1917/WWI & the War on Labor/A Musical/Historical Performance

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm
Holyoke Heritage State Park, 221 Appleton Street Holyoke, MA 01040

Free & Open to the Public

Charlie King & Candace Cassin perform

In Butte Montana, neglect of safety by the mine owners led to a horrific mine fire that took the lives of 168 men, the worst deep mine disaster in U.S. history. In Bisbee Arizona over 1200 miners were pulled from their beds in the middle of the night, loaded into cattle cars and shipped to the New Mexico desert, left there never to return to their jobs, homes or families.

Charlie King & Candace Cassin recreate these dramatic events using historic narrative, original music and over 260 powerpoint images. They tell a story of corporate purchase of the political process, misinformation, biased hostile media, race-baiting and ethnic scapegoating, targeting immigrants, anti-union legislation, the use of hired thugs, etc. - methods still in use today. It is a dramatic performance a century old and as fresh as this morning’s headlines.

Supported by a grant from the Holyoke Local Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council