MayWorks 2008 was the most ambitious of MayWorks in several years with 34 events and a total  attendance of approximately 1900.  Planning for MayWorks 2009 is already underway. Next year, of course, is the 9oth Anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike - so it will be a special year with unique artistic presentations and special activities to mark this important anniversary.

MayWorks draws its inspiration from art and culture that reflect the struggles of working people and one of the significant events in Canadian history in terms of that struggle was the Winnipeg General Strike.  Watch this site for announcements about MayWorks 2009 events.

We also want to draw your attention to the new calendar on which we will publicize events of interest to the community.

On April 23 MayWorks 2008 began with the public launch of its calendar of events. The media event was hosted by the Park Theatre which will be the location of three MayWorks activities this year.

The kick off to MayWorks featured Aidi Sara Kreindler describing some the highlights of the Festival and performing a song from her May 23 event Song, Satire and Solidarity. She was followed by Nathan Rogers who will headline a MayWorks concert on May 25 at the West End Cultural Centre.

Special thanks to Danny Schur who assisted in organizing and presenting the event.

Welcome to MayWorks 2008.  In the calendar you can check out the highlighted dates to find what events are taking place that day.

April 27 is the first event of this year’s calendar and it will feature a spoken word event with artists from Edmonton, Toronto and Winnipeg. It is a joint project of the MayWorks Festivals in the three cities and is made possible by funding from the Canada Council. It features some of the best young poets from these cities who will be doing work commissioned especially for the show. Here in Winnipeg we are pleased to announce that the University of Winnipeg Students Association and CKUW are also sponsoring the event.

As a pre-MayWorks event on April 4th and 5th the Almanac Festival was held at the West End Cultural Centre. It featured Tom Paxton, Lindsay Jane, Nancy White, Joe Jencks (with Helena Nash). The two nights were a unique opportunity to hear music from across two generations of performers/activists. The Almanac Festival was made possible by a grant from the Winnipeg Arts Council and was sponsored by CUPE - Manitoba.

A marching band at the May Day march, a May Day banquet, an evening of poetry, an art show featuring the work of worker-artists and a spring concert were the activities of the first two weeks. Here are some of the events in pictures.

On April 18th the MayWorks 2007 schedule was premiered in dramatic fashion at the Burton Cummings Theatre. Against a backdrop of projected images, members of the press got a preview of some the events that will be taking place in MayWorks 2007. Ian La Rue performed from the MayWorks event Rock for Rights.

We’ve just posted the 2007 event calendar, so have a look. Once again we have lots of great events throughout the month of May.

MayWorks 2007 is dedicated to the memory of Rick McNair. Rick was known for his many accomplishments in the world of theatre and the performing arts. He also played an important role in the first years of the Mayworks Festival. He personified the MayWorks theme: “Celebrating Labour and the Arts”. In 2006, he joined the MayWorks Board to contribute to the process of bringing the Festival to a new and wider audience. His energy, talent and enthusiasm will be deeply missed.

On June 21, 1919 Mike Sokolowski, a Ukrainian immigrant, found himself at the centre of a huge demonstration of strikers in Market Square. Faced with a large and militant demonstration, the Mayor read the riot act and called in troops to quell the uprising. In the riot that followed, Mike Sokolowski was killed instantly by a bullet through the heart. A few days later, a second striker, Steve Skezerbanovicz, died of wounds that had become infected.

The events leading to their deaths began more than one month earlier when at seven o’clock on the morning of May 15, 1919 Winnipeg’s female night shift telephone operators punched off duty. Unlike other days no day shift workers reported to work, in fact, the city’s industry and commerce fell silent as workers began what was to become known as the Winnipeg General Strike. The strike was called by the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council out of sympathy for the city’s building and metal trades workers whose employers would not negotiate with them. The strike lasted more than one month and involved 25,000 workers.

On May 14 a memorial was held at the grave Mike Sokolowski as part of the MayWorks Festival. MayWorks itself was established to commemorate the Winnipeg General Strike through works of art that celebrate the many positive contributions made by working people.

“A Touch of Class” featured songs from Danny Schur’s musical “Strike!”

Aidi Sara Kreindler performing in “A Touch of Class”

Welcome to another year for MayWorks in Winnipeg. We’re very excited about this year’s program, and hope that you can join us for as many events as you can. Stay tuned to this space for this year’s calendar and program, as well as updates on the goings on after the festivities begin May 1st.