Visit the Michigan State University Museum in March for educational programs presented in conjunction with the MSU Museum exhibition, "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles."

-Saturday, March 21 -- 1 p.m. - 3 p.m., in the MSU Museum Auditorium. The "STAMP, PAINT, CUT!" African fabric workshop for children is presented free of charge and no pre-registration is required.

Malian artist, Boubacar Doumbia and Kandioura Couilbaly, along with artist and translator Janet Goldner will instruct young artists in the making of Malian bogolanfini, or mud cloth designs and techniques.

Visiting artists Coulibaly and Doumbia are members of Kasobane, a collective of fabric artists from Mali, which is largely responsible for popularizing bogolan (or mud cloth) as a symbol of national and ethnic identity. Both attended the National Art Institute in Bamako and have exhibited in Europe, Africa, Cuba, Japan and Canada. In addition, Coulibaly does costume design for cinema and Doumbia produces textiles for interior decoration in Mali and abroad. Visiting artist Janet Goldner is a sculptor living in New York City. She has been traveling to Mali for 35 years and has collaborated with Kasobane on a number of projects.

-Wednesday, March 25 -- 7 - 9 p.m. International Book Club Meeting: "Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali," by Kris Holloway. The author will be present (via speaker phone) for the discussion in the MSU Main Gallery. This program is sponsored by the East Lansing Public Library and is presented free of charge.

One of Entertainment Weekly's top 20 narrative travel books and a Boston Globe bestseller, "Monique and the Mango Rains" is the true story of the life and death of a remarkable West African midwife, seen through the eyes of a young Peace Corps volunteer who worked side-by-side with her, birthing babies and caring for mothers, in a remote, impoverished village. It is a rare tale of friendship that reaches beyond borders to vividly and irrevocably unites another woman's world with our own. About the author: Kris Holloway served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa from 1989-1991, where she met her husband, John Bidwell. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan, focusing her research on maternal and child health. She has used her unique background in writing, public health and development to further the mission of numerous non-profits and educational institutions including Planned Parenthood, the National Priorities Project, the University of Michigan, Springfield College, and the Greenbelt Movement International. She currently works as the Director of Institutional Relations at the Center for International Studies and lives in Northampton, Mass., with John and their two sons.

"Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" has been extended in the MSU Museum's Main Gallery through Nov. 29, 2009.

The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural history and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

Some things get better with age, the MSU Museum Wine Tasting Benefit is definitely one of them. Find the perfect wine at the Michigan State University Museum's fourteenth annual Wine Tasting Benefit, on Friday, March 27, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, Harrison Road at Michigan Avenue, in East Lansing.

The Wine Tasting Benefit features more than 150 award-winning selections, independently owned wineries, importers and industry professionals on-site.

The evening also features live music, appetizers, a silent auction and door prizes. The Kellogg Center's State Room restaurant will offer a special discount to Wine Tasting participants, either before or after the event. Tickets are $40 and are available online at http://museum.msu.edu/Events/WineTasting/ , and at the Museum Store, Goodrich's Shop Rite, at Harrison and Trowbridge roads in East Lansing.

Proceeds from the event support MSU Museum development efforts. For more information, call (517) 355-2370. The event is sponsored by the Greater Lansing Vintners Club, Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, Elite Brands, Goodrich's ShopRite, and the Michigan State University Museum.

The East Lansing Film Festival (ELFF) is the largest and most diverse film festival in Michigan to screen independent and foreign feature, documentary, short and students films from around the world. The ELFF was created in 1997 in cooperation with the City of East Lansing and Michigan State University. Since then, ELFF has been dedicated to bringing quality foreign and independent films to the state of Michigan in order to expose our audience to diverse cultures, ideas, and creative works.

Learn more about films, schedules, tickets and passes, directions and volunteering here: http://www.elff.com/.

Wednesday, April 1 - Tom Springer
Note special time: 4 p.m.
MSU Main Library

In coordination with the Library of Michigan, the MSU Libraries welcome author Tom Springer whose collection, Looking for Hickories, was named a 2009 Michigan Notable Book.

Looking for Hickories is a masterfully written collection that establishes a new voice for the spirit of the upper Midwest and Michigan and offers a fresh look at the landscape as well as the everyday lives of the people who make up the region's small communities.

Springer is a senior editor at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. For the foundation, he wrote the books Blessed with Children and How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds without Unraveling. Springer has also written about nature and outdoor travel for newspapers and magazines such as Backpacker, Michigan Out-of-Doors , and Notre Dame. His nature-themed commentaries have aired on several National Public Radio programs. Springer holds a master's degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University .

The Michigan Writers Series recognizes and highlights the literary work of important writers who live and work in Michigan. Hosted by the MSU Libraries, the series features individual Michigan writers for an evening of readings and discussion with their audience. The readings, which are free and open to the public, take place on most Friday evenings during the academic year in the Library.

Learn more here: http://www2.lib.msu.edu/features/?e=22

Wednesday, April 1 - Tom Springer
NOTE: Special Time: 4 pm
MSU Main Library

In coordination with the Library of Michigan, the MSU Libraries welcome author Tom Springer whose collection, Looking for Hickories, was named a 2009 Michigan Notable Book.

