Villanis or Heroes, Pullman vs. Debs

WOODSTOCK – Woodstock Celebrates, Inc. will host a Eugene V. Debs/George Pullman festival in Woodstock on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 and 4, in and around the Square.

The Woodstock Public Library will show The Gilded Age, a recent documentary about the 1880-1896 social-industrial crisis, at 10 a.m. Saturday.  On Sunday morning at noon, Steve Aavang will guide a walking tour of Woodstock sites associated with Debs and his jailer/friend, Sheriff George Eckert.

Speakers on Debs and Pullman will begin presenting at 2 p.m. on both days at the Stage Left Café, 125 W. Van Buren St. The nearby bookstore, Read Between the Lynes, is sponsoring a book signing for “Democracy’s Prisoner” with author Ernest Freeberg at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, also at Stage Left.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, the Old Court House will exhibit Debs Foundation material from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the library will showcase Pullman material from the Illinois Railway Museum starting at 1 p.m. until closing.

Throughout both days, Ethereal Confections will offer to patrons two cocktails popular in the 1890s: the Singapore Sling – a sparkling punch – and the Last Word, an aromatic, intense gin sour. 

Also from 1 to 6 p.m. both days, the Debs Foundation and the Illinois Labor History Society will have tables full of information at Stage Left.

All programs are free, although guests are encouraged to make donations toward funding renovations/repairs to the old McHenry County Jail. Checks can be made in care of Woodstock Celebrates, a tax-deductible 501c3 organization.

For additional information and updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/WoodstockCelebratesInc/.