This Month, It’s All About The Ladies
Daring dames, First Ladies, riot grrrls, famous Philly females—all are front and center this month as the city celebrates the talents and achievements of awesome women both past and present in honor of Women’s History Month. Here’s a few female-centric happenings local ladies should definitely consider marking down on their calendars.
In conjunction with their current multimedia event Create Chaos!, tonight, Permanent Wave Philly will be hosting a special dance party to raise money for the 10th annual activism, music and arts festival, Ladyfest Philly. Going down June 7-9, each year, the festival honors the artistic, organizational and political work of women, trans, genderqueer, intersex, and queer people with a weekend of workshops, musical performances, discussion groups and other events. If you can’t make it out tonight, no worries—PWP still has plenty of things lined up this month including a feminist photo shoot/live sketch this Saturday and skill share/craft session on March 24. (Fri/8, 9pm. $5-$7. Eris Temple Arts, 602 S. 52nd St.)
The sweet scent of estrogen and creativity will continue to permeate West Philly on Saturday as Vitamin D Productions once again hosts its free all-ages, all-female arts festival showcasing an eclectic group of artists. Using her signature fusion of movement and sound, local physical theater artist, Mira Treatman will be presenting a humorous yet thought-provoking performance piece while the art/music duo, Blown Away will be combining melodic harmonies and projected drawings to create an aural-visual spectacle. Covering the musical portion of evening are New York pop/rock/soul songstress, Lachi; Brooklyn-based poet/rapper, Sam LaRoche and West Philly’s experimental teenage twosome, The Barking Spiders. As always, there will be a deeper message at the core of the event, with this year’s speakers and performers tackling issues relating to abuse and bullying. (Sat/9, 7pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St.)
First Person Arts StorySlam: Girl Power
Though Philly’s hugely popular storytelling competition always seems to a pretty interesting theme each month, this one might be the best yet. Host Katonya Mosely will open the mic to ladies who’ve got something to say and demand to be heard, regaling the audience with real-life tales of female empowerment. If you yourself have an experience you want to share, feel free to throw your name in the hat. Otherwise, just sit back and let some fascinating women entertain you. (Mon/11, 8:30pm. $8-$10. World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St.)
Women’s History Month @ The Constitution Center
Although typically the best place to learn about a bunch of old affluent white men, this month, the Center is carving out a space for the women who have helped shaped this great nation yet rarely get the credit they deserve in history books. Programming for the exhibit includes a 20-minute interactive show focusing on remarkable women that have called this city home and some of Philly’s “famous female firsts.” Guests can also learn some pretty interesting facts about America’s First Ladies and the role that women played in the Prohibition era. (Daily through March 30. $13-$14. National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.)
What To Do This Weekend
If the selection of vintage clothing, accessories and housewares available on their Etsy shop is any indication, you’re definitely going to want to get your ass over to Fishtown at some point this weekend where the local founders of Snowbird Vintage will be temporarily occupying the entire space just above Adorn Boutique. These ladies clearly have a good eye for vintage fashion. Most of the items fall into either the “super-trendy” category or “stunningly classic” category. Personally, I’m really digging this 1970s wine-colored floor-length dress with crochet detailing. It’s like classy-Bohemian. Best of all, there’s even more awesome items downstairs. Friday, 11am-8pm. Daily through Sun/16. Free. Adorn Boutique, 1314 Frankford Ave.
If you missed Crafty Balboa last weekend, this may be the closest craft event to it. More than 15 local artisans and craftspeople will be in attendance selling an array of fine handmade jewelry and vintage treasures, including those of SquidWhale Designs, Dahling Accessories and MADEBYHANK. Oh, and you can even get a portrait of yourself sitting on the moon. That alone makes it worth the trip. Saturday, 12-6pm. Free. 1241 Carpenter St.