Looking for Hickories is a masterfully written collection that establishes a new voice for the spirit of the upper Midwest and Michigan and offers a fresh look at the landscape as well as the everyday lives of the people who make up the region's small communities.

Springer is a senior editor at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. For the foundation, he wrote the books Blessed with Children and How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds without Unraveling. Springer has also written about nature and outdoor travel for newspapers and magazines such as Backpacker, Michigan Out-of-Doors , and Notre Dame. His nature-themed commentaries have aired on several National Public Radio programs. Springer holds a master's degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University .

The Michigan Writers Series recognizes and highlights the literary work of important writers who live and work in Michigan. Hosted by the MSU Libraries, the series features individual Michigan writers for an evening of readings and discussion with their audience. The readings, which are free and open to the public, take place on most Friday evenings during the academic year in the Library.

Learn more here: http://www2.lib.msu.edu/features/?e=22

According to popular wisdom, we are what we eat. What we eat says volumes about us - our backgrounds, our social, cultural, economic and religious status, our food preferences, in other words, who we are. The Michigan State University Museum serves up an appetizing new special exhibition, "Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food," April 5 - Nov. 15 in the Heritage Gallery.

The exhibition follows a statewide tour along side the Smithsonian's "Key Ingredients: America by Food," last year and centers on distinctive Michigan specialties that tell the story of how "Michigan Eats." The updated and expanded exhibition, now debuting at home at the MSU Museum, examines the creation of early Michigan cookbooks and a variety of food-centered celebrations -- from fish fries to cherry and berry festivals aplenty. The exhibit also explores the concept of "foodways." "Foodways represents an entire complex of ideas, behaviors and beliefs centered on food production, preparation, presentation and consumption, and the role of culture in shaping and preserving it," explains Yvonne Lockwood, MSU Museum curator of folklife. "The biological necessity to eat is unquestionable; however, it is to culture, not biology, that we must look to explain why we eat what we eat."

At the same time, "Michigan Eats" draws on the MSU Museum's extensive history and cultural collections to help illustrate Michigan's foodways and regional riches -- like cabbage slicers for sauerkraut, sap buckets for maple syrup, apple picking sacks, Native American wild rice winnowing baskets, and early Kellogg's cereal packaging. Check the MSU Museum web site at http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Upcoming/Michigan_Eats.html for upcoming programs and activities related to "Michigan Eats."

The Asian Studies Center and MSU India Council present: Vasant Mahotsav - India Week 2009 at Michigan State University and the Greater Lansing community. The MSU Museum, a long-time partner in developing India Week programs, encourages museum members and friends to check out these upcoming lectures, films and performances.

*Friday, 6 March, 5:30 p.m.
International Center Library (115) Dr. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Recent Discoveries of the Indus Civilization in Pakistan and India: New Discoveries and Revised Histories Dr. Kenoyer, archaeologist and Director of the Center for South Asian Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin will present an illustrated overview of the Indus civilization and highlight recent discoveries from excavations in Pakistan and western India. Free and open to all.

*Sunday, 15 March, 4 p.m.
MacDonald Middle School, 1601 Burcham Dr., East Lansing
"Sujata: A Guru's Legacy Continues" Odissi Dance Performance
Renowned Indian Odissi dancer Sujata Mohapatra arrives in East Lansing as part of a world tour celebrating the influence of her father-in-law, the late Guru Padmavibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, on the art of Odissi. Special tickets are available for students and educators. (Tickets can be purchased in advance at the MSU Museum Store.)

*Friday, 20 March, 9:30 p.m. East Lansing Film Festival presents The Pool
A young man, working in a posh hotel, has dreams of moving out of poverty and becoming one of the guests. But can he change his situation without losing his friends and his identity? In Hindi with English subtitles. Tickets required.

*Saturday, 21 March, 2 and 4 p.m. High Chai at Turner Dodge House Enjoy India tea (chai) and refreshments while learning about cuisine and culture at the historic Turner Dodge House. Two sittings are available. Tickets are $8 per person.
*Wednesday, 25 March, 6:30 p.m.
Encore Presentation at the ELFF: The Pool
Celebrations Cinema in Lansing (tickets required)
Thursday, 26 March, 3 p.m.
International Center 201
Graduate Research Forum
Manashi Ray, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, will present her dissertation research on "Transcending National Borders to Embrace the Beyond: A Study of Transnational Asian Indians in the United States and India." Free and open to the public.
Saturday, 28 March, Noon - 5:30 p.m.
Wells Hall B Corridor, MSU Campus
Anand Bazaar
Try Indian foods, games, activities and more at the 'Happy Market' - fun for children, students, and adults! Meal tickets are $5 for $6 "tastes."

Learn more about these events at the Asian Studies web site: http://asianstudies.msu.edu/

Persons with disabilities may request special accommodations by contacting the Asian Studies Center at (517) 353-1680 or asiansc@msu.edu.