Sasha is leaving for the UK in a little bit. She will be presenting at the Royal Economic Society in London, pretty cool. There's a direct flight from RDU to Heathrow that she'll take.

We saw two nice movies this morning and came home for lunch; I'm going back to the festival in a little bit.

April 19 is Dutch-American Friendship Day, a day to celebrate the historic ties of the United States and the Netherlands.

While it is less well-known than Dutch-American Heritage Day on November 16, there are several events this week in the United States and the Netherlands .

Opening game Dayton Dutch Lions FC

The Dayton Dutch Lions FC will play their opening game of the season tonight against Charleston Battery in Bellbrook, OH, with an "All Things Dutch" kick-off event. Dayton Dutch Lions is a professional soccer club in Ohio supported by Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente. Their jerseys are, of course, orange.

Other places that celebrate the event include the Zwaanendael Museum in Delaware and the American Business Club in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Special guest at the American Business Club will be Mrs. Fay Hartog-Levin, the US Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Dutch-American Friendship day was proclaimed by Congress in 2007. Read more about Dutch-American Friendship Day.

Dutch Heritage Month in Ontario, Canada

In related news: the Canadian province of Ontario proclaimed May to be Dutch Heritage Month a few weeks ago. From the bill:

By proclaiming the month of May as Dutch Heritage Month, the Province of Ontario recognizes the important contributions that Dutch Canadians have made to the economic, political, social and cultural fabric of Ontario’s society.

May is a historically significant month for the Dutch Canadian community. On May 5, 1945, the Canadian forces were instrumental in the liberation of the Netherlands from occupation during World War II. The Netherlands celebrates its independence and liberty, along with the heroic efforts of the Canadian forces, with a national holiday known as Liberation Day, which takes place annually on May 5.

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival started on Thursday. I took a day off yesterday and we have seen several great films already. What a great event to have in our home town!

To Die In Oregon

The most memorable movie so far was 'To Die In Oregon', about the 'Death with Dignity' act in Oregon and Washington state, which legalizes physician-assisted dying with certain restrictions. The film describes why patients took this decision. It was a very difficult movie to watch, especially the story of a 57 year old cancer patient and her family in her last year.

Windfall

The next two films were of a much lighter tone. Windfall describes downside of wind energy, and the potential effects it has on the quality of life of people around wind turbines. It describes what happens in Meredith, a village in upstate New York, when developers visit the town to set up wind turbines. As the filmmaker said at the festival, the real power of the documentary was not so much describing the facts around wind power, but showing the people of the town. Some real characters!

Guilty Pleasures

The official opening film of the festival was 'Guilty Pleasures', a fun documentary about the Harlequin romantic books, and the people involved in producing them. Very entertaining, very nicely done. Full Frame is not only great because of its movie selection, but also because of the guests that are invited. One of the main characters of the movie was in the theater and the Q&A session afterwards was fun.