Meet the women of 1776 at Meredith Public Library

MEREDITH — As part of the America250 programming at the Meredith Public Library, everyone is invited to meet the Women of '76 at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 18.

Attendees will step back in time and discover the untold stories of five women — patriots and loyalists, American and foreign-born — who witnessed, chronicled, and in some cases, changed the course of the American Revolution including:

• Prudence Wright, the Massachusetts patriot who led a militia of women to capture Tory spies
• Mary Katharine Goddard, the courageous printer and publisher who issued the first printed Declaration of Independence to include the names of the signers
• Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, the German noblewoman whose vivid journals capture the chaos of war
• Nancy Hart, the fearless Georgia frontierswoman who faced down a band of British soldiers — and won
• Mary Gould Almy, a loyalist diarist whose moving firsthand accounts documented the siege of Newport

Their stories reveal a deeper, more complex portrait of the American Revolution.

All the women will be portrayed by Rita Parisi, an accomplished actress and playwright, who has been touring original solo works for over 20 years. Since founding Waterfall Productions in 2005, she has brought history to life for audiences throughout New England and beyond. A proud member of SAG-AFTRA, her work has been seen on film and stage, including features at the Boston International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

Light refreshments will be served. This event is being sponsored by the NH Humanities and the Friends of the Meredith Public Library.

For more information, call 603-279-4303 or visit meredithlibrary.org.