Introduction to wicca and witchcraft

It ain't just all about black cats and broomsticks...

Red Chidgey is a grrrl activista, a zine addict and a witch. She hangs out with riot grrrl gangs and helped put on Ladyfest Brighton 2005. Witchcraft for her is the perfect blend of nature, mystery and feminism, and she recently joined a Brighton coven to train. Currently she's working on a contemporary history project about zine archives and DIY feminism. More about Red's projects: www.grrrlzines.net

Street dance

Anita is a choreographer for Dance City, Newcastle but also freelances all over the country. She's inspired by jazz, breakdancing and hip hop, and has worked for Nike and danced for bands on Top of the Pops! Wear comfortable shoes and baggy trousers for this workshop!

Challenging street harassment

Anti-Street Harassment UK is a group of feminists devoted to offering positive and empowering solutions to dealing with street harassment. The Anti-street harassment UK website story archive has been an inspiration for the workshop, providing a supportive forum for women who have been harassed and fought back from all over the world. The workshop tells these stories and offeres practice tactics for dealing with street harassment, as well as looking at some of the other campaigns around the world. After the workshop an arts space will be available for everyone at Ladyfest Newcastle to design stickers, flyers and posters that will be make available for download on the anti-harassment website.

People of all genders are positively encouraged to attend the workshop - challenging sexism and harassment is not just work for women.

Drumming

Julia is part of the queer/feminist DIY collective manifesta in Leeds, writes about the marginalisation of women in music culture and UK riot grrrl by day, and currently drums in FAKE TAN! Starting from scratch without a lesson to her name, Julia is living proof that if you can dance you can drum, and don't let anybody tell you different. Julia's here to make your punk rock dream come true.

Lou plays drums in Liverpool bands called 3 Minute Margin and previously for Grampus 8, she also sings and plays guitar in Flamingo 50. She led the drum workshop for Ladyfest Manchester, and believes anyone can play anything if they want. Just have a go, hit something and make some noise!

Debate: 'Can feminists Enjoy Porn?'

Avedon Carol is a long-time civil liberties activist and a founding member of Feminists Against Censorship. She has worked on most FAC publications, co-edited BAD GIRLS AND DIRTY PICTURES with Alison Assiter, and is the author of NUDES, PRUDES AND ATTITUDES. She was also a member of the executive committee of the National Council for Civil Liberties ("Liberty"). Additionally, she maintains a weblog documenting the illegal takeover of the United States and destabilization of the world by the theocon corporatists. She was born and raised in the United States, and has lived in London since 1985.

Object challenges the objectification of women by the media, porn and sex industries and their damaging messages about women's status & function.

Unlike the Government, Object do not challenge the objectification of women, on the grounds of 'morality' 'taste' or 'decency'. They challenge it on the basis of harm - the immeasurable and widespread harm associated with the current representation of women. Object believe there is overwhelming evidence that this culture harms - research shows young women are under intolerable pressure over their appearances and 'sex appeal', and the links between rape and violent crime are well established.

Object believe a truly liberal, democratic society has to be based on respect. But the current representation of women appears to be based on contempt. Object believe 'freedom of the press' should be a cornerstone of our society. But we need to recognise that our globalised media enjoys immeasurable financial, political and social power. Surely with such power comes great responsibility? And yet 'freedom of the press' appears to mean 'the absence of any meaningful regulation' since current media legislation and regulation means it is impossible to challenge the objectification of women - even to our children.

Ah'freee

"Polemic, passionate, a true original". Ah'freee, aka 'Radical Queen' weaves lyrical masterpieces to consciously provoke and entice the audience into a different reality. The words are an inspired foreground, the varied themes are a startling backdrop and her voice a rich, resonant evocation of the beauty of Africa. Raw and natural, Radical Queen revels in the mystery that allows her to deliver, seemingly direct from the ancestors, what she, and the audiences, love to hear. Contact freeebeing@yahoo.co.uk

(Un)doing your gender

What is gender? How do you know if you’re male or female? How is gender linked to sexuality and the body? Come and explore these questions in a fun, interactive, and safe space, with Ceri Black from Newcastle University.

Belly dancing

Learn to shimmy your booty with belly dance troupe ‘Shadows on the Sand’. Perhaps the most female-friendly of all dancing, bellydancing not only helps you cherish your wobbly bits, it’s also great for making babies - Wikipedia reckons “the practice of belly dancing may benefit women preparing for childbirth, as the movements strengthen and tone the pelvic floor muscles and the woman becomes more familiar with the way her muscles work.“

Belly dancing is traditionally all about Arabic, North African and Middle Eastern music, but this troupe also dance to Shania Twain, Shakira, and the Bangles. Belly dancing not only looks great and sounds jinglytastic, it's also great for strengthening your core muscles - in your face, boring pilates!

Adventures in menstruating (performance)

"Breaking down menstrual taboos with wit, irony and brute force!"

Chella had a dream about periods, and decided to write a zine about it. That was over a year ago, and people still approach her with new issues and ideas to explore, and the feminine hygiene industry keeps putting out ads for new products to deconstruct and denounce! Chart Your Cycle and Adventures in Menstruating are the zines, and this is the live version. The purpose of the roadshow is to encourage others to talk and write about periods without all the euphemisms and embarrassment. It's part zine reading, part sketch comedy, part performance lecture.

Highlights include: What it really feels like to use a mooncup, a leakage horror story you won't soon forget, and 1950s adverts performed before your very eyes!

You can also check out the Mobile Menstrual Zine Library, reusable menstrual products, and pick up leaflets, stickers and other freebies. (Adventures in Menstruating is not sponsored by any of these products. They just have the Menstrual Avenger seal of approval!) Chella's zines will also be available, (as well as Sarah's poetry zine, if she gets off her arse and writes it! –Chella).

On every stop of the tour, local writers are invited to perform their menstrually-themed work. If this is you, please get in touch!

Open to menstruators and non-menstruators.

Singing

Gilly Love has worked with singing groups and voice workshops for over 20 years. Coming from a performance and Community Arts background, her main interest is to encourage those who don't think of themselves as 'singers' - her