"[1] SPAH was founded in October 1962 by Earl Collins Jr. (1924-1988), who began by taking out advertisements in newspapers in the Detroit area, looking for harmonica players with whom to meet.
Since then, the SPAH convention has been held in Denver, Colorado (twice); Saint Louis (multiple times); Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Sacramento, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Irving, Texas (twice).
Every year in the month of August, SPAH organizes and presents a five-day convention in a city in the United States, in coordination with a local harmonica club.
[7] The SPAH convention is usually held in a hotel near an airport and major highways, and features daytime seminars and jam sessions, open mic stages, afternoon and evening concerts, a teaching event for local children, a free-form teach-in, a vendor room populated by harmonica manufacturers and vendors, crafters, builders, and customizers; builders of harmonica accessories and electronics.
SPAH encourages incorporation of harmonica programs into school curriculums as a low-cost means of introducing students to playing a Musical instrument.