TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2019 /CNW/ - Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike of May 15, 1919 will be a Bookmark for Strike!, a musical by Danny Schur and Rick Chafe (Playwrights Canada Press, The Canadian Drama Publisher, 2007). Board President Hughena Matheson is pleased to invite the public to the unveiling of Project Bookmark Canada's 27th Bookmark on the Canadian Literary Trail on Thursday, August 29, 11 a.m., Waterfront Drive, Stephan Juba Park, Winnipeg, just ahead of Labour Day Weekend.
Joining Matheson will be authors Schur and Chafe, City of Winnipeg Councillor Ross Eadie, Equity performers Carson Nattrass and Paul Potosky, historians Sharon and Nolan Reilly, and supporting organizations and individuals: Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, president Bob Moroz; Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 500, president Gord Delbridge; Manitoba Teachers' Society, General Secretary, Roland Stankevicius; Mayworks Board Chair Glenn Michalchuk; and Sandra Gessler.
Playwrights Canada Press Sales & Marketing Manager Jessica Lewis writes: "We are thrilled to see Strike! recognized in its book form as not only the first play to be part of Project Bookmark Canada but also for its representation of Winnipeg and Canadian history. Rick and Danny have curated this important history lesson into an outstanding work of literature and it's exciting to see it continue to reach new audiences."
The book's forward, by Sharon and Nolan Reilly, describes the strike: "On May 15, 1919, 35,000 men, women and children walked off the job in a six-week long confrontation that brought life in Winnipeg to a standstill. Fought by working class families for the right to union recognition, shorter hours of work, and a living wage, the strike drew the attention of much of the industrialized world to Winnipeg. The strike ended in bloodshed when government authorities used military force to establish their control over the city. Two workers died and many were injured in the events of 'Bloody Saturday'."
The Winnipeg Bookmark is one of four Bookmarks being unveiled in 2018 and 2019 marking significant Canadian anniversaries. The Commemorating Canada with Bookmarks on the CanLit Trail Project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada with financial assistance from the Commemorate Canada Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
For information about the Winnipeg Bookmark and others, visit @BookmarkCanada and www.projectbookmarkcanada.ca.
SOURCE Project Bookmark Canada
Media Contact: Laurie Murphy, Project Bookmark Canada Executive Director, (647) 646 - 2622 ~ [email protected] ~ @BookmarkCanada
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