Best Ways To Celebrate Women's History Month In Los Angeles
Women have come a long way in this country. From the first settlers to the pioneers to the activists, it's been a tough road of twice the work as men with only a fraction of the accolades and respect. Even establishing a Women's History Month was a battle. The first Woman's Day was March 8th, 1911 and it took another 69 years of advocating to get an entire week for honoring women's historic contributions and victories, but in 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared March 8th National Women's History week. From there, the National Women's History Project relentlessly petitioned congress and in 1987 the month of March was declared Women's History Month and has been annually since 1995. The list of women to celebrate continues to grow as women everywhere continue to pursue knowledge, truth and justice, among other things. Here are a few ways to celebrate Women's History Month in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
(818) 767-0888
www.lawomansfest.com
Date: March 19-22, 2015
Produced by Alliance of Women Filmmakers, the Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival encourages women filmmakers to create films telling their stories of life experiences whether it be their own or of others to inspire and encourage audiences through animations, documentaries, narratives, shorts and webisodes. The selected pieces will be viewed over the course of three days at the Woodbury University in Burbank. In addition to the original films, there are seminars on how to survive and succeed in the film industry.
Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival
Electric Lodge
1416 Electric Avenue
Venice, CA 90291
(818) 760-0408
www.lawtf.org
Date: March 26-29, 2015
The Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival is presenting its 22nd annual festival: Solo, But Not Alone. This event shines a light on the many talented women in theater showcasing a diversity of artistic expression. An array of women actors, dancers, storytellers, performance artists, performance poets, sculptors and comedians are scheduled to perform during the festival. You can show your support by purchasing tickets, making a donation or even volunteering at the theater during the festival. Check the website for a list of performances and performance times.
Komen Los Angeles County Race For The Cure
(310) 575-3011
www.apps.komen.org
Date: March 7, 2015
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series not only raises funding for the fight against breast cancer, but it also promotes education and celebrates breast cancer survivorship. As one of the most successful breast cancer fundraising events, 100 percent of the net proceeds are directed to breast cancer research helping to turn breast cancer patients into breast cancer survivors. In support of Women's History Month, you can join the race, donate or volunteer. And you don't have to be a woman to participate. Go to the website to register and get race day information.
The Los Angeles Women's Network (LAWN)
www.lalgbtcenter.org
Women's History Month isn't just about recognizing and celebrating women of the past but also about showing support for fellow women of all kinds in our everyday lives. The Los Angeles Women's Network (LAWN) supports the work of the Los Angeles LGBT Center to help form a community that provides service, education and networking and where sexual orientation and gender identity is a non issue. It's a diverse group of women dedicated to making a difference in the community and are always looking for new members to help advocate their mission. The March calendar provides original entertainment such as a reading of "Ruby" by author Cynthia Bond; Conversations with CoCo, with Special Guest Allison Janney; and The MisMatch Game.
Downtown Women's Center
442 S. San Pedro St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 680-0600
www.dwcweb.org
Sometimes the greatest achievements are made by simply making a difference in the life of someone less fortunate. The Downtown Women's Center was founded by social worker Jill Halverson in 1978 and has provided permanent supportive housing for homeless and low-income women in the downtown Los Angeles area. The DWC provides clean bathrooms and showers, day beds and laundry facilities as well as phone service, a secure mailing address and clean clothes. The DWC also provides more than 100,000 meals (three meals a day) to homeless women annually. With this kind of demand, there are many ways for women to help women in need. Please see the website for volunteering opportunities.
Related: Best Places To Volunteer With your Kid In Los Angeles
Step Up Women's Network
510 S. Hewitt St., Suite 111
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 382-8012
www.suwn.org
Involving mentoring young women and girls throughout daily life, Step Up Women's Network propels girls "from under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential." Through weekend and after-school programs which focus on empowerment for youth from the "under-resourced" community, the various programs are professionally organized and nurturing as they do their outreach. Having the confidence needed for education and career requires vision and positive role models. This is a chance to further the tradition of mentoring that has played a critical role in mainstream feminism.
