Pueblo -- A visit by former Presidential candidate and Senator George McGovern will help kick off the inaugural CSU-Pueblo Ludlow Massacre Memorial Labor Fest to honor the 90th anniversary of that tragic event. Given the Pueblo community's connection to the early study of labor issues, CSU-Pueblo will offer a two-day labor festival that will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 22 and close with a screening of "Matewan" at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 23.

This year's festival will be a two-day historical review that includes a musical lecture performance, a labor film, and the Bessemer Historical Society's Senator McGovern lecture. The Labor Fest is sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU-Pueblo with underwriting by the Koncilja and Koncilja Law Firm.

An instructional performance, "Labor Songs," featuring the struggles and accomplishments of unions, by Corey Dolgon, Worcester State College Sociology Department chair and labor activist, will kick off the two-day event from 2 - 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22 in the Hasan School of Business Auditorium. Dolgon's presentation touches on themes and issues in the labor movement and the role of songs in the movement and the workplace in general. Dolgon's performance is free and open to the public.

Activities related to the labor movement and labor law continue that evening in the Occhiato University Center Ballroom with a fund-raiser dinner for the Bessemer Historical Society, featuring former Senator George McGovern and his book, "The Great Coalfield War." The book focuses on the Ludlow Massacre, or what McGovern calls "the most ferocious conflict in the history of American labor and industry." Tickets for the McGovern event are $50 per person for Bessemer Historical Society members and $60 per person for non-members and may be obtained by calling 561-6309 or visiting www.cfisteel.org, News and Events.

A reception will precede the screening of "Matewan" from 6 - 7 p.m. in the Art Center's Hasan Pavilion with the screening following immediately after in the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center Auditorium. "Matewan" is a 1987 film by director John Sayles about a massacre that broke out in the mining town of Matewan, W.V., in 1920, when the miners went on strike over labor disputes. The film also addresses how and why racial tension escalated during labor strikes. The West Virginia Library Commission is providing the 16 mm print of the film for the event. Admission is free to the film, but a $10 donation will be accepted at the film viewing to fund future performances.

The labor fest also will aid in the development of an hour-long documentary on the effect the Southeastern Colorado strikes had on the labor movement by the university and Rocky Mountain PBS.

Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.