The One World Library Project invites you to a FREE program this coming Thursday evening at the Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol when folklorist Gregory Sharrow will explore how various immigrants have created “home” in Vermont by continuing to celebrate their cultural heritage and how this, in turn, has made its mark on Vermont communities.
Vermont is often described as culturally homogenous, yet nearly a third of Vermonters have French-Canadian ancestry and there is a long history of European immigration to the state’s urban centers. Recent years have brought waves of new Vermonters from Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
Sharrow will talk about Vermont's early immigration history, examining how it happened that certain groups of people arrived here when they did. He will explain how Barre’s stone industry drew Scottish and Italian immigrants whose impact on the town can still be seen in its architecture and sculpture as well as its corner markets. He will also look at more recent immigration history in the state, especially focusing on refugees from Laos, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, Bhutan, and more recently, Syria. He will speak on the the importance of responding not only to new immigrants physical needs, but also to their cultural needs.
This program is the second of several offered this coming year by the One World Library Project that will focus on refugees and immigration. It is supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and is open to the public and accessible to those with disabilities.
Gregory Sharrow is the former director of the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury. His field research has explored the vital cultures of Vermont’s immigrant communities, both historic and new, addressing foodways, religious culture and traditional arts as they relate to personal and community identity in our state’s evolving cultural landscape. Sharrow holds a PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania and will receive a 2017 Governor’s Arts Award later this month in recognition of outstanding achievement to the arts.
For more information on the program, contact the Lawrence Memorial Library at 453-2366 or go to www.OneWorldLibraryProject.org or the One World Library Project page on Facebook.
We hope to see you at the library for this fascinating program!
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