Submitted by the Lopez Island Library
The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which guarantees and protects women’s constitutional right to vote. In honor of this historic centennial, the Lopez Island Library will be presenting a multi-media performance by Bellingham based musician Linda Allen titled “Here’s to the Women.” Allen will be performing at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 12 in the Community Meeting Room at the Lopez Library. Her performance will showcase the power of women’s voices as they struggled for the vote in an entertaining and educational presentation featuring songs, images, stories and readings.
Allen is a songwriter, performer and educator who has been a voice for women since the late 1960s through songs, concerts and workshops. She has done research and presentations for the Washington Women’s Heritage Project; the Women’s History Consortium; the Washington Centennial Commission; and multiple museums, schools, libraries and other venues. Her songs, workshops and multi-media presentations on women’s work, history, spirituality and current challenges span 12 CDs of original songs and tours throughout Washington and beyond. More information and links to her music can be found at her website www.lindasongs.com.
Allen is celebrating 50 years as a working musician. Trained as an educator, a clinical musician, and an ordained interfaith minister, her work has included workshops, sermons, keynotes and retreats as well as performances in a wide variety of settings. As a certified clinical musician, she is currently employed by Hospice of the Northwest. This work has also led her to found two choirs: Bellingham’s Women with Wings and the Bellingham Threshold Singers.
The intentions of her “Here’s to the Women” performance are: to teach audiences about the women and men who shaped our history through images, stories and songs; to encourage viewers to enjoy, learn something, and sing along with music that highlights and celebrates women’s history, particularly relating to Suffrage; and to introduce a list of resources that will deepen understanding about the struggle for the vote 100 years ago. This program is free and open to the public, and generously sponsored by the Friends of the Lopez Library. See you there!
