Events at Old Slater Mill over the next few weeks - all welcome to attend
First Strike Festival - May 13
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860
Saturday, May 13, 2023 Time: 1:00 PM-6 PM
Free to the public
Join us for community celebration and commemoration of the first industrial worker's strike in the United States. Hosted at Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark from 1 PM -6 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)
Drop by for a Labor History talk (offered on the hour from 1 PM on through 5 PM)
Learn the history of the Jencks Settlement and take a walking tour of Pawtucket with Old Slater Mill Association (1:30 PM, leaves from the front of Old Slater Mill)
Music and Dancing
Get moving and learn something new with Circus Dynamics & Metamorphosis Dance Co. (1 PM- 6 PM)
Groove with local musicians J. Michael Graham, The Berger Boys, Jay Brunelle, and Mark Cutler (performances hourly, 1 PM – 6 PM)
Write a song with Mark Cutler (12:45 PM - 1:45 PM)
Dance around a maypole with the Mystic Garland Dancers (3:00 PM)
Additional Demonstrations and Activities
Make art with local cartoonist MJ Robinson (1-3PM)
Meet "RI Lego Artist" Andrew Grover 2:30 PM
Learn how objects from the past can teach us about our world today with Everyday Anthropology and Public Archaeology Lab
Get your face painted (1 PM - 5 PM)
Meet Blackstone Valley Plein Air painters
Have your soil samples tested for free and chat with the Rhode Island Master Gardeners
Watch a Plein Air Painting demonstration with Jerry Aissis (1:30 PM)
Meet the Rhode Island Spinning Guild and watch them work
Check out the Park's new video about the First Strike by visiting here: The First Strike - YouTube
The Migratory Fish events is being held in partnership at our site, May 21, 1-4 PM
Join the parade parade to celebrate bringing migratory fish like herring back to the Blackstone River, or Kittacuck!
All are welcome! We'll have drumming and dancing with our hosts, the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc.
We will also have t-shirt screen printing to promote being the voice of Kittacuck, face painting for kids of all ages to show your fish support, a Del's truck to cool down, and community organizations where you can learn more what's going on in the watershed