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The Roseau County Museum welcomes Jane Skinner Peck's program Votes for Women, Ja! Saturday, October 26, 1:30 p.m. The show is a one-woman theatrical presentation and lecture tracing the pivotal contributions of Nordic immigrant suffragists to voting rights in Minnesota. Presenter Jane Peck is a choreographer, historian, writer, and professor. Her own female Norwegian ancestors were involved in the struggle. Through ragtime dance, acting, slides, and story, audiences are introduced to the development of feminine power and organizational skills in our Nordic grandmothers as they fought for Minnesota women's suffrage and other social needs. These stories from a unique chapter of Minnesota history and lift the lid off the quiet Nordic grandma image!

We are excited to have Jane Skinner Peck come to Roseau. She is a performer, educator, playwright, and dance historian. She has researched and staged history performances in dance and theater across U.S., Canada, and France for  30 years. Every September she directs History Alive! Lanesboro  Pop-up Plays , writing annual original scripts about small town history which are staged in the streets and buildings of historic Lanesboro. With a mix of professional and community performers the cast of 35 fills the town with  the stories of Lanesboro in the streets of Lanesboro and attracts hundreds of viewers. Jane also founded and directed Dance Revels Moving History in the Twin Cities.  Her work has been seen regularly at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN History Center, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, museums, colleges, schools, and music ensembles. Jane is a highly regarded dance educator, having taught school residencies for 20 years through MN Arts Board and former Young Audiences and has written many curricula.  Jane has mentored teachers in the arts across the state for years through the Perpich Center for Arts Education. She is a frequent grant recipient, and  has taught at the U of MN , UW Madison, Gustavus Adolphus, and Bemidji State. An historian, she is published by the MN Historical Society and has worked at MNHS Snake River Fur Post.

The program ties in with the traveling exhibit, A Century of Civic Engagement: The League of Women Voters Minnesota, currently on display. Come visit this vibrant exhibit that features Minnesota's suffrage story, highlighting the women who made it happen – and who continue to lead through the League of Women Voters to make democracy work for all. The museum will be open one hour prior to the program and one hour after the program so visitors have a chance to view the traveling exhibit for one last time.

This program is free and open to the public with refreshments being served. The program will be held at the Roseau City Center.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.