Free Talk on the History of the Newport Folk Festival at Museum of Work & Culture

 

WOONSOCKET, R.I. – Valley Talks, a series of free historical lectures, continues on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1:30pm, at the Museum of Work & Culture. 

RICK MASSIMO

Former Providence Journal music critic Rick Massimo will present 60 Years of the Newport Folk Festival.

 

The talk will illuminate how this iconic Rhode Island event, the musical world around it and the city of Newport have transformed since the festival’s founding in 1959.

 

Massimo will explore these evolutions through music, photographs, and stories, most of which are encapsulated in his new book: I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival.

 

Massimo grew up in Providence, RI. He covered pop music for The Providence Journal for nine years and now works as a writer and editor in Washington, D.C.

 

He has authored two books: I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival (Wesleyan University Press 2017) and A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set (Lyons Press 2016).

 

Seating is limited to 75 and is first-come, first-served.

Other Valley Talks will include:

February 23: Writer Jeanne Douillard examines the initial move of French settlers from France to Canada, their transformation into British subjects, and their eventual immigration to New England.

March 8: Paul & Denise Bourget discusses how they transform themselves into Brevet Major General George Sears Greene and Mrs. Martha Greene & their dedication to historical reenacting.

March 22: Filmmaker Christian de Rezendes offers a preview of his historical documentary series Slatersville: America’s First Mill Village highlighting the French-Canadian portion of the story.

About the Museum of Work & Culture

The interactive and educational Museum of Work & Culture shares the stories of the men, women, and children who came to find a better life in Rhode Island’s mill towns in the late 19th- and 20th centuries. It recently received a Rhode Island Monthly Best of Rhode Island Award for its SensAbilities Saturdays all-ability program.

About the Rhode Island Historical Society

Founded in 1822, the RIHS, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is the fourth-oldest historical society in the United States and is Rhode Island’s largest and oldest historical organization. In Providence, the RIHS owns and operates the John Brown House Museum, a designated National Historic Landmark, built in 1788; the Aldrich House, built in 1822 and used for administration and public programs; and the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, where archival, book and image collections are housed. In Woonsocket, the RIHS manages the Museum of Work and Culture, a community museum examining the industrial history of northern Rhode Island and of the workers and settlers, especially French-Canadians, who made it one of the state’s most distinctive areas.