On February 6, 2017, UNC American Studies alumna Katy Clune (MA, Folklore, 2015) opened “Home in a New Place: Making Laos in Morganton, NC” in Morganton’s downtown City Hall. The exhibit is based on her MA thesis research and was organized by Clune, Southern Cultures, and UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South with support from UNC Food For All and the Carolina Asia Center. Morganton Mayor Ronnie Thompson spoke, and Clune’s collaborators in the community, the Phapphayboun family, catered the event and organized an alms-giving and baci ceremony with the Venerable Say Mathmanivong from Kings Mountain, NC.
Photo: Morganton Mayor Ronnie Thompson makes an offering to the Venerable Say Mathmanivong.