Closing Reception for Legacies of War

Tuesday, October 26, 2010, “Legacies of War” Exhibit Private Tour, Discussion & Closing Reception

INTERMEDIA ARTS 2822 Lyndale Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55408

5:30-6 pm Bryan Thao-Worra and Mali Kouanchao will lead a private tour of the exhibit.

6-7 pm Facilitated discussion about the impact of the performance and the exhibit on the local Minnesota community with invited artists, leaders and community members.

7 – 9 pm Following this tour and conversation, guests will attend the Beyond the Performance where Bryan Thao Worra and May-Lee Yang will be featured performers along with other local writers and poets of color.

FREE & OPEN to the public

$5 Suggested Donation to Support Intermedia Arts, Pangea World Theater and Lao Assistance Center, Sponsored by the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans. "This event is funded with money from the arts and cultural heritage fund that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008."

Intermedia Arts, Pangea World Theater, and the Lao Assistance Center collaborated to create Legacies of War, displayed at Intermedia Arts. Curated by Malichansouk Kouanchao, the art exhibit opened on September 30 and runs through October 26. Presented in conjunction with the Refugee Nation touring performance, Legacies of War mission was “to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs, to provide space for healing the wounds of war, and to create greater hope for a future of peace.”

The exhibit is an overdue acknowledgment of the tragedy of the U.S. bombings during the Secret War that drove many Laotian refugees to leave their homelands, and haunts them to this day. Legacies of War uses photographs, letters, and drawings created by Laotian refugees as tools to tell the story of the trauma they experienced, and to clear the way for a new future.

City Councilperson Barbara Johnson to visit Lao Assistance Center 10/26.

Minneapolis City Councilperson Barbara Johnson will be visiting the Lao Assistance Center on Tuesday, October 26th at 4:00PM at the Lao Assistance Center to learn more about our community!

Barbara Johnson was first elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 1997 to represent the Fourth Ward in the northwest corner of Minneapolis. She has served as President of the Minneapolis City Council since January of 2006. Council President Johnson serves on the Public Safety and Regulatory Services (PS&RS), Executive and Transportation and Public Works (TPW) committees of the City Council. She also serves on the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, MEET Minneapolis, the City Labor-Management Committee, the Municipal Building Commission (MBC), the Riverfront Development Corporation and Hennepin County’s Task Force on Teen Pregnancy.

Council President Johnson is a registered nurse. Her background in health has spurred her support for health sector growth in Minneapolis. Barb is very interested in establishing partnerships through biotechnology and learning from other local governments about solutions to municipal problems. She has a strong interest in parks due to the 18 years of service on the Metropolitan Parks & Open Space Commission. She also served on the Mississippi National River & Recreation Area Commission, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Barb was a founding member of the Victory Neighborhood Association (VINA) and was the Chair from 1994-1997. She is a former Girl Scout leader and community volunteer.

We think this visit will be very interesting for many members of the community with her wide range of interests and knowledge.

County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin to visit Lao Assistance Center 10/28

County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin will be visiting the Lao Assistance Center on October 28th at 10:30 AM. Come join us and learn more about what he does and what he can do to help our community.

Peter McLaughlin joined the Hennepin County Board in 1991. He is presently chair of the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority, chair of the Public Works, Energy & Environment Committee and co-chair of the Intergovernmental Committee.

He coordinated the regional effort with the help of labor, business and the community in successfully lobbying for Light Rail Transit (LRT) funding which led to the opening of Minnesota’s first light rail line, the Hiawatha Line, in 2004. In 2008, he was instrumental in establishing a dedicated funding source to expand the region’s transit system of light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit lines. He presently serves as chair of the Counties Transit Improvement Board, which invests revenues from the five-county metro sales tax for transitways and advocates for expansion of the transit system.

Thank you from Refugee Nation!

A big thanks to all of our community members and supporters who joined us throughout the last two weeks for the presentation of Refugee Nation. We had almost 1,000 people in attendance throughout the two weeks of performance, workshops and community gatherings.

There were many amazing and positive comments from so many community members and we're deeply touched. Ova Saopeng, Leilani Chan and Lidet Viravong left on Monday, October 18th with many good memories and gratitude to everyone in Minnesota who made them feel so welcome.

We had visitors from Denmark, Canada, California, Iowa, Wisconsin and Tennessee who came to meet our artists and to explore what it meant to be Lao'd and Proud, and part of America. We couldn't have done it without your help and support in getting the word out! :)

Showing Bombies at Intermedia Arts

We're showing Bombies, a documentary on bombs left in Laos at Intermedia Arts on Tuesday, October 19th at 7PM on the big screen! Come join us for a discussion and tours of the Legacies of War Exhibit. Intermedia Arts is located at 2822 Lyndale Avenue S. in Minneapolis.

Legacies of War and Refugee Nation in the news!

The Legacies of War: Refugee Nation Opening: Friday, October 8th at Intermedia Arts is the premiere of the play Refugee Nation, based on many of the stories of the Lao families of Minnesota and across the US. It's located at 2822 Lyndale Avenue South and the play goes until October 17th. 

If you're interested in buying your tickets in advance for Refugee Nation:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/16062 

You can see some of the great articles that have appeared about the show here: 

• Asian American Press: http://aapress.com/ethnicity/laotian/refugee-nation
• Southwest Journal:  http://www.swjournal.com/index.php?&story=15923&page=152&category=64
• Star Tribune Article:  http://www.startribune.com/local/104050708.html
• City Pages A-List: http://www.citypages.com/events/legacies-of-war-1503512/
• TC Daily Planet: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/arts/2010/10/04/visual-arts-intermedia-arts-faces-legacies-war-laos-and-minnesota

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Join the movement at http://www.komen.org to learn more about other people working on this important issue!

Some experts recommend yearly mammograms starting at age 40. Others recommend starting at age 50 and having mammograms every two years. Of course, if you have a breast lump or other abnormality at any age, you need to get it checked out.

Because this is a concern for many who worry about the costs: If you are enrolled in Medicare, it will cover most of the costs of a preventive (screening) mammogram every 12 months. Patients would pay 20% of the Medicare-approved mammography cost.

Medicare will also pay for a diagnostic mammogram, which is done to check out a specific breast problem, at any time, notes the National Cancer Institute. For more information on Medicare coverage of mammograms, call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).

If you have private health insurance, check with your health insurance provider to see about your mammography benefits. The National Cancer Institute notes that most states require health insurers to reimburse all or part of the cost of screening mammograms.

If you don’t have Medicare or other health insurance, the National Cancer Institute suggests calling the CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) or the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 400-4-CANCER (800-422-6237), or your local hospital, health department, women's center, or other community groups to find out about access to low-cost or free mammograms.

In Minnesota, for example, there is the SAGE program: http://www.mnsage.com a statewide comprehensive breast and cervical cancer screening program whose primary objective is to increase the proportion of age-appropriate women who are screened for breast and cervical cancer. Please be sure to take care of your health!