LEWISTON — On Sept. 11 at the Gendron Franco American Center, Museum L-A will present the film, “The Century of Immigration, 1820-1924.”
The film is part of a theme: Museum L-A has been selected as one of 32 sites across the country to host a program series, “Becoming American,” which aims to highlight the immigrant experience.
According to museum Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers, there has been a snowball effect locally since the museum got involved in the project.
“Once the word got out, we even received quite a few requests to become part of it,” she said.
“It is certainly relevant to what is happening in the country and the world today, so we are proud to be part of getting information out there to everyone.”
Locally, the series will include discussion groups, and food and music to better engage the community.
“We recognize that not everybody is going to come out for a film and discussion group,” said Kate Webber, director of education and outreach at Museum L-A.
Webber is credited with pulling together the whole series and all of the programming that goes with it. As part of that, Webber has made use of local groups that work on immigration and related issues.
“We’ve tried to reach out into the community,” Webber said, “and become partners with organizations that are already doing good work around this theme.”
On Saturday, Kennedy Park will be the scene of an “International Youth Day” celebration “recognizing youth across the globe and empowering young people to make positive contributions to their communities and nations.”
The Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival begins Sept. 7, and the series will continue into November, with a range of events at a variety of places.
For more information, including a schedule of events, visit museumla.org.
Becoming American is a project of City Lore in collaboration with the Immigration and Ethnic History Society and the International Coalition of the Sites of Conscience.
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