Calling all feminist hipsters (and those looking to pick up the same) the second Ladyfest Bay Area will be hitting the Mission this weekend (July 29-August 1). Ladyfest is the feminist DIY post-riotgrrl community art, activism, and punk rock festival, which started in 2000 in (where else?) Olympia, WA, and has since spread throughout the land and throughout the world. So naturally, girl bands play, spoken word poets rant, knitting circles purl, self-defense classes take out the eyes and kneecaps of the oppressor, and positive female energy rules the day. Its volunteer-organized, non-corporate sponsored, and appears mainly to have been advertised by spray-paint stencils on Valencia Street.
This years line up includes: bands like the All-Girl Summer Fun Band and the Butchies; feminist short films, documentaries, and a DIY porn; a photography show by Tammie Rae Carland of Mr. Lady Records; a queer hip-hop show featuring Katastrophe, the transgender rapper; readings by the luminaries of the lesbian lit and slut scene; and panels on topics such as political activism, indie record producing, auto repair, and feminist legal issues, among many, many others. Theres also a merch table to support feminist businesses (what better time than now to pick up a silk-screened This is what feminism looks like t-shirt, or the latest issue of Bitch Magazine?)
Passes and individual tickets can be purchased at Modern Times or Needles and Pins in the City, the Long Haul or Mod Lang in the East Bay, or online at the website. Schedules and maps are available online or just look for the young women with the black tank tops and tattoos around Dolores Park this weekend.
