DC LaborFest Today: DC United, Matewan, union whiskey, plus Mill Stories & Love and Solidarity

We're coming up on the heart of this year's LaborFest, with three EXTRA HOT TICKETS:

SOCCER: This Saturday is Labor Night at DC United! The game – against the Philadelphia Union -- is at 7pm “but the tailgate is where it’s at!” says FC Solidaridad’s Corey Klemmer. Lot 8 starting by 5pm; more details to follow. Deadline for group tix is 12p today; to order individual tix call Jake Lucas at 202-587-5475. $5 of every ticket goes to CASA de Maryland! photo of 2016 Labor Night by Chris Garlock

FILM: Get your tickets now for what’s sure to be a sold-out screening of “Matewan” next Tuesday with director John Sayles. The AFI has a gorgeous film print of this labor classic, celebrating its 30th anniversary, and Sayles will receive the LaborFest’s Labor Arts Award and will do a Q&A after the film. Click here to order your tickets.

WHISKEY/BEER: Drink responsibly. Drink union!  Come join DC Labor 411 and DC LaborFest for a fun all-union whiskey and beer tasting on Thursday, May 18. Happy Hour will never be the same! Featuring Jack Daniels whiskeys, union-made beers and delicious appetizers. Plus free copies of the band-new DC Labor411 union-made entertainment and shopping guide. A don’t miss event! Buy your tickets before they sell out.  

LaborFest Today (CLICK BELOW FOR DETAILS):
MILL STORIES: REMEMBERING SPARROWS POINT STEEL MILL
Thu, May 11, 12:00pm
LOVE AND SOLIDARITY  ​​
Thu, May 11, 7pm
Coming Up Tomorrow: Sista In The Brotherhood, 12p; There Is Power In A Union: A Labor Songs Vespers 7:30p. 

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MILL STORIES: REMEMBERING SPARROWS POINT STEEL MILL
Thu, May 11, 12:00pm, Pickford Theater of the Library of Congress (3rd fl., Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC)
RSVP here
Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Professional Guild AFSCME Local 2910 and the American Folklife Center.
Spotlights the memories and stories of former workers of the Sparrows Point Steel Mill in Baltimore. For 125 years, tens of thousands of steel workers and associated personnel have known the mill not only as a place of employment, but as the center of community life. In 2012, the mill was shuttered forever, devastating its workers – both active and retired – their families, and surrounding communities. As part of the larger Mill Stories project (millstories.org), the film aims to safeguard and promote the living cultural heritage of the mill, and to help amplify the voices of those who knew it best. The screening will be followed by a discussion with former Sparrows Point workers.
Co-directed by William Shewbridge and Michelle Stefano; 2016, 35m

LOVE AND SOLIDARITY  ​​
Thu, May 11, 7pm, Seekers Church 276 Carroll St NW, Washington, DC 20012
FREE; RSVP here
Hosted by The Sacred Conversation on Race and Diversity
An inspiring exploration of nonviolence and organizing through the life and teachings of Rev. James Lawson. Lawson provided crucial strategic guidance while working with Martin Luther King, Jr., in southern freedom struggles and the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968. Moving to Los Angeles in 1974, Lawson continued his nonviolence organizing in multi-racial community and worker coalitions that have helped to remake the LA labor movement. Through interviews and historical documents, acclaimed labor and civil rights historian Michael Honey and award-winning filmmaker Errol Webber put Lawson’s discourse on nonviolent direct action on the front burner of today’s struggles against economic inequality, racism and violence, and for human rights, peace, and economic justice. Runtime: 38 minutes.
Watch trailer here