Hispanic Heritage Month begins
The university will kick off its observance of Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 14 with an open house fiesta from 2–5 p.m. at the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (290 Hull St.). Featuring live music and regional food, the open house is co-sponsored by LACSI and the Romance Language Department’s Portuguese Language Program.

Other community events include a weeklong fundraiser outside the Tate Student Center to collect donations for the victims of the recent Peruvian earthquake, a theatrical performance by La Compañia of The Line in the Sand: Stories from the U.S./Mexico Border Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. at Ciné ArtHouse Theater (234 W. Hancock Ave.), a showing of the Streams of Gold documentary about an Andean mining town at the Athens Regional Library (2025 Baxter St.) on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. and a Fiestas de las Americas celebration on Sept. 17 at Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela (Pinewood Estates North on U.S. Route 29) featuring games, music and refreshments for children.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, encompasses the anniversaries of independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Chile. A complete listing of Hispanic Heritage Month activities can be found online (www.lacsi.uga.edu).

Observatory sets viewing schedule
The 24-inch telescope at UGA will be open for public viewing once a month beginning Sept. 13, from 9–11 p.m. In case of cloudy weather, there will be a talk entitled “Pluto’s New Family: The Kuiper Belt Objects.”

The observatory, on top of the physics building on UGA’s South Campus, has been having public nights for a number of years since the telescope was rebuilt in the 1990s. If the nights are clear, those attending will be able to look through the telescope at the stars. If it’s cloudy, there will be a brief talk on astronomy that is of current interest.

The public viewings for this year are: Oct. 18, 8–10 p.m.; Nov. 8, 7–9 p.m.; Dec. 14, 7–9 p.m.; Jan. 11, 7–9 p.m.; Feb. 8, 7:30–9:30 p.m.; March 7, 8–10 p.m.; and April 3, 9–11 p.m.

Georgia Museum of Art to host independent film series
On Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., the Georgia Museum of Art will present The Short Films of Roger Beebe: Documents/Experiments/Wisecracks as part of the Southern Arts Federation’s Southern Circuit-Tour of Independent Filmmakers, a series of six films to be shown at the museum over the next nine months.

Following the screening in the M. Smith Griffith Auditorium, Beebe will host an audience discussion of his work.

“The Short Films of Roger Beebe: Documents/Experiments/Wisecracks documents the world and attempts to understand where we are going and what we left behind,” Beebe said.

Critics call his short, experimental films skillfully crafted essays, both thought-provoking and engaging. Beebe’s works have been screened at venues and festivals around the world, including the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the CBS Jumbotron in Times Square and the Museum of Modern Art. In addition to his works as a filmmaker, Beebe is an associate professor of film and media studies at the University of Florida, as well as artistic director of the Florida Experimental Film/Video Festival.

The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of the Southern Arts Federation, a nonprofit regional arts organization with the stated goal of making a positive difference in the arts throughout the South.