Free Labor Day Open House at the Museum of Work & Culture
Celebration to Feature Premiere of a New Immersive Exhibit & Slatersville Documentary
(WOONSOCKET, R.I.) – The Museum of Work & Culture, a division of the Rhode Island Historical Society, will host its annual free Labor Day Open House on Monday, September 4, 10am-4pm.
The day’s program will include the debut of a new immersive, state-of-the-art presentation The Decision to Leave, located in the Frederick and Alice Reinhardt Farmhouse exhibit. Produced in collaboration with Trivium Interactive, this audiovisual projection explores a French Canadian family as they gather around their dining table to discuss leaving their lives on a Québec farm behind to move to a new life in Woonsocket.
At 11am, visitors will be invited to view “The World According to Uncle Johnny,” episode 5 of Slatersville: America’s First Mill Village directed by Christian de Rezendes. Upon inheriting his father’s fortune, John Whipple Slater, owner of Slatersville, becomes an absentee landlord and embarks on extravagance. His excursions on multiple grand tours, big spending, and bad behavior make the national headlines, while his nephew Rufus Waterman III is invited to take over the family business and manage a mounting pile of problems on the home front. Through Rufus’s thorough record keeping of diary entries and family letters (hidden for over seven decades), this period is dramatically reconstructed.
Guests can also explore the museum throughout the day and enjoy its recently launched audio tour available via smartphone in English, French, and Spanish.
This event is made possible with the support of the Rhode Island Labor History Society.
The creation of the new farmhouse immersive presentation was made possible by the Consulate General of Canada in Boston, the Québec Delegation in Boston,the June Rockwell Levy Foundation, and the Museum of Work and Culture Preservation Foundation.
About the Rhode Island Historical Society The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state’s oldest and only state-wide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting, and sharing Rhode Island’s past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st-century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown