The fourth annual Youngstown May Day Festival returns this weekend with speakers, commemorations, music, food and crafts for all ages.

The family-friendly event occurs noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Calvin Center, 755 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown 44502. Admission is free.

The two-day event will feature a number of speakers and roundtables, including noted civil rights and anti-death penalty activist Alice Lynd. Other presenters will discuss reproductive freedom in Ohio, workplace rights, the history of the Palestinian liberation movement and early labor militancy in Youngstown. Erin Timms of Calvin Center will give a workshop on making do-it-yourself enzyme cleaners.

The festival offers crafts for all ages and food for all dietary types will be available. Vendors include Rabbit Food, Sauceeino and Krooked Kitchen.

The Youngstown May Day Festival is a grassroots, DIY festival bringing together a wide variety of Valley organizations, groups, and projects that support human rights, environmental justice and workplace democracy. The event also celebrates the return of spring and abundance with ancient rituals of the May Day traditions.

May Day is both a historical celebration for organized labor and for many religious traditions who welcome the return of the spring with dance and song. The festival joins the red and green traditions to mingle together historical and present struggles of labor with celebrants of Beltane, those fighting for civil rights, workplace democracy, climate justice, and other supporters of justice, care, and support of a sustainable planet, fair workplace, and inclusive communities.

The Youngstown event opens with an AFL-CIO-sponsored Memorial to Fallen Workers. Each year on April 28, the national day of remembrance, Workers Memorial Day, honors and recognizes workers whose lives were claimed by a work-related incident, illness or disease, and remembers those they have left behind. This year’s commemoration will take place at noon on Sunday.

Schedule of events

Saturday, April 27

Presentations occur in the yoga room at Calvin Center.

• Opening Prayer. Led by Shane Russo, pastor and digital church planter (Go Be Church) at East Ohio Conference. Noon.
• “Workplace Know Your Rights Training.” Presented by Northeast Ohio Workers Center. Provides an overview of rights in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on wage theft, discrimination, harassment and safety. Includes a question-and-answer session. 1 p.m.
• “The Struggle for Palestinian Liberation.” Presented by Students for Justice in Palestine YSU. Student leaders will talk about the history of Palestinian liberation struggles, with reports on current information about Gaza, followed by personal reflections. Includes a question-and-answer session. 2 p.m.
• “Stop SOBE.” Presented by Lynn Anderson, SOBE Concerned Citizens. Anderson will give an update on the proposed SOBE Energy location in Mahoning County and its effects on the community. 3 p.m.
• “Coal War in the Mahoning Valley.” Ben Lariccia will talk about the Coal War of 1873. Lariccia’s presentation will be followed by “The Lynching of Giovanni Chiesa,” a short film. Chiesa was lynched in Liberty Township after the 1873 coal miners’ strike was defeated by importing impoverished Italians from the Port of New York. 3:30 p.m.
• “Reproductive Freedom in Ohio.” Dr. Alexis Smith, D.O., from the Steel Valley Reproductive Freedom Coalition and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, will present on the yearlong fight to pass the Reproductive Freedom Amendment in Ohio and what’s next. 5 p.m.

Saturday performances – Performances occur in the chapel at Calvin Center.

• Jonathan Blackshire. 1 p.m.
• Tim Raridon. 2 p.m.
• Crash the Great. 3 p.m.
• Poetry readings by Erica Putro, Jeanne Bryner, Ash Dillon, Maysa Smith, Sara Khan, Sadikshya Chalise and Zayda Stormer. 4 p.m.
• LibCor. 5 p.m.

Saturday’s activities will close with a sing out. 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 28

The Youngstown May Day Festival opens at noon. Presentations occur in the yoga room at Calvin Center.

• “Workers’ Memorial Day.” Presented by the AFL-CIO. The efforts of the labor movement brought about the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The law, which promises every worker the right to a safe job, was passed 50 years ago on April 28. The anniversary is recognized annually as “Workers’ Memorial Day.” The AFL-CIO will discuss Workers’ Memorial Day and the continuing struggle for safe working conditions. 1 p.m.
• “Before and After Stonewall.” Presented by Mia Allonby, a trans artist, librarian and writer. Allonby (with special guest Sean Posey) will discuss the history of queer culture and movements before Stonewall and the modern Pride era. 2 p.m.
• “On Permaculture.” Presented by Bending Oak Permaculture Farm. Permaculture identifies essential principles for thriving communities, emphasizing movement, life, balance and prosperity for bright futures. 3 p.m.
• Alice Lynd, peace activist, labor lawyer, and author. Alice Lynd will present highlights from the film “Accompanying: Pathways to Social Change,” which portrays the practice of being with people in their times of need. The film features Alice’s collaborative efforts with her late husband, noted activist Staughton Lynd. 4 p.m.
• “Marxism in the 21st Century? Lessons for a Modern Left.” Author, historian and librarian Sean Posey will delve into the history and significance of Karl Marx’s philosophy. The discussion will explore Marxism’s historical backdrop, its key principles and pertinence to contemporary leftist movements. 5 p.m.

Sunday performances

Performances occur in the chapel at Calvin Center. The performance host will be Chloe Jackson of Youngstown Queer Talent Productions.

• Indig0Forest. 1 p.m.
• Emotional Labor, followed by poetry by My’Kale Janie. 2 p.m.
• Tom Cvetkovich. 3 p.m.
• Miss Dreadful. 4 p.m.
• Danny McMaster. 5 p.m.

Sunday’s activities will close at 6 p.m. with anti-fascist Norse pagan vitki James Rhine and a sing out.

For more information visit here, see Youngstown May Day Festival on Facebook or email 

yo**************@gm***.com











.

Calvin Center for the Arts

Metro Monthly is a local news and events magazine based in Youngstown, Ohio. We circulate throughout the Mahoning Valley and offer print and online editions. Be sure to visit our publication’s website for news, features, local history, and the Metro Monthly Calendar. Office: 330-259-0435.

© 2024 Metro Monthly. All rights reserved.