The Lismore Women’s Festival will begin a week of activities with an opening event in the Quad area of the new Lismore Regional Gallery on Saturday from 10am until 2.30pm.
Organisers are urging people to bring a flower or some foliage from their home to contribute to a circle to gather around.
Aunty Thelma James will give a Welcome to Bundjalung Country address, which will be followed by an opening performance.
This will be followed by a range of workshops and talks, including a youth zone, singing at the Conservatorium, sewing and a discussion by the Remembering and Healing group.
For those wanting to begin a day early, however, the Serpentine Gallery in North Lismore will be hosting a women in art exhibition, titled Woman, that will run from 6pm to 8.30pm.
Coordinator Emma Newman said the week-long festival would feature 34 performances, talks and workshops by women who want to share their skills and ideas with the community.
‘Over eight days, you can celebrate, be inspired and connect through everything from art to aromatherapy, environmentalism to circus, from yoga to car maintenance, nutrition and more,’ Ms Newman said.
‘We hope that people can find things to challenge or delight them, plus discover the diversity of women living in our community.’
Ms Newman said men were also welcome to many of the events and each program entry would describe the target group.
She said all the activities within the festival were presented by local organisations and facilitators.
Events will be posted on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lismorewomensfestival.
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