One Celebration, Two Occasions

The Kingdom of Thailand and the United States of America are celebrating 200 years of their friendship and 185 years of diplomatic relations at a gala event at the Library of Congress on the evening of September 27, 2018. The event at Great Hall of the Library’s Jefferson Building is hosted by the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington in collaboration with the Library of Congress and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council. The evening’s capstone is a performance, by the John di Martino Quartet and guest artists from Thailand, of jazz compositions of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the first monarch ever born in the United States. In 1960, His Majesty visited the Jefferson Building during his first State visit and presented as gift to the Library of Congress ten pieces of specially crafted Thai musical instruments, which will be on display during the event.