This was not your typical book-reading: 44 Hours or Strike!

HOLY BLOSSOM CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

Thank you to everyone who attended last Wednesday’s program “44 Hours or Strike”, featuring award winning author Anne Dublin.

This was not your typical book-reading: Anne adopted a multi-faceted approach, deftly interweaving passages from her book (about two young sisters involved in the Toronto Dressmakers’ Strike of 1931), with fascinating information and images about the experiences of Jews and immigrants in the Needle Trade, and also the music of the era, provided by a quartet of Holy Blossom singers and musicians (Susan Baskin, Denise Gordon, Peter Weinwurm and Pam Halpern) performing familiar Yiddish songs and labour movement anthems from the Depression. (Click on the link to watch excerpts). Attendees also enjoyed some Depression-era refreshments, including an icebox banana cake, and a ‘surprise spice cake’ made with tomato soup!

Anne’s presentation provided a solemn and nostalgic look back to a time in Toronto’s Jewish history which touched us all – including audience members who shared recollections of their parents and grandparents’ involvement in the Spadina sweatshops and the Labour Movement – and by which we were reminded of similar hardships faced by refugees and immigrants newly arrived to our city and country.

We’re thrilled by the positive feedback we’ve received and have lots more fabulous programs coming your way…

[green_message] Next Up:  ‘Eye on Israeli’:  Join our ShinShinim, Gil Peled and Noga Ben-Zvi on Wednesday evening, March 22, for a screening of the riveting documentary ‘The Gatekeepers’, directed by Dror Moreh. This film offers not only a fascinating insider’s view of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, from the perspective of six of its former heads, but also the equally unique history and context of Israel’s security issues from the Six-Day War to the present. Click here for full details and to register. [/green_message]