"Fresh Traditions" (Tou SaiKo Lee and Grandma Youa Chang present "Stories from O.G.s" at the Lowertown Reading Jam on Mar 28, 2012.

The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the fifth in its 2011–2012 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams, which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city.

The “Stories from O.G.s: Honoring the O.riginal G.eneration” Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul.

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Anne Fadiman

This May, Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down will be re-released as an FSG Classic book, with the author coming to the Twin Cities for two events at St. Paul’s Highland Park Library on May 7, and Minneapolis Central Library on May 8.

Fadiman’s book highlighted the need for culturally competent health care and social services with its breakthrough true story about the collision of Western medicine and Hmong culture. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was an instant sensation that remains required reading across the country.

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A presentation of current research on Hmong Americans and the Hmong diaspora will be offered from the Hmong Studies Journal on Friday, March 9, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in Room 609 of the Social Sciences Building at the University of Minnesota, 267 19th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55455.

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Saint Paul, Minn. – The Center for Hmong Studies is holding its Fourth International Conference on Hmong Studies at Concordia University in Saint Paul, Minnesota from March 30-31, 2012.

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St. Paul, Minn. (February 13, 2012) – Playwright and performance artist, Katie Ka Vang’s recent diagnosis of Stage 4 Anaplastic Large T-Cell Lymphoma has the Twin Cities community coming together. Six fundraisers in Vang’s name are actively being planned spanning from January to April with many more in the works.

Vang, 32, Director of Navigate: Artist Services at the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) was diagnosed on January 3 at the University of Minnesota Fairview Medical Center. Immediately, friends and family worked collectively to create fundraisers and benefits in order to offset Vang’s medical and living expenses. Vang’s first visit to the hospital was in December 2011 when she did not have medical insurance. Due to the cancer, Vang is now on medical leave for the next two to four months. Currently, her medical bill is over $70,000.

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Ane Sawyer-Aitch at work

By Saymoukda Vongsay
AAP staff wrier 

I met Anne not too long ago during a rehearsal for the play, Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman (written/directed/produced by May Lee-Yang), of which we are currently involved with – Anne as the puppeteer-at-large and me as a live-dubb performer (the play will be performed completely in the Hmong language).

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May Lee-Yang

By SAYMOUKDA VONGSAY
AAP staff writer

Hmong American, May Lee-Yang, has been a household name in the Minnesotan arts community for over a decade, known as a playwright, poet, prose writer, and performance artist.

Lee-Yang was born in Ban Vinai, a refugee camp in Thailand following the Secret War in Laos. Nine months after her birth, her family resettled in St. Paul, Minnesota where she lives to this day. Her work often explores the lives of Hmong women and living in a bicultural world.

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New AAJC director and former State Senator Mee Moua, left, and Karen K. Narasaki, stepping down after 20 years.

WASHINGTON (Jan. 24, 2012) — Former State Senator Mee Moua is set to become the president and executive director the Asian American Justice Center, of one of the nation’s premier civil rights organizations.

AAJC announced this week that on March 19, Moua will succeed Karen K. Narasaki, who announced in June she is stepping down after 20 years of service.

“Mee already has an impressive record as a strong civil rights advocate,” said Narasaki. “Her tremendous experience, insight, passion and outstanding reputation make her a wonderful choice to lead an organization that has become so important to ensuring the voices of the nation’s growing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are heard.”

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Farview soccer players and coaches left to right: Foua Thao, coach Ger Vue, Pichai Thao, Tong Yang, Kongcheng Her, Leng Chang, Chimeng Yang, Kenny Vang, Houa Chang, Huey Lee, Pheng Vue, Andrew Thao, Xai Thao.

MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 18, 2012) — Farview 13u Hmong Soccer Team was presented the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation League Citywide Good Sportsmanship Award last week.

Farview Park is located in North Minneapolis. All the players are Hmong, and most came to the United States from Thailand’s Wat Tham Krabok refugee camp in 2004 and 2005

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Dr. Chia Youyee Vang

The Center for Hmong Studies is pleased to announce its 4th International Conference on Hmong Studies. The conference will take place at Concordia University, St. Paul and the banquet at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront hotel from March 30 – 31, 2012.

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