Highlands.  The BD & Papa Nick feted the assemblage  with one phenomenal pizza after another.  Stans got caught up with another’s comings & going since the last AI ensued fueled by several (sic) bottles of wine and a few Stanhattans.  

Day 2 was marked by the occasional rain shower, games of spades, scribbage, blockhead, 9 holes of golf and repeated trips for Ari in his now favorite mode of transportation the “golf cart.”

The BD came through on schedule as she always does with a feast of pigs in blankets, tater tots, mustard slaw, piles of fried chicken and banana pudding.  The evening was kind of quiet, at least by AI standards, but things picked up to the sound of shattering glassware.  This seemed to energize the group.  The party moved inside and a duel for attention and volume began between the OG Stans (Rich, Gordon, Jim & the TD) who were playing YouTube videos (again) and the young Stans who were seated around the dining room table trying to play a game amid the din.  Despite their proximity conversation was impossible so, in what will be remembered as a sea change in hierarchy at The AI,  Nick was drafted to ask the OG’s to turn it down, which he bravely did.

The torch has been passed.  

well....here we go

Memories….

 With about 33 hours to go, AI Productions in conjunction with Nick Weiss-Richmond thought it might be helpful to check the news from last year’s debacle to help set the tone for what lies ahead.  To be clear, Nick has not been consulted prior to this post and likely disavows any connection to it or anything associated with it or with AI Productions as it would likely be the end of his career.

https://youtu.be/SF3EZghqjf0?si=p3hIH6dW5vjKoTkD

AI-XXIX Coming Soon

like really soon...  Sean, Nick & AriStan arrived Saturday night and preparations are semi-frantically underway for the rest of the Stans arriving at various times Thursday afternoon.  AriStan has been busy arranging AI-HQ to his tastes, we hope you like the revised decor

Practice?

Hello again Stans,

Many of you (one actually) have inquired about whether AI-XXIX will again feature the annual Lip Sync performance night.  The answer is OF COURSE!!

Here is Edie-OCD showing the appropriate deference to the event