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As many of you know, Orkestar Bez Ime won the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians last year. We decided to apply those funds to study abroad at Amala, a Romany cultural immersion school in Serbia. We're so thankful to the McKnight Foundation for making a huge dent in the cost of that travel-study experience, and now it's time to ask our "Three Fs"--friends, families, and fans--to help raise the last bit: We have paid for the plane tickets and a good chunk of tuition, but we still need to raise the remaining tuition in order for all six members of OBI to study there and bring back lots of wonderful new material and information to you.

We've established two great opportunities to do that:

1) For our supporters based in the Twin Cities, we're holding a fundraising performance at Celtic Junction on May 12. OBI starts playing at 8pm, but if you come at 7:15pm, you'll get a chance to experience "Village Feet": an opportunity to learn some of the basic dances in a no-pressure environment, led by Tapestry co-founder Dan Garvin. Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. You can buy advance tickets from one of us (if you can catch us!) or through Celtic Junction. More info is on our "Shows" page and on Celtic Junction's website. (While you're there, check out the "Beltane 2012" edition of Celtic Junction's newsletter for an article about our upcoming trip and an interview with our very own Katrina Mundinger.) If you love to dance, you will definitely want to come to this show, as Celtic Junction has lots of room to move around--we like to think of it as St. Paul's answer to The Cedar--with plenty of room also for those of you who would rather relax in a chair while listening to the best Balkan music in town.

2) For supporters who are not in the Cities, who cannot make the May 12 show, or who would like to contribute in every way they can by going to the show AND donating online (you are rockstars!), OBI just launched a Kickstarter campaign, where you can contribute anywhere from $5 on up to help us reach our goal of $4,000. The thing to know about Kickstarter is that we must raise the full amount before the donation window closes on May 30 in order to receive ANY of your kind donations. Every dollar counts, and each donation level offers a special "thank you" gift from the band. For example, your $50 donation means you will receive a digital download single of your choice from OBI's discography, a thank you on our website, and a signed copy of our latest CD, Mahala Drive. Be sure to check out all the other thank you gifts and watch the video on our Kickstarter page for more information and to donate.

We're thrilled to have this unique opportunity to study together in Serbia this summer, and we appreciate all the support you've given us and continue to give us as we work to strengthen our understanding and expand our repertoire of the cultures we represent with our music. Thank you!