Last year, hundreds of community activists, union members and plain old people crowded the grounds of the Solidarity Center in Brewer for the Seventh Annual Solidarity 4^th of July Celebration. They feasted on gourmet lamb, competitive chili (more on that later) and plenty of vegetarian delights while enjoying live entertainment from the new outdoor stage. Politicians spoke and door prizes were awarded. As night fell, the crowd migrated over to the adjoining city park to see the Bangor fireworks. (Click here for pictures of the 7th Annual July 4 event.)

Sean Mercer and his Boondock Blues Band opened the musical festivities with his politically-tinged brand of rock. The evening was capped by the raucous strains of the Toughcats. In between, attendees were  favored with an original theatrical production, a musical with the curious title, "The Adventures of EFCA Man."  As the play revealed, EFCA stood for, among other things, the recently defeated but far from dead Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would make organizing a union easier. In the musical, an economic superhero rights workplace wrongs. Below is a video of the highlights of "The Adventures of EFCA Man."  It is approximately six minutes long.

Click here if you want to view the full video of "The Adventures of EFCA Man" in Windows Media or mp4 (playable with a QuickTime plugin).

First District Congressman Tom Allen, who's running for Senate next year, addressed the crowd, as did his counterpart from the Second District, Mike Michaud, who also presented an award to FAM president Laura Millay. Dan Lawson, representing United Steelworkers Local 261, won the annual chili cookoff, and immediately donated the cash prize to Food and Medicine.