While you may never be able to enjoy Christmas with the same unbridled enthusiasm that you did as a child, why not at least try? Plop down on Santa’s lap, decorate cookies, marvel at an array of shinny seasonal arts and crafts, rock out to your favorite Christmas song with Frosty and maybe even partake in a little holiday treasure hunting. If this all sounds incredibly embarrassing, then offer to babysit a niece or nephew and relive your youth through them. Saturday, 11am-2pm. Sister Cities Park, Logan Square, 18th & Ben Franklin Pkwy.
You didn’t think the holiday season was going to go by without a GO WEST craft extravaganza, did ya? Regardless of who it is that you need to crossed off your list, chances are one of the 40 local vendors at this year’s event will have the ideal gift—one that you probably would have never thought of yourself. For instance, how about a cozy hand knitted or crocheted winter accessory for your bestie living in Chicago? Or how about a clever screen-printed tee for you’re little bro? Saturday, 11am-4pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St.
Once again, Three Sirens Boutique is partnering with Nawrocki Fitness for a special shopping event, this time with a portion of the proceeds helping to benefit Moss Rehab. In addition to accessories and handbags by Urban Expressions and apparel from RD Style and Press, befittingly, the boutique will be bringing along their selection of Hardtail workout gear as well. RVSP to the Facebook event or bring your student ID and you’ll receive an additional 10 percent off. Sunday, 12-5pm. Free. Nawrocki Fitness, 1500 Locust St.
What To Do This Weekend
From peaceful protest to critter crafts and chiptune music, here’s your weekend forecast for the humidity and the happenings:
Friday:
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//Philly Tea Party (peaceful protest and discussion) in Rittenhouse Square I love the things you can find on CL– seriously! At first glance I thought people were bringing their spoons and saucers, but it turns out that this is actually a peaceful protest. If you’re interested in seeing what it’s all about, the deets are here.
Saturday:
//8Static at Studio 34 Not gonna lie, this is totally a plug for a personal fav. Support local music!
This month 8static is proud to present a special four musician lineup consisting ofCovox (Sweden),Nullsleep (NYC),Oxygenstar (CT), andRo-Bear (PHL).
Covox touches down in the US the day before and starts his tour right here in Philadelphia at 8static! Nullsleep returns from his worldwide Disaster Fetish tour in time to destroy 8static a second time! Oxygenstar, who previously played open mic and drums for minusbaby, is back for a full set! Finally, Ro-Bear, long time 8static open mic’er and up and coming Philly artist, makes his debut performance!
The fun starts at 45th and Baltimore at 8pm. Flyer for reduced admission here.
//Crafts for a Cause Oh man, I wish I had a pet. (For those of you who know me, you’re aware that I’ve actually settled for naming my houseplants.) There was a lovely little write up in City Paper about this sweet crafter celebration on Tuesday, but if you missed it here’s the scoop:
Citizens for a No Kill Philadelphia are bringing together more than three dozen crafters from the tri-state region to vend critter-friendly crafts. Awwww. There’ll be pets up for adoption from PAWS, a book signing and tunes, too. Local favs catFlowers and Steve Notich (above) will be showing, so be sure to swing by the Rotunda between noon and 6pm on Saturday tosee what it’s all about!
//End of Summer Sale at Oma Vintage We got an email from our girl Ada making sure we knew about the Dog Days party and sale at Oma Vintage.
As we all know, the summer is sadly coming to a close. So what better way to fight off those back-to-school blues than with a party and a sale? This Saturday night, all summer items at Oma Vintage will be 20-40% off. One night only! Drinks and treats will be served.
Sunday:
//Blue Oce’ana to benefit The Ocean Project If you’re into eco-conscious apparel, you’ve probably already heard about Sand Shack. We received an open invitation from noon to 5pm this coming Sunday at Tierra Mia Organic Nail Spa on south 17th Street… There’s going to be cocktails and ..fake nails? Here are some deets:
Sand Shack and Tierra Mia Organic Nail Spa are joining forces for ocean conservation efforts in style. Recently named “2009 – Best of Philly”, Tierra Mia is Philadelphia’s premier hot spot for organic, eco-friendly salon experiences. We’re coming together for an afternoon of relaxation and appreciation. 5% of ALL jewelry sales and spa services will support The Ocean Project.