International Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women’s Day twice.

In 1975, the same year Joni Mitchell released, ‘The Hissing of Summer Lawns’, and Charlotte Whitton, Ottawa’s first female mayor died, the UN declared March 8 as International Women’s Day. (It had actually started 64 years earlier in Europe.) This year, 50 years after the UN declaration, the Gatineau Hills are celebrating the special day with two events, one the evening before at Motel Chelsea, and one the next day at the Wakefield community centre.

The Motel Chelsea event on Friday, March 7, is “Women in Folk,” an evening celebrating the power, talent and creativity of local women in the folk music scene. The line-up of musicians is a constellation of local talent plus one western star. In alphabetical order by first name they are: Alise Marlane, Chris MacLean, Eva Danielson, Kate Greenland, Kate Weekes and Tina Therrien. Also on the roster is Christine Graves, who is from Ottawa. Each woman will perform a short set, and there will be duets and no doubt a trio, as all the members of The Paugan Dames will be on hand. As well as singing and playing, the performers will share their personal career journeys in the music industry, including the challenges, triumphs and inspirations. This event is partnered with 100 Mile Arts Network and the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise. And the charity Voice Found, which is dedicated to survivors of human trafficking and childhood sexual abuse, will benefit, as five dollars from every ticket sold will be donated to charity. There will be opportunities throughout the evening to make additional donations to further support their mission.

And then on the Saturday, March 8, International Women’s Day itself, the ever-active Wakefield Grannies are inviting the community to an afternoon Tea Party at the Wakefield community centre. (Those two magic words “tea party” always remind me of the one in ‘Alice in Wonderland’: “Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.) The Gwen Shea Hall will be filled with tables offering an array of afternoon delights. There will be tables offering previously loved jewellery and scarves for sale, others offering yummy homemade treats and Bean Fair coffee and hot chocolate. Throughout the afternoon there will be an array of local performances by Butterfingers, Heather Lynn Farrow, Kate Greenland, a group of Wakefield School girls, Kai Sunrise, Linda Vanderlee and friends, and Ilse Turnsen and Pierrot. The afternoon is a Grannies donation fundraiser in support of South African grandmothers – the Gogos –, who are raising AIDS-orphaned grandkids.

Women in Folk at Motel Chelsea, 1418 Hwy 105, is on Friday, March 7, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance at motelchelsea.com and $35 at the door.

The Wakefield Grannies Tea Party is in the Wakefield community centre, 38 Ch. de la Vallée-de-Wakefield, and it runs from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.