================================================================== ================================================================== Please join the Organization of Chinese Americans - Northern Virginia (OCA-NOVA) in celebrating the "Year of the Boar" at our 25th annual Lunar New Year's Banquet Saturday, January 13, 2007 China Garden in Rosslyn, Virginia. Come socialize and network with new and old friends, while enjoying a 10-course dinner. You'll also be treated with a special presentation by Virginia 's own Director Eric Byler. And make a Lunar New Year wish of good luck a reality for two Chinese Americans by registering with the National Bone Marrow Registry. 6:30pm Reception 7:00pm Dinner 9:30pm Music and Dancing WHERE: China Garden 1100 Wilson Blvd Arlington , VA Restaurant Phone: 703-525-5317 www.chinagardenva. com COST: $40/member and $45/non-member (payment POSTMARKED by WEDNESDAY January 10, 2007) AFTER January 10, $55/person at the door Download the registration form and mail it to: OCA-NOVA, Attn: Christine Chen 1215 N. Fort Myer Drive #301 , Arlington , VA 22209 Make checks payable to OCA-NOVA or pay by credit card/paypal by clicking here. For more info contact: ocanova_rsvp@ yahoo.com ========== If you are interested and would like to sit at the OCA-YP table, then indicate that you would like to sit at the OCA-YP table in your RSVP e-mail and when you send in your payment. Seating at the OCA-YP table will be on a first-come, first serve basis, so RSVP as soon as possible. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Special Presentation by Eric Byler Bi-racial writer-director Eric Byler grew up in Virginia, Hawaii, and California before graduating from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Eric was nominated for a 2003 Independent Spirit Award for his first feature Charlotte Sometimes (2003), which also earned nominations for producer Marc Ambrose and actress Jacqueline Kim. Eric's second feature Americanese premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March of 2006 where it won the Audience Award, and Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast. Current projects include the short subject My Life Disoriented, Kealoha (The Loved One) in development, and a Charlotte Sometimes sequel called Tre in post production. In 1995, Eric's student film Kenji's Faith premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won six other festival awards, and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. Eric's father is of European descent and his mother is Chinese American. APA Bone Marrow Drive Make a Lunar New Year wish of good luck a reality for two Chinese Americans who desperately need a matching bone marrow donor. Leukemia has invaded the lives of Wincheng Lin and Lan Ma when they have so much more living to do. Wincheng Lin is a 26-year old who has just begun life after graduating from the University of Rochester . On June 9, 2006, 26 yr old Wincheng Lin was diagnosed with AUL, an extremely rare combination of AML and ALL with a tumor the size of a grapefruit in her chest. Although she is completing several rounds of chemotherapy, doctors believe this might not be enough. Due to the rare form of Leukemia she has, a bone marrow transplant is her best bet for a cure. Ma Lan was happy with her life. She is 37, has a 5 year-old bright and beautiful daughter, works in a big pharmaceutical company in Chicago , and has a loving husband who has just landed an almost perfect job. Many would say Lan has a good life. Yet, fate suddenly changed his mood for Lan. She got leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow, where the body's blood cells are manufactured. A matching donor will most likely be another Chinese/Asian person. Right now their odds are daunting since only 7 percent of all registered bone marrow donors in the U.S. are Asian; a one in 20,000 to a one in a million chance of finding a matching donor. You can help them and other patients beat the odds by volunteering to become a bone marrow donor. There will be registration kits and assistance available during the OCA-NOVA Lunar New Year party. New technology has made the registration process much simplier by eliminating the need for a blood sample. Volunteering to become a bone marrow donor can make a momentous difference in the lives of others. You can read more about what it means to become a donor at http://www.aadp.org/q&a.html or http://www.marrow. org . Please send an e-mail to kleeiea@yahoo. com if you want to have a registration kit reserved for you or if you have questions about the event.