The People's Music Network's concert "Singing for Our Lives" featuring Anne Feeney, John Fromer, 
Bev Grant, Tom Juravich, Back to the Roots, Nathan Baez and many more. This Friday, January 27, 2012 at 
7:30pm at the Lawrence High School Performing Arts Center (70-72 North Parish Rd. Lawrence, MA 01843). 
For tickets and more information visit the People's Music Network

THE FRIENDS OF THE LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY'S 2012 BREAD & ROSES CALENDAR!!

A great companion through the year and a wonderful holiday gift: The Friends of the Lawrence Public Library's 2012 Bread & Roses Calendar!!

Available at the Lawrence Public Library (978-620-3600), $10 + $2 shipping and at the Lawrence Heritage State Park, 978-794-1655, 1 Jackson St., every day 9-4

BREAD & ROSES CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE BENEFIT SHOW: THE CLOTH FROM WHICH WE ARE CUT

We invite you to join us at a benefit concert for the Bread & Roses Centennial Committee, which will be hosting a truly wonderful choral performance by A Besere Velt, the community chorus of the Boston Workmen's Circle, on Sunday, October 23.
 
The program is titled The Cloth From Which We Are Cut, and commemorates the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. It was performed in New York City this past March for the 100th anniversary of the disaster, and has been performed to rousing receptions in several locations since. We are privileged to host it.
The concert will be held at Temple Emanuel in Andover, Massachusetts at 4pm Sunday, October 23, 2011.
 
Tickets are $30, and $100 for Premium admission with pre-concert reception. (on-line ticketing fees will be added) Tickets can be purchased through MKtix.com at this link:
 https://prod.mkat.com/mktixrun/shared/mknporun?dir=mvarts.MKT-993.BRC-E22421&Event=BRC-E22421&page=mkeventregisterfrm.jsp
 
For information on the Centennial Committee and programs, go to http://www.breadandrosescentennial.org/
 
This is a chance to witness a powerful and moving program, while helping to fund the Bread and Roses Centennial, an important milestone and opportunity for Lawrence!

The heroine of Bread and Roses comes to life

New book tells the story of Carmela Teoli, child mill worker

By Yadira Betancesybetances@eagletribune.com

LAWRENCE — It was a secret in Frank Palumbo Jr.'s family that he could no longer keep inside.

His grandmother was Carmela Teoli, who in 1911 was a 14-year-old working in the city's mills. One day, her hair became entangled in a machine and it ripped her hair and scalp from her head. She spent seven months in the hospital.

But shortly after the great Strike of 1912 began, Carmela went before Congress and told the story of her accident. It was her testimony which was prompted sweeping changes in child labor laws in the United States.

"I'm very proud of her integrity, her honesty and courage to go to Washington and to tell the nation and the world what was happening here, not for her own benefit or to get rich, but to stop what was going on here," Palumbo said.

But the details of Teoli's life have been a mystery as she made her own son keep her story a solemn secret. But now her grandson has written the book "Through Carmela's Eyes," which tells the story of Teoli based on her own diaries and letters. Palumbo's book will be published next year in time for the 100th anniversary of the Strike of 1912, also known as the "Bread and Roses" strike.

Palumbo, whose aunt, Josephine, lives in Methuen, is in Lawrence this weekend to speak about the book at the Bread and Roses Festival on Monday at 12:30 p.m. He is also thumbing through historical photographs of the strike and workers at the Lawrence History Center which he hopes to include in the book. The strike began after 20,000 workers walked out of the mills when their wages were reduced along with their work hours. The strike ended on March 14, 1912 when workers received wage increases and overtime pay.

Testifying before Congress was not easy for the Teoli family. Palumbo said the family's home was fire-bombed and his great-grandfather was beaten by those who wanted to discourage him from sending his daughter to Washington D.C. to testify.

"Thinking about a little kid, her innocence and having her think like an adult must have weighted so heavy on her," Palumbo said.

While in Washington, President William Taft's wife Helen took Teoli to the White House to ease her fears.

"She gave her confidence. She was terrified because she thought she was going to be killed when she came back," Palumbo said. "This is the reason why it was kept a secret in my family."

Palumbo was 14 when he first learned about his grandmother's history. He recalls how he was sent to his room to finish his homework when his late father, Frank Palumbo Sr., received a telephone call, which made the older man uneasy.

"I tipped-toed downstairs, and I heard my father saying there was nothing to say about his mother. He looked like a ghost coming to dinner," Palumbo said.

Palumbo's father had made a solemn promise to Teoli to never talk about her story. At a function the father and son were catering in 1978, Palumbo asked his father who was skinning the excess fat off a chicken, why he did not write a book about Teoli. His father put the knife down and reminded his son about the vow of silence.

