Special Event

Event

First Strike Festival - 200 Years of Labor

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Fee:

Free.

Location:

67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Dates & Times

Date:

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Time:

12:00 PM

Duration:

4 hours

Type of Event

Cultural/Craft Demonstration
Festival
Partner Program
Performance
Talk

Description

Join us for community celebration and 200-year commemoration of the first industrial worker's strike in the United States.  

Hosted at Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark from 12 PM - 4 PM in downtown Pawtucket, RI. 

THINGS TO DO: 

 Tours and Talks 

  •  Tour Slater Mill with a ranger (10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, or 2:30 PM)  

Meet in front of Slater Mill – limited to 25 persons   (Tickets are required today only. Tickets are free and will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Old Slater Mill front desk starting at 10:00 AM. Only individuals with tickets will be permitted on the tour).

  •  Drop in for a Labor History Talk with a ranger (offered on the hour, 1, 2, 3)  

 Pop into the Slater Mill belltower    

  • First Strike History Open Air Presentation with a ranger (11:30 AM, 3:30 PM) 

Outdoor discussion led by a ranger 

 

Performance Schedule:  

12:00 PM - Acoustic Folk Music and Welcome from J. Michael Graham 

12:30 PM - Live Music by Singer Songwriter Kim Moberg 

1:30 PM - Dance Performance by Students from the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Pawtucket, RI) - inspired by the 1824 strikers 

2:00 PM - Dance Performance by the Mystic Garland Dancers & Maypole Group Dance 

2:45 PM - Live Music by Connecticut State Troubadour Kala Farnham

 

Additional Demonstrations and Activities 

  • Dance around a maypole and play old time games  
  • Check out a pop-up exhibit on 200 years of Labor History created with students from Providence College 
  • Learn how objects from the past can teach us about our world today with Everyday Anthropology  
  • See fiber arts demonstrations with Wedges of Time and see the Rhode Island Spinning Guild at work  
  • Watch a Letterpress Printing Demo with Andy Volpe from the Museum of Printing
  • Pick up a history poster and meet the Rhode Island Labor History Society  
  • Meet the Rhode Island Master Gardeners 

  

Check out the Park's new video about the First Strike by visiting here: The First Strike - YouTube 

 

 


More information

Reservation or Registration: No


Contact Information

Allison Horrocks
401-318-4883
Contact Us