Mayworks Fredericton: festival of working people and the arts continues this week

Mayworks Fredericton continues this coming week and weekend with more exciting events.

More than a dozen artists are coming together, April 29 to May 7, for the second annual Mayworks Fredericton Festival of Working People and the Arts organized by the Fredericton & District Labour Council (FDLC).

“The festival spans over May Day which is recognized globally as International Workers’ Day,” says FDLC President Alex Bailey. “Mayworks festivals have been taking part in various Canadian cities for nearly 30 years and we are very pleased to be able to continue this annual tradition here in Fredericton.”

“The purpose of Mayworks Fredericton is to bring workers, artists and the general public together to celebrate justice and diversity and recognize the history and struggle of working people,” says Bailey.

This week, events include the launch of the Along the Pipeline exhibition on Tuesday, May 3, a film screening of Suffragette on Thursday, May 5, an open mic night in tribute of labour organizer Joe Hill on Friday, May 6, a concert for kids with Kelly Waterhouse on Saturday, May 7. Also, on Saturday, the Fredericton Youth Feminists are co-hosting a workshop with and performance by El Jones. Mayworks Fredericton is also promoting the White Ribbon March against violence against women on Wednesday, May 4.

Last week, Jeff Bate-Boerop impressed audiences as Karl Marx in the Howard Zinn play, Marx in Soho. The Filipino-Canadian CommUNITY Association of NB organized a dance and forum about migrant worker struggles. A Nepali food workshop discussed food and politics.

Geoffrey McCormack and Thom Workman spoke to a full room at Conserver House on May Day about their book, The Servant State: Overseeing Capital Accumulation in Canada. The talk included a thoughtful assessment of the political left in Canada and a discussion of statistics of how Canada and New Brunswick fared following the latest economic crisis.

Check out a short video of the Mayworks Fredericton launch on April 29 at the Fredericton Public Library by photojournalist Andrew Meade. Check out the Workers’ Art Exhibition at the library during the month of May.