T
he inaugural 4 Freedoms Festival was held
in Southern Vermont in July 2018 in hon-
or of the 75th anniversary of the publishing of
Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings. The festival
included a wide-range of community events. High-
lights of the festival included Ring 4 Freedom (a state-
wide bell-ringing); Tribute 4 Freedom (which hon-
ored those who fought for freedom and celebrated the
next generation of leaders with the Create 4 Freedom
contest); The Arlington Models Reunion; Challenges 4
Freedom (an exhibition at The Bennington Museum);
and a new musical about Norman Rockwell and his
quest to create the iconic Four Freedoms suite. Directed
and choreographed by four-time Tony® Award nominee
Randy Skinner and starring Tony® and Emmy® Award
winner Lillias White, ROCKWELL enjoyed sold out
performances, standing ovations, and truly brought
Broadway to Vermont. The finale song, “Stand Up
Proud”, was chosen as the official anthem of the 4
Freedoms Festival .
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But why celebrate the
Four Freedoms
in Southern Vermont?
On January 6, 1941, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt appeared before Congress
and offered his State of the Union Speech, which
in years to come would be known as the “Four Free-
doms” address. His personal mission was clear.
President Roosevelt understood that the United States’
involvement in World War II was inevitable. Although
the U.S.A. still remained on the sidelines that January,
he endeavored to ready the country for war. His speech
concluded with four universal truths. All human
beings are entitled to these essential freedoms: freedom
of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want,
and freedom from fear. The first two, of course, were
familiar phrases to all Americans and were protected
rights, as described in the Constitution of the United
States. The last two freedoms, however, purposely tran-
scended U.S. doctrine. They described intrinsic rights
due to all men and women everywhere. Of course, his
speech was met with much debate and some resistance.
Why join a war being fought an ocean away? Then came
December 7th and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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