Secretary Clinton’s agenda this week will mark a historic moment: visiting Vientiane, Laos. 57 years later, it’s the first for a U.S. Secretary of State since John Foster Dulles in 1955. Continue Reading
This month at the Gordon Parks Gallery, master weaver Bounxou Chanthraphone (Daoheuang) and Laddavanh Insixiengmay opened a special exhibit, Weaving to Survive. The Gordon Parks Gallery is located in the new Library and Learning Center at 645 East Seventh Street in St. Paul.
Earlier this year, The Edgar Allen Poe Literary Society (also known as the Raven Forward Air Controllers) announced the winners of their 2011 Distinguished Raven Scholarships. Many of the recipients are from the Twin Cities:Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. John Davidson Memorial Scholarship ($2,267 + $500 performance bonus)Na Lee ThaoSt Paul, MNHal Mischler Memorial Scholarship ($1,500)Kue ChangOroville, CAPaul Jackson Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)Karalina B VueMinneapolis, MNSam Deichelmann Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)Sally HangEureka, CAMarlin Siegwalt Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)Billy VangMarysville, CACharles Ballou Memorial Scholarship ($500)Bruce LeeSheboygan, WIHoss McBride Memorial Scholarship ($500)Deborah Kang VangOroville, CAJoseph Bush Memorial Scholarship ($500)Panny XiongSt Paul, MNJohn Bach Memorial Scholarship ($500)Mee XiongSt Paul, MNDan Davis Memorial Scholarship ($500)Lee Vong YangMarysville, CAThe Distinguished Raven FAC Memorial Scholarship is an award presented annually to a qualifying descendent of a Lao or Lao-Hmong individual who served in the Royal Laotian Military or Hmong forces in defense of the Kingdom of Laos between 1960 and 1975.The scholarship is sponsored and administered by the Edgar Allen Poe Literary Society (EAPLS). EAPLS is a non-profit, last-man, veteran organization consisting of Forward Air Controllers (FACs) who lived in Laos, flew under the call sign “Raven” or its predecessor “Butterfly”, and supported Laotian and Hmong forces during the Southeast Asia conflict between 1966 and 1973. Continue Reading
This year’s Boun Phra Vet festival for the Laotian refugees in Minnesota coincided with many events including World Refugee Day on June 20th. With nearly 2,000 participants throughout the weekend, this year was one of the best attended celebrations in recent years with friends, family and supporters gathering from across Minnesota and out of state to join us.
I’ll be the first to tell you, you can’t MacGyver a robust economy with quick fixes. But we’re in a scenario requiring us to get truly creative and to make the most of our opportunity. Continue Reading
We’re hearing more about immigration reform again, always a heated topic, but one voice with big stakes in this is often excluded from the discussions: Laotian refugees.
Many of us arrived in the US as refugees from the war in our homeland 35 years ago.
The Lao New Year called “Bpee Mai” is celebrated every year mostly around April 13 to April 16. GreetingsThere are several variations of wishing people on the occasion of the Lao New Year with the most common expression being souksan van peemai which in English means “Happy Lao New Year.”
History
Bpee Mai is the most widely celebrated festival in Laos. The festival is also celebrated by Laotians in the United States of America, Canada, France, and Australia. When the Lao people first emigrated from southern China, New Year was celebrated on the first day of January. Since settling in mainland Southeast Asia the Lao have adopted the new years traditions of the Khmer and Mon-Phama people, based on the Indian calendar and traditions. Continue Reading