Thankfully, I received a gentle (and much-needed) reminder yesterday about updating our blog. What better time to post an announcement about Imagining Burma than right before our highly anticipated second event. Please read ahead for a thorough account of all that's happened in the last few weeks and stay tuned for more frequent (I promise!) announcements.

First, we finalized our list of sponsors (it's a doozy!). We are very fortunate to have the support of the Southeast Asia Interest Association (SEAIA), WXYC FM, Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF), Graduate Association for Geography Students (GAGS), Carolina Asian Center (CAC), the Media Resources Center (MRC), Weaver Street Market, and the departments of Comparative Literature, Asian Studies, International and Area Studies, and the Institute for the Environment. Special thanks to all of these UNC student organizations and academic departments and to Weaver Street, our socially-conscious local market.

Next, our opening night party and screening were very successful! WXYC Music Director Jon Page spun three hours of the hottest hits from Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on Burmese popular music. Members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Burmese community provided a feast of delicious authentic regional cuisine. We screened _The Burmese Harp_ at Southern Rail and (despite the gravitas of the film's subject), everyone had a great time. Not only did we enjoy the screening, we also learned a lot from this film, which is a rare filmic look at the pre-junta Burmese countryside.

Thank you to all of the local, national, and international press outlets that covered our event. Keep a look out for reports about the Burmese film series on radio, TV, and in print media! I will post links to these stories as they become available.

We raised a great deal of money at the opening night. The exact amount is not known because many of the donations were made in private at our online donation stations. We raised $360 in cash from the dinner alone and Weaver Street donated an additional $250 to help cyclone victims. We expect the online donations to have exceeded the cash total.

Over the last two weeks, Joseph and I have been busy planning for tonight's special event at Hanes Art Center auditorium. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST, we will screen two documentaries about Burma's nationhood and host speakers from the Triangle Burmese refugee community. Once again, our Burmese friends have prepared a wonderful selection of snacks. Please join us tonight!