**The deadline for proposals has been extended to December 1, 2010** 

The Seventh Triennial Vietnam Symposium will take place on March 10-12, 2011, and will be held at the brand new Overton Hotel and Convention Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Vietnam Center symposia are open to presentations that examine any and all aspects of the United States involvement in Southeast Asia. This includes activities before, during, and after the war in Vietnam. Papers can examine any aspect of the experience to include early interaction and diplomacy, activities in theater during the war, the international dimensions of the war for all sides involved, activities in the US and elsewhere in support of or in opposition to the war, postwar issues, etc.

We encourage anyone interested in presenting a paper to submit a one page proposal and a short CV for consideration. As always, graduate students are highly encouraged to submit proposals. Please format proposals to resemble an abstract to include the author’s name, title/affiliation, and contact information, along with proposed title, thesis/purpose, and main points. Please limit proposal length to a single page and submit them electronically to VietnamCenterConference@ttu.edu. If you make an email submission but do not receive notification of receipt within seven days, please call 806-742-3742 and ask for Steve Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center and Archive.

The deadline for submitting proposals is December 1st, 2010.

For more information, please visit www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2011_Symposium/

Thank you and we look forward to you joining us for this event.

• Submit Proposal: VietnamCenterConference@ttu.edu

Vietnamese Mooncakes. Photo courtesy of morning_rumtea (Lê Hoàn Nhã) (the photographer) and http://www.flickr.com/photos/vietnamfriendly/ (morning_rumtea's Flickr page)

 Happy Mid Autumn “Moon” Festival. Today, Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 is the Mid Autumn “Moon” Festival.  It is a magical time for family and friends.

Pomelo. Photo Courtesy of Wikicommons.

  The Vietnamese American Heritage Archivist, Ann Mallett, has fond memories of living in Taipei, Taiwan and spending the “Moon” Festival with friends, barbecuing,  hearing stories about the beautiful woman in the moon, eating delicious fruits and mooncakes, watching children make hats out of Pomelo peelings (a large, pale green to yellow citrus fruit), and seeing the beauty of hanging and floating lanterns lighting the dark night.

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Pomelo. Photo courtesy of wikicommons

 What are your favorite memories of the Mid Autumn “Moon” Festival? You can share your favorite memories and recipes for barbecue and mooncakes on our facebook.

Sliced Pomelo. Photo courtesy of wikicommons.

Pomelo photos courtesy of wikicommons

Charcoal Mooncake and Cantonese Mooncake. Picture courtesy of wikicommons

 Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 marks the Mid Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon or Full Moon Festival. Traditionally celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon appears larger than it does on any other night of the year, the Mid Autumn Moon Festival (Tet Trung Thu) is the second biggest holiday in Vietnam and is widely celebrated throughout Asia.

Mooncake paper box package. Photo courtesy of wikicommons.

  It is a time for family and to celebrate life, prosperity, and the harvest. During the Mid Autumn festival, parents prepare their children’s favorite dishes and buy them new toys. Children hear the story of Chu Cuoi (the man in the moon) and other fairytales. Hanging and floating lanterns are set out to decorate and people dance the lion and dragon dances. Mooncakes (made from lotus seed, ground beans, and containing a bright salted egg yolk in the center) are given to family and friends. Pomelo fruit and watermelon seeds are a special treat. At night children parade through the streets to the beat of drums wearing Paper Mache masks and carrying lanterns in the shapes of stars, rabbit heads, fish (carpe), butterflies, or lanterns with a lit candle inside that makes shapes spin representing the seasonal spinning of the earth.

Mooncake. Photo courtesy of wikicommons.

Photos courtesy of wikicommons

The US Air Force turns 63 today, and the Vietnam Center and Archive staff would like to wish the Air Force a very happy birthday.  We have put together this small exhibit of Air Force related items from the collections of the Vietnam Archive for everyone to enjoy.

Happy Birthday US Air Force Online Exhibit

The deadline to submit proposals for the 7th Triennial Symposium is approaching.  The Symposium will take place on March 10-12, 2011 at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center in Lubbock, Texas.  For more information about the Symposium, see our event page.

September 1 is the beginning of the Vietnam Archive’s fiscal year and we have raised our photocopying fees and rights and reproduction prices.  To see a copy of our new prices click here.

The cost of providing these services has gone up over the years and, while we try to keep our prices to a minimum, we have raised our fees to cover these increased costs.  Any order received on September 1, 2010 forward will be subject to the new prices.