Organisers of the inaugural Lismore Women’s Festival have released a program that features 57 events and activities that will take place during the week of celebrations.
The festival will kick off on Sunday, 5 March, at 10am at Lismore Workers Club with a live feed from the All About Women festival at Sydney Opera House in which Academy Award winner Geena Davis will address the topic of Women and Media, with specific focus on gender stereotyping.
Ms Davis is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors and a tireless advocate for gender equality.
Her talk will be followed by a panel of guest speakers featuring successful businesswomen and professionals from the Northern Rivers region.
The panel includes: Pam Brook – co-founder of Brookfarm; Rhoda Roberts – Festival Director and Producer; Lois Randall – Screen Producer & Arts Manager; Donna Kildea – Chief Operating Officer Summerland Credit Union; Sarah Karam – Belle General & Belle Central Café’s; and Kristy Jones – COBA ‘Emerging Leader Award’ 2015 & Marketing Manager Southern Cross Credit Union.
The festival will then host a huge range of activities over the seven days until 12 March, with activities, forums and workshops on various topics from yoga to financial management.
Events, exhibitions and activities will be held at a range of locations throughout the Lismore area, revolving around seven main themes.
They are business and profession; creativity and art; culture and spirituality; health and wellbeing; passion and lifestyle; and sport and recreation.
The festival is the brainchild of YWCA NSW’s Northern Rivers Senior Manager, Sandra Handley.
Ms Handley was inspired after she came across the month-long sister festival ‘La Fiesta’ in her hometown of Whanganui, New Zealand. She brought it across the Tasman with permission of the Whanganui Women’s Network and now there are 45+ women and many organisations involved in creating the inaugural Festival for March 2017.
The full festival program can be found at www.lismorewomensfestival.org
