PINK HAT PREDECESSORS Marking 175 years since the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls.

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY @RSRAFFERTY BECCA@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

One-hundred-and-seventy-five years ago, more than 300 people packed the humid Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls to hold America’s first convention to advance women’s rights. The two-day event that began on July 19, 1848, formally launched the American Suffrage Movement, a battle that would outlast many of the women who waged it.

When Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, many who fought for the right to vote — including Susan B. Anthony and convention coorganizers Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton — had already died.

Realizing this likelihood in 1900, just two years before her death, Stanton wrote in her diary, “We are sowing winter wheat which the coming spring will see sprout and which other hands than ours will reap and enjoy.”

The enduring struggle for equal rights and representation has always involved a hard push for slow advancements that may not bear out in one’s own lifetime. Paving the way has ever been part of it.

Janine Waller, chief of interpretation at the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, said Stanton’s words echo into the present as legal discussions on equity continue to evolve.

“The women who participated in the convention spent more than 80 years as activists fighting for causes that they never saw come to fruition,” Waller said. “At some point in their lives, you have to imagine that they decided that they were going to have to be okay with that, and that they were going to continue to work for something regardless of whether or not it came through. They recognized that every battle won was really just a step in the process.”

Taking this as inspiration, the park’s annual Convention Days festival this summer will commemorate the 175th anniversary of those initial steps, and the many steps taken since. Planning is underway for special programming under the theme of “Women, Gender, and Law.”

The goal, Waller said, is to connect modern legislation to the “Declaration of Sentiments,” which was written and ratified at the original convention and called for women’s equal representation in civil society.

“We think it’s a great time to talk about what has changed and what hasn’t,” Waller said. “How everything from the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act to Title IX and Supreme Court justices have changed the way that we practice law, think about law, and what our expectations of the law are.”

Convention Days, which takes place July 21 through July 23, will feature living history interpretations, talks by law professors and legal activists, panel discussions, and more. In addition to commemorating the Women’s Rights Convention, the festival will focus on the centennial of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1923, when suffragist Alice Paul introduced the Equal Rights Amendment, known as the Lucretia Mott Amendment.

The National Organization for Women and Women’s March are sponsoring other events, including a rally regarding contemporary issues to be held on July 21. The National Women’s Hall of Fame will host an event on July 22.

Waller said organizers are committed to cultivating “a multi-generational experience” and are planning events that aim to engage all ages.

“Being in the places where these conversations were had, where these people lived their lives, is the best way to connect to our past and really be inspired,” she said.

Bite Sized News

Rochester’s collection of Jamaican eateries grew again when Jamaican Spice opened at 518 Monroe Ave. The spot doesn’t have an online menu just yet, but you can walk in and get oxtail, curry, jerk, or brown stewed chicken, pepper steak, and a variety of meat and vegetable patties. Snack on some plantains and quench your thirst with a mango-carrot juice or pineapple soda. Open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 585-491-4869.

The sweet-and-cheekily-named Go Frost Yourself bakery has opened in Erie Canal Commons at 2544 Ridgeway Ave. in Greece, and is offering cupcakes, cookies, brownies, custom cakes, and more. Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Need a teaser? Drool over the scones, sneaker cake, and French macarons on the business’s Instagram account @gofrostyourself. gofrostyourself.com.

Check out Keepers’ café and bar at 1060 University Ave., which serves organic coffee, espresso, tea, smoothies, and electrolyte beverages. Healthy snacks include grain bowls, yogurt parfaits, and superfood bars. The smoothie menu in particular sounds great, with cute names like “Packed Lunch” (strawberry, raspberry, banana, peanut butter, date, vanilla, cashew milk) and “Golden Hour” (cantaloupe, sweet potato, OJcarrot-turmeric juice, yogurt, cashew milk). If you want to make your coffee break a truly checked-out experience, indulge in the infrared sauna ($25 for 30 minutes, book ahead of your visit). Keep that service in mind when the skies are overcast again. Because they will be. It’s Rochester. keepersroc.com

The newest member of the Swan Family of Restaurants is Leonore’s, which opened in early April at 703 Park Ave. Recent Thai-leaning comfort food menu items have included panang beef short rib with dressed bean sprouts, candied pork belly with hot miso mustard, and ube poundcake with matcha fluff. The bar menu, too, has its Thai twists: try the gin martini with lemongrass, Thai basil, and kumquat. Notably, the dreamy, colorshifting palette on the walls is courtesy of Rochester artist Thievin’ Stephen. The kitchen is open 4 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; the bar goes later. iloveleonores.com

Events

On May 6, four Railroad Avenue spots are participating in Rochester Margarita & Mimosa Fest. The bar hop kicks off at Bitter Honey for registration from 2 to 4 p.m., and continues at Ziggy’s, the Secret Garden, and Rohrbach’s through 7 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets cost $25$31, which get you a wrist band for drink specials, swag, and entry into grand prize contests. Partial proceeds will benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. margfest. eventbrite.com

Eat Me Ice Cream (1115 East Main St., Suite 148) will host several cooking classes with instructor Christin Ortiz for Rochester Brainery this month. On May 10, try your hand at making Tortillas and Arepas with instructor Christin Ortiz ($39). Then on May 11, learn How to Make Bakery-Style Scones with Bobbie Gluck ($43). That class is repeated on May 25. On May 16, learn about Advanced Pasta Making (Ortiz, $39). Then on May 17, take instructions on Homemade Chicken Tomatillo Tamales (Ortiz, $39). Learn to Make Empanadas on May 22 (Ortiz, $39). Finally, on May 24, learn the tricks of Classic French Crepes ($39). All classes are recommended for ages 14+ and start at 6:30 p.m. Pre-register for each class at rochesterbrainery.com.

May’s edition of the Food Truck Rodeo takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. on May 31 at the Rochester Public Market. Blues-rock outfit FolkFaces take the stage, and your favorite meals on wheels will be there. cityofrochester. gov/foodtruckrodeo