For Immediate Release Press Contact: Anne Conway | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (401) 769-9675
What: Salute to Spring/Bonjour Printemps at the Museum of Work & Culture
When: Sunday, March 25, 1:30pm
Where: Museum of Work & Culture, 42 S. Main St., Woonsocket, R.I.
Admission: $20 for adults and $10 for children; children under 3 are free. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available at ShopMoWC.com or by calling (401) 769-9675.
Celebrating Franco-American Culture With Music, Film, & RI Poutine Competition
(WOONSOCKET, R.I.) – The Museum of Work & Culture’s 19th annual Salute to Spring/Bonjour Printemps event will take place on Sunday, March 25, at 1:30pm, and will celebrate Franco-American culture.
The day will include the MoWC’s eagerly anticipated 2nd Annual Best Rhode Island Poutine Competition. Restaurants and food trucks from across the state will compete to find out who makes the best version of the traditional Québecois dish of French fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds. Last year’s champion, Friskie Fries, as well as Fan Favorite, Ciro’s Tavern, will be returning to compete against a new slate of competitors, including Pomodoro Restaurant and Adeline’s Speakeasy Kitchen Bar. Woonsocket-based Ravenous Brewery will also be on hand to offer beer tastings.
Judges for the Poutine Competition include Dale Venturini, President & CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association; Tom Ward, Publisher of The Valley Breeze; Marc Jacques, Senior Political and Economic Affairs Attaché for the Consulate General of Canada in Boston; Laurence Gagnon, Communications & Francophone Affairs Attaché for the Québec Délégation in Boston; Tim Beaulieu, organizer of the New Hampshire PoutineFest; and David Lahousse, owner of Kay’s Restaurant and The Lodge.
Additional entertainment will include performances and called dances of French Canadian fiddle tunes and Cajun music by the band French Roast at 1:30pm and 3pm.
There will also be a screening of Le Semeur, a Québecois documentary film about artist and seed producer Patrice Fortier, who dedicates his passion and expertise to preserving plant biodiversity.
The day will conclude with the MoWCs annual raffle, with a grand prize of a trip for two to Québec City donated by Conway Tours.
Tickets remain for Salute to Spring/Bonjour Printemps: Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children; children under 3 are free. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available at ShopMoWC.com or by calling (401) 769-9675.
Salute to Spring/Bonjour Printemps is made possible in part by the event’s generous sponsors: Délégation of Québec in Boston, the Consul General of Canada, Soucy Insurance Agency, Fournier & Fournier Funeral Home, Conway Tours, Bourget & Associates, Villa at Saint Antoine, Councilman & Mrs. Daniel Gendron, Lepine Financial Advisors and Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery; along with Woonsocket Rotary Club, Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and AAA Northeast; and DpArchitect, Esten & Richard Insurance, Mrs. Trudy Lamoureux, Nation Wide Construction, Wealth Management Resources, The Valley Breeze, and Lil’ General Convenience Store.
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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.