"But if you want to write the book, you can because you didn't promise anybody to keep the secret," Frank Palumbo Sr. told his son. "You just have to wait until I'm gone."

In 2007, the elder Palumbo became very sick. Before he died, he gave his son Teoli's diaries, letters she exchanged with her husband in Italy, newspaper articles about the strike and other correspondence.

That's when Frank Palumbo Jr. began to write. Palumbo said the book will set the record straight on several facts such as how his grandmother did not speak broken English and how she had to clean bed pans and floors to pay for her seven-month hospital stay.

Frank Palumbo Jr. said he dedicated the book to his father who is buried in Lawrence.

"This is no longer a secret," Palumbo said. "I'm passing down the legacy to my children so when they pick up the book they can see what she (Teoli) did for Lawrence."

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1642535943/The-heroine-of-Bread-and-Roses-comes-to-life

The 2012 Bread & Roses calendar created by the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library will be available for sale at their booth at the 2011 Bread  & Roses Festival.

http://queencityma.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/2012-calendar-cover.jpg

http://www.lawrencefreelibrary.org

Portuguese American Fado singer, Ana Vinagre, and her guitar ensemble will perform at the 27th Annual Bread & Roses Festival to be held in Lawrence (MA) on Labor Day, Monday, September 5. The performance will take place from 4:00 to 4:45 PM on the Carmela Teoli stage, at the North Common Park.

The Bread and Roses Festival, which occurs every year on Labor Day, celebrates Lawrence’s ethnic diversity and labor history, namely the historic 1912 landmark Bread and Roses Strike led by immigrant women. The multicultural festival memorializes the historic event with a variety of music and dance, poetry and drama, ethnic food, historical demonstrations, and walking and trolley tours, all on or starting from Lawrence’s Common. The event is organized by the Bread and Roses Heritage Committee, Inc., a non-profit, all-volunteer organization. Admission is free.

Ana Vinagre was born in the fishing town of Figueira da Foz, mainland Portugal. She began singing Fado at age 13. In 1972, she immigrated to the United States with her husband. The couple settled in New Bedford (MA).

The Bread and Roses Heritage Committee is seeking volunteers to organize the 2012 centennial of the Bread & Roses Strike. With plans still in the works, the Bread & Roses Heritage Committee is committed to making the 2012 festival its biggest yet with world-renowned performers and guests. paj.cm

Bread and Roses Labor Day Festival Labor Day Festival on the Common in Lawrence, MA, Sept. 5, 2011, 12-6 pm. Bread and Puppet Theater, Zili Misik, Ten Tumbao, Angkor Dance Troupe, Fado Singer Ana Vinagre. Great ethnic food, trolley tours, children's activities, and Lawrence History Live!, the tent for lively conversation on labor and the city in past and present.

Lawrence, MA, August 17, 2011 --(PR.com)-- 27th Annual Bread & Roses Festival (Labor Day) – Rain or Shine The Bread and Roses Heritage Committee is pleased to announce the 27th Annual Bread & Roses Festival to be held on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2011 (12 noon to 6:00 pm) on the Campagnone Common, located at 200 Common Street in Downtown Lawrence.

Featured performers include: 1) Bread and Puppet, a political puppet theater company; 2) Zili Misik, an All-Female Band that brings African, Caribbean, and American rhythms; 3) Ten Tumbao, a funky and soulful Afro-Latin-Caribbean band that mixes spicy rhythms with vocal harmonies, captivating melodies, and a touch of jazz; 4) Angkor Dance Troupe, nationally recognized as one of the most accomplished and experienced of the U.S.-based Cambodian traditional arts ensembles, and many more.

The Festival celebrates Lawrence's labor history and ethnic diversity, and particularly the historic events of the “Bread and Roses” textile strike of 1912. It is a celebration on multiple stages with a variety of music, dance, poetry, and drama. A History and Labor Section features Lawrence History Live—a tent for lively conversations on labor and the city in past and present. Numerous information tables present a full range of cultural and social justice organizations.

Trolley tours and walking tours around the city highlight the historical sites. Great ethnic food. All events on or starting from the Campagnone Common in Downtown Lawrence.

Bread and Roses is the only festival in the region which celebrates the true spirit of Labor Day.

The Bread and Roses Festival is also the only broadly multicultural and inclusive festival in Lawrence.

The event is free and open to the public. It is a true family event that also includes entertainment for children such as pony rides, jugglers, and drumming. Come join Bread and Roses for Labor Day and learn more about Lawrence’s history, its people and struggles.

For more information, please call (978) 794-1655 or send email to info@breadandrosesheritage.org.

Contact:

Niurka Aybar (978) 738-7437

Jim Beauchesne (978) 794-1655

Bread and Roses Heritage Committee, Inc.

Jurg Siegenthaler

301-233-9653

jsieg@american.edu

978-794-1655