The place to go for May Day events this year is the Mayworks Festival Website! And due to COVID-19 – It’s digital this year.

Mayworks is an initiative of the Halifax-Darmouth & District Labour Council of which we are affiliate members through our membership in the Canadian Labour Congress and the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour.

May 1st is marked throughout the world as International Workers’ Day, or May Day. A day when the workers of the world take to the streets in every major city around the globe demanding justice, fairness and dignity for all. In North America, May Day has not been as prominent as it is in other parts of the world, but it is still celebrated in most major cities with a variety of political and community actions. May Day, unlike Labour day, is a rallying call against our current economic system and the inequality and global environmental destruction it has brought.

One of the ways various labour councils and unions mark May Day is through the Mayworks Festival. It is the largest labour-sponsored arts festival in the country. The goal behind Mayworks is to bring workers and artists together and to use art to explore themes of social, economic and environmental justice. Art has always been an important way of expressing political statements. Bringing workers and artists together can create powerful images, films, plays and other forms of art.

Mayworks builds bridges between workers’ organizations and artists’ organizations throughout the Halifax region and creates a fun, entertaining festival that engages people in both a cultural and political way.

The Mayworks Halifax Festival has grown so successful over the years that a non-profit arts society has since been incorporated to manage and operate the festival with continued support from the Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council and other local unions and labour organizations. Today the festival is an eagerly awaited annual event by activists, artists and socially engaged audience members throughout the region.

Please take a look at the events being held in honour of workers around the world and their connections with art. Happy MayDay and Happy Mayworks Halifax!!