Preview: LadyFest Cambridge – various venues, Cambridge, 26 Mar - 1 Apr 2007

Preview: LadyFest Cambridge – various venues, Cambridge, 26 Mar - 1 Apr 2007
Artist Visiting Cambridgeshire
Between 26 March and 1 April Acoustic Stage is running a series of LadyFest concerts in Cambridge to raise awareness about Action South Africa's Dignity. Period project, and a whole load of cash for the women of Zimbabwe. LadyFest will involve multiple live performances over three venues in Cambridge - including gigs, club nights and live comedy - with all the acts being female fronted.

Featured acts include: The Duloks (pictured), The Velvetines, Invocal, Fighting Cocks, AngelSoul, Royal Treatment Plant, Eleanor Walker and many more.

Venues include:

The Loft - Running gigs over five nights including an all day event from 3pm on Saturday 31 March (Mon, Thurs - Sun)
The Boathouse - Hosting 3 nights of acoustic music and one all female comedy night (Thurs to Sun)
The Portland Arms - Hosting two evening gigs (Thurs, Sat), one Comedy Night (Fri) and a Sunday night music quiz.

There are also affiliated nights at the Kambar (Church of Noise, Thurs) and The Red Cow (Ban This Filth, TBC). Also, a very special Eclectic with be taking place at The Boathouse (Tues). This is a completely free event!

Gigs run by Acoustic Stage at The Loft, The Boathouse and The Portland Arms venues will have a £3.00 minimum donation for entry. Alternatively, gig goers who would like to go to several gigs can purchase a wristband for £10.00 either from the venues or in advance from www.wegottickets.co.uk which will get them into all the gigs.

All other events (Comedy, Club nights and Music Quiz) will either make a donation from their standard entry fee or ask for an additional donation. Full listings will be brought to you on Moving Tone News as we have them, as well as being published on LadyFests main website at www.ladyfestcambridge.co.uk. Until then, information can be found at: www.myspace.com/cambridgeladyfest

LadyFest will also be producing free listings magazine which will be available from all of the venues.

What it's in aid of...

Dignity. Period is a project run by Action South Africa, a charitable organisation interested in elevating the wellbeing of the people of South Africa and their surrounding nations. Women in Zimbabwe face a daily struggle against an oppressive government with laws that hinder both their equal rights and wellbeing. Taxes on sanitary products are extremely high, making the cost of providing proper sanitary wear for one woman per month around £10.00. This may not seem much, but the average wage of a Zimbabwean woman is only £12.50 a month, according to government statistics. However this does not include farm, informal and domestic workers, making up 75% of the female population. These workers earn an average of £3.50 per month. Proper sanitary care is very important in the fight against HIV/AIDS and STI's and Dignity. Period is dedicated to raising awareness about this situation. For more information please go to Zimbabwe Sanitary Campaign.

About LadyFest

LadyFest is a community based, not-for-profit, festival established to highlight female artists, bands, musical groups, media producers, and visual artists organized by volunteers. This festival came about as a result of the DIY ethic and ‘Riot Grrrl' movements in Olympia, Washington as well as the many contributions by authors on inclusive feminist philosophy. The first ever LadyFest was conducted in Olympia, Washington in August 2000 with over 2000 people attending. Prime motivators in the event were Sleater-Kinney, Cat Power, and Neko Case. The primary organizers of LadyFest are women, but everyone is encouraged to attend and volunteer at every festival. Since the first LadyFest, the event has branched out into other urban centres such as Amsterdam, Atlanta, Belgium, Berlin, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Brooklyn, Cardiff, Dublin, Lansing, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Orlando, Ottawa, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Toronto, Washington DC, and more. Primarily volunteers organize each festival locally and independently of other LadyFest events. Proceeds from LadyFest festivals are donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to eliminating the sexist oppressions of women.

For information on the LadyFest movement please visit: www.ladyfesteurope.org

Writer: LadyFest