Bannerman Park - Wednesday, June 18 - 12PM to 2PM

On Wednesday June 18 (weather-permitting), join us for Raise Her Up - Celebrating the Power of Women Working Together - a free concert and ceremony to unveil the Armine Nutting Gosling statue as the first statue to a singular named woman in the City of St. John’s.

All are welcome at this inclusive and joyous event!

Featuring performances by:
  • Anil
  • Lady Lupin
  • Inuit Drummers & Throat Singers Ashley Dicker, Letia Kalluk and MaKaela Blake
  • Sai Nrityadhee School of Bharatnatyam Dance Group
  • Spectrum Queer Choir
  • St. John’s Women’s Mi’kmaw Circle
  • Votes for Women 100 Chorus

Accessibility

  • ​There is a designated area set aside for those using wheelchairs or mobility aids and for those accessing the ASL interpretation
  • ASL Interpretation will be provided by Triangular Communications from 1-2pm 
  • The shortest walking route to the event site is via the Volunteers Way path that starts right next to 54 Rennies Mill Road 
  • Volunteers will also be available to assist as needed - simply ask anyone wearing a PerSIStence t-shirt and/or wearing a pink lanyard
  • The Armine Nutting Gosling statue pavilion is also wheelchair accessible
  • If there is anything we can do to make your attendance more comfortable, please feel free to let us know in advance at [email protected] or by calling or texting to 709-743-7287​

​Weather

  • This event will run like the Regatta - if the weather is poor, we postpone to the next day. Announcements will be made in the early morning via social media and radio.
What to Eat

Our friends at the Ukrainian National Federation, Avalon Branch are offering delicious Ukrainian lunch options available by pre-order and pick up from the Bannerman Park Canteen. Click here to view and place your order. UNF Avalon will be accepting pre-orders only until Monday June 16 at 10pm.

Also available from the window on the day-of should be snacks like hot dogs, sodas, chocolate bars, ice creams and candy. 

What to Bring

  • Chair or blanket
  • Suncreen and Hat
  • Dress in layers that you can add or remove as needed - and it's St. John's in June, so gloves and a toque might be a good idea too!
  • Food & drink - please deposit your trash and recycling in the provided bins
  • Cash or card to purchase from the Canteen or Vendors
  • Donations will also be gratefully accepted at our two pink donation boxes - one at the PerSIStence table and one in the statue pavilion. Envelopes will also be available to fill out your information if you wish to receive a charitable tax receipt.
​
What to Buy
​
At the PerSIStence Theatre Company table, we will have available for sale by cash or card:
  •  Stickers $5
  • Magnets: $10
  • PerSIStence T-Shirts: $25
  • Votes for Women Greeting Cards (5 pack): $25
  • Votes for Women Pins: $25
  • Vote Tote Bags: $50 

Community Partners

Be sure to visit the tables of our community partners along Volunteers Way:
  • NL Multicultural Women’s Organization
  • Office of Women & Gender Equality
  • Planned Parenthood
  • St. John’s Status of Women Council
  • Tombolo Multicultural Festival Newfoundland and Labrador (TMFNL)
  • YWCA St. John’s

Schedule

Times are approximate

12pm - Spectrum Queer Choir

12:15pm - Sai Nrityadhee School of Bharatnatyam Dance Group

12:30pm - Lady Lupin
​
12:45pm - Anil

1:00pm - 
Inuit Drummers & Throat Singers Ashley Dicker, Letia Kalluk and MaKaela Blake
with the Votes for Women 100 Chorus
and the St. John’s Women’s Mi’kmaw Circle

Reflection Speaker Leahdawn Helena (Ktaqmkuk Mi'kmaq)

Remarks from Her Honour The Honourable Joan Marie Aylward, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador

Reflection Speaker Reine Faiad (Lebanon Arabic)

Message from The Honourable Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries and MP for St. John's East, Government of Canada

Reflection Speaker Ashley Dicker (Nunatsiavut Inuit)

Remarks from The Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh, Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality and MHA for Placentia-St. Mary's, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Reflection Speaker Gabriella Nabakijje (Uganda Luganda)

Remarks from Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary, City of St. John's

Remarks from Dr. Margot Duley, chair of the Armine Nutting Gosling statue project and PerSIStence board member

​2:00pm - 
Armine Nutting Gosling Statue Unveiling & Pavilion Opening
St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.