The 18th annual National Women`s Music Festival this weekend offers four nights of music, drama and comedy by women and four days of workshops and other activities for women in all the arts.
The festival, which runs Thursday through May 31 on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Ind., features musical, theatrical and dance acts from across the U.S. and Canada, and offers more than 300 workshops for women artists, musicians and writers.
Three acts will perform nightly on the festival main stage. Among those featured are comedian Marilyn Pittman; country singer Dianne Davidson;
Canadian singer and pianist Lucie Blue Tremblay; blues singer Heather Bishop; pop singers Cris Williamson, Melanie DeMore, and Margie Adams; percussionist Nurudina Pili Abena; and African-American dance troupe Urban Bush Women.
Short workshops offered during the day will cover a variety of topics. For women in music, there are workshops on networking, production skills and how to market their music. Other workshops offer support and ideas to women artists in other fields, including creative writers and visual artists.
Among the writing workshop leaders will be feminist author Kate Millett, who will lead a discussion about her last book, ”The Loony Bin Trip” (Simon & Schuster, $10.95), and writer Sarah Aldridge.
The festival also offers daily film and video screenings of work by women artists and a women`s spirituality conference.
More than 90 craftswomen and artists will sell their products at a merchants` area that will be open daily. On May 31, there will be a 5-kilometer run and 2-kilometer walk competition with prizes.
The festival originated at the University of Illinois at Champaign in 1974, as a response to a music festival there in which only male musicians were invited to perform.
Since 1974, the event has grown so that it now draws 3,000 to 4,000 participants. Most of the participants come from the central part of the U.S., although the musical acts come in from all over the country, she said.
A four-day pass to the event, which opens at 9 a.m. Thursday at Read Center, 3rd and Jordan Streets, Bloomington, Ind., is $145. One-day tickets cost $40 to $50. Mainstage tickets are $24 a night.
To reserve tickets or for information about accommodations call 317-636-7382, or after Tuesday, 812-855-9291. Tickets also will be available on site.
