Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox had it right: Sisters are doin’ it for themselves, and have been for the past century. On Saturday, March 5, the 10th Annual International Women’s Day Conference at Simon’s Rock will celebrate what is actually the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day with an afternoon program, Women Write the World. (This event kicks off an affiliated month-long Berkshire Festival of Women Writers that continues throughout March.) Speakers on Saturday include novelist Nathalie Etoké, an assistant professor of French and Africana Studies at Connecticut College and author of several books exploring African culture and literature; author, human rights activist, writing coach, and journalist Demetria Martinez, who won the 2006 International Latino Book Award in the biography category for Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana; and award-winning journalist Christina Asquith, who has written books on her experiences reporting from in the Iraqi warzone and teaching 6th grade in an inner-city school in Philadelphia.
Keynote speaker Sandra Steingraber, right, a renowned environmental activist and author of several highly acclaimed books, including Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment, will explore the links between human rights and the environment, with a focus on chemical contamination. Anticipating an influx of women visitors for the event at Simon's Rock, at least one local business is rising to the occasion. Rhythms, a center for mind/body fitness and wellness in Lenox, is offering a special half-day schedule of classes that owner Chantal Leven has dubbed Peace, Power, Passion & Community—a spectrum of yoga, dance, and fitness classes, each with a Women’s Day twist; i.e., an Afro-Caribbean dance class will feature Yanvaloo, a dance from the Haitian tradition dedicated to the goddess Erzulie. A portion of the day's proceeds will go toward a scholarship fund to enable low-income women to take free classes at Rhythms. Then in the evening, International Women’s Day finishes with a flourish in Pittsfield at the Global Dance Gala, a dance party to benefit the Elizabeth Freeman Center, a local resource for victims of domestic abuse, and Circle of Health International (COHI), an organization that provides care to women and families in the wake of disasters. Event co-chair Dr. Siobhan McNally (top photo, on the job in Cambodia) is a pediatrician at CHP Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield and is board chair of COHI. 10th Annual Women's Day ConferenceBard College at Simon's Rock, Daniel Arts Center Great Barrington Saturday, March 5, 1 - 5:30 p.m. Berkshire Festival of Women WritersVarious venues throughout Berkshire County in March Rhythms CenterLenox Saturday March 5, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Global Dance GalaUpstairs at Jae's Spice Pittsfield Saturday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.
