Kingstonians will honour the talents and contributions of women in our city and from around the world from March 5 to 13, 2011 to celebrate International Women’s Day and Week. This March 8th marks the 100th Anniversary of the global celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD). Kingston will have its own celebration on Sunday, March 6th.
The theme of We Don’t Stop. We Can’t Stop. We Won’t Stop: Honouring women’s past, present and future recognizes the positive changes that have been made by women, illustrates the struggle that exists in gender equality today and envisions a future of equality, social justice and the end to oppression and violence against women.
The IWD Fair will be held at Memorial Hall, 2nd floor of City Hall on Ontario Street on Sunday, March 6, 2011 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will showcase displays of the histories of women, children’s activities and live music including the Caledonias, Samba Maracuja and Shout Sister! There will also be food for sale and a time capsule (bring a small and lightweight item to contribute). Admission to the Fair is free of charge and open to everyone.
Information will be available at the Fair that outlines the details of the events that will follow during International Women’s Week. The week’s events include two film screenings – Iron Jawed Angels, a film chronicling the women’s suffrage movement in the United States, and Pray the Devil Back to Hell, an inspiring story of a group of Liberian women who came together to demand peace in their war-torn country. There are also yoga classes, speakers and discussions, a Fundraiser Concert featuring the Brazilian inspired music of Samba Maracuja and the community launch of a photography project and exhibition called Picture An End to Violence, in which local men had portraits taken of themselves to become visible leaders on the issue of men’s violence against women.
