AUGUST 31: Meet at the Monument
1769 SPINNING PROTEST REENACTMENT
Join us for our next event on August 31st!!!
Anna's 1769 Spinning Tableau
* Spin-In * Demonstrations * Knit-In *
August 31st, 2024 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Lexington Women's Monument
Corner of Mass. Ave. & Meriam Street
Beside Buckman Tavern & Visitors Center
* Activities * Vendors * Talks * Tours *
August 31, 1769: 45 women gathered at Anna Harrington's home, using spinning wheels in an act of public protest just steps from the Town Commons
As the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of approaches, LexSeeHer gathers annually to commemorate the bold women who took action leading up to the American Revolution. At age 29, Anna Harrington took action when she believed "Something Must Be Done" to protest unjust taxation.
This is the first year the event will have Meredith Bergmann's Something Is Being Done monument as a setting. The sculpture includes a portrayal of Anna Harrington at the 1769 protest.
The monument's plaza is in the shape of a spinning wheel, a spinning wheel tops the monument, and visitors can hold hands with Anna at her wheel.
We Remember the #LexingtonLadies
The 2024 Spinning Tableau will help you get ready for the 250th!
At the event, there will be live demonstrations of traditional spinning, knitting, hat trimming, and sewing. A celebration of "women's work" for Labor Day Weekend - appropriate for all ages.
Visit the morning activities fair and stay for the 2:00 p.m. tableau. At 3:00 p.m. the 2024 Women's Visibility Banner Honorees will be honored.
To join as a volunteer for 2024, email lexmonument@gmail.com. Volunteers for the tableau must commit to arriving by 1:00 p.m. for a tableau staged from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. All are welcome, and outfits are loaned to volunteers on a first come, first served basis - with priority given to those who register in advance. There are 45 spots for volunteer spinners!
The 2024 event is sponsored, in part, by a grant from the Lexington Council for the Arts.
"Spinning Tableau" Scene from the 2023 Spinning Protest Anniversary event where 45 volunteers stepped into "her shoes" - literally, women's 18th century styled hats and aprons - to recreate the 1769 scene at Anna Harrington's historic protest.
Check out our exciting vendors at the event!
Event HERstory
The 2023 Spinning Tableau was held in pairing with the official Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Something Is Being Done monument. Partners included the Lexington Historical Society, LexArt, and Lexington Girl Scouts. More than 45 volunteers participated. LexArt volunteers brought out different spinning wheels and welcomed visitors to try their hand at the wheel.
For the 2022 Spinning Tableau, LexSeeHer received a generous grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington to expand our Living HERstory program. The LexSeeHer Sewing Team created 45 linen aprons, as well as 45 appropriately trimmed 18th century style straw hats. The 2022 event was held at Anna homestead, thanks to Rev. Anne Mason and First Parish Church.
In 2021 volunteers recreated the scene at Anna Harrington's original homestead, thanks to Rev. Anne Mason and First Parish Church. (See image below.) Lexington Historical Society partnered as well,
Lexington Historical Society was the first to commemorate Anna's Spinning protest for the 250th anniversary in 2019. Sarah McDonough continues to portray Anna Harrington!
Last year's event:
"Spinning Tableau" Scene from the 2021 Spinning Protest Anniversary event
held by LexSeeHer in partnership with Lexington Historical Society.
