Holiday Celebration with Thomas, Capote, Carols and Good Cheer, Sebastian Lockwood, Nanette Perrotte

Peterborough, New Hampshire - On Wednesday evening, December 19th at 7pm Sebastian Lockwood and Nanette Perrotte return to the Mariposa Museum for an evening of holiday warmth and good cheer, featuring the traditional readings of Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” and Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”, interspersed with caroling and ending with wassail and holiday treats.

One of his most popular works, Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales is the retelling of Christmas from the view of a young child, set in the time of Christmases past and portraying a nostalgic and simpler time. Dylan Marlais Thomas, born in Wales in 1914, was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems, “Do not go gentle into that good night”, “Under milk wood”, and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.

The short story, “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote was originally published in December 1956. It is a largely autobiographical story, which

"Mariposa Afternoons" begins; Mariposa Museum, Peterborough

Peterborough, New Hampshire - On Oct 17th at 2pm the fifth season of the Mariposa Museum’s “Afternoons” begins with A Time to Dance, presented by author and photographer Richard Nevell.  He will screen two films, Country Corners and Full of Life A-Dancin’ which capture the importance of traditional country dancing in New England and Southern Appalachia respectively, from colonial times to the present, and illustrate how dancing served to foster a sense of community in rural America.

The two films co-produced by Richard Nevell and filmmaker Robert Fiore, were funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and broadcast as PBS specials.

On October 24th, for the presentation Textiles and the Stories They Tell, Terry Reeves, Education Director at the Museum will share examples of textiles from the Mariposa’s extensive collection to explore how the design elements, the use of fabrics, colors, and especially subject matter tell the stories of other cultures.  Over the centuries these textile artifacts and their stories have been significant in preserving the history and tradition of many peoples throughout the world.

On November 7th at 2pm in her program Baked Beans and Fried Clams--How Food Defines a Region Edie Clark, notable editor and journalist, offers a celebration of baked beans, fried clams, fish chowder, Indian pudding— classic foods distinctive to New England. Drawing from such diverse resources as Fannie Farmer, Julia Child, Haydn S. Pearson and her own vast experiences for enlightenment and amusement, she will lend perspective on how contemporary life has distanced us from these regional classics.

Storyteller/historian Jo Radner will present Braving the Middle Ground Stories of Pre-Revolutionary Northern New England in the final program in the “Afternoons” series on November 14th at 2pm.   She will tell the tales that defined New Englanders in the 17th and 18th centuries, shaping their identities and view of the world. Juxtaposing Native American oral traditions and stories told by her New England ancestors she will reveal a complex “middle ground” in which English settlers and Native peoples saw one another as defenders and trespassers, relatives and aliens, kind neighbors and ruthless destroyers.

All presentations begin at 2:00 pm, followed by refreshments.  The programs on November 7th and November 14th are free thanks to a generous sponsorship from the New Hampshire Humanities Council.  The other programs are $5 per person, Members free.

Mariposa is wheelchair accessible.

Press Contact: Mose Olenik
Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center
26 Main Street
Peterborough, NH  03458
603-924-4555

All You Jim Crow Fascists!—Musical presentation by Dr. Will Kaufman

Peterborough, New Hampshire - On Friday, September 14 at 7 pm the Mariposa Museum will host All You Jim Crow Fascists! presented by Woody Guthrie scholar, Dr. Will Kaufman in the barn at Four Winds Farm in Peterborough.  Will Kaufman’s new musical presentation explores Woody Guthrie’s anti-racist songs and activism. Conventionally known for championing unions and poor white Dust Bowl migrants, Guthrie also left an extensive body of songs condemning Jim Crow segregation, race hatred and racial fascism. Most of these songs were never recorded, but remain a legacy of Guthrie’s personal transformation into a committed civil rights activist, working and singing with the likes of Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Paul Robeson in the 1940s and 50s. Along with Guthrie’s lifetime body of work, it is a heartening and uplifting legacy.

Dr. Will Kaufman is Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Central Lancashire in England and the author of Woody Guthrie: American Radical (University of Illinois Press).

Admission is $15, Members $12.  Reservations recommended by email: admin@mariposamuseum.org or telephone: 603.924.4555.

All You Jim Crow Fascists! is part the Museum’s ongoing exhibition This World is Your World—Woody Guthrie and the Art of Change. (Aug 1-Oct 31)

The Mariposa gratefully thanks Duffy and Rick Monahon for hosting the event at their barn at Four Winds Farm.  Directions are on the Museum’s website (www.mariposamuseum.org).

Film & discussion: 1913 Massacre-Inspired by a Woody Guthrie Song, Filmmakers Ken Ross & Louis Galdieri

Peterborough, New Hampshire - On Saturday, September 22nd at 7pm, filmmakers Ken Ross and Louis V. Galdieri will present and discuss their film, 1913 Massacre. This new documentary accompanies singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie to Calumet, Mich., a once-thriving mining town still haunted by the tragic events that inspired Woody Guthrie's famous ballad, 1913 Massacre.

On Christmas Eve, 1913, the striking Italian miners of Calumet gathered with their wives and children for a holiday party at Italian Hall. After the festivities began, someone — to this day no one knows who — yelled “Fire!” The miners, their wives, and children made a mad rush for the stairs, but found the door locked.  In the ensuing chaos, 74 people were crushed and suffocated to death, 59 of them children. There was no fire.

In the version of events that found its way into Woody's song, the "copper-boss thug-men" had plotted to yell “Fire!” while holding the door of Italian Hall shut, preventing escape. The town itself is still divided over exactly what happened. And no one can explain why Italian Hall was torn down in 1984.

1913 Massacre includes interviews with the last living witnesses of the tragedy and reconstructs Calumet's past from individual memories, family legends, and songs, tracing the event's legacy to the present day, as the town -- out of work, out of money, out of luck — struggles to come to terms with this painful episode from its past.

The film and discussion with filmmakers is part of the Mariposa's 3-month series, This World is Your World: Woody Guthrie and the Art of Change. The series also includes a panel exhibition Strokes of Electiricity; The Visual Artworks and Lyrics of Woody Guthrie open through October 31st, as well as numerous films and performances. Check the Mariposa website www.mariposamuseum.org for a full calendar of events.

Admission $10; Members $7.

The Mariposa is wheelchair accessible