The Center's 45th Anniversary Celebration: An Evening with Kao Kalia Yang
"Everything changed when I was seven years old. I became a selective mute in English halfway between first and second grade. I stopped talking at school. I got by with nodding and doing the thumbs up. In fact, I wouldn't speak English voluntarily until I went to college...." Kao Kalia Yang, Author's note from A Rock In My Throat.
Join us in just 2 weeks! Hear Kao's voice, learn her story, and read her words. You don't want to miss this opportunity.
Thursday, November 12, 2026 · 5:30pm · Munson, 310 Genesee Street, Utica, NY
About the Evening
5:30pm - Doors Open
6:00pm - Kao Kalia Yang Talk & Audience Q&A
7:30pm-9:00pm - Book Signing, Cash Bar, Hors d'oeuvres
Learn More
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Kao Kalia Yang was born in the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand after her Hmong family fled war in Laos, and arrived in Minnesota at age six. Her memoir The Latehomecomer was the first Hmong-authored book to reach national distribution. Her later works include The Song Poet, Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir, and Where Rivers Part, recognized by the National Book Critics Circle and the Chautauqua Prize, among others.
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In 45 years, beginning as the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, The Center has resettled 18,000 refugees from 37 countries in our region. Your presence at this event is a recognition of the community that made this work of welcome possible, and a rededication to ensuring services remain available to help newcomers thrive.