The Gil’s Hootenanny stage always includes a small table featuring a loaf of bread and a vase of red roses.
The slogan and the song, “Bread and Roses” began with the successful 1912 textile strike by immigrant women workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It has become a symbol of both the women’s and the labour movement’s demand not only for fair wages for women (bread), but also dignity, respect, education, and culture (roses). It is a call for the advancement of equality for women in all aspects of society, something that women in 2026 have learned not to take for granted.
Gil’s Hootenanny is a tribute to Gil Levine, founding Director of Research at the Canadian Union of Public Employees, who believed in the collective power of song to bring people together to speak up and sing out for change. For feminist Helen Levine, who hosted hootenannies at home with her husband Gil for decades, “Bread and Roses” symbolized both the struggle for women’s equality and the value and achievements of women.
Gil’s Hootenanny will take place at 7:00 pm, Friday, May 1st at 30 Cleary Avenue, the campus of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. The venue is accessible, has ample parking and is serviced by OC Transpo.
Tickets for Gil’s Hootenanny are $20. Kids are welcome to attend free of charge.