Close to 100 Attend FAM May Day Celebration

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY, local politics, amateur theatrics and good food were all on offer Sunday, April 27, at the Solidarity Center in Brewer when Food AND Medicine hosted its 4^th annual May Day event.
     
Nearly 100 people squeezed into the hall to hear presentations by Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe, Canadian labor leader Ron Oldfield, organizers of the recently recognized child-care union, and many others. U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen (prevented from being there due to the illness of his wife) sent along a video greeting.
   
Entertainment was provided by FAM's new Working Chorus, who serenaded the gathering with old labor standards and new creations, including a pantomimed skit with musical accompaniment on the value of secure employment. Recent graduates of FAM's Worker Center community-steward training staged a raucous commencement.
     
Another new program of FAM--Cooks of the World, Unite!--prepared some of the food (including a delicious shepherds pie) and organized the contribution of all the rest, from a dozen or more attendees.
     
Food committee captain and FAM board member Marylee McDonald, commenting on the impressive turnout as well as the careful planning that led up to the event, said: "We had twice as many people as last year, and yet it was only half as hard to pull off."

• Click here for video clips.       

• Click here for more pictures.

• A video message from Congressman Tom Allen starts here
  (about 6.5 minutes into the video) and finishes here.

• Click here to see The Working Chorus perform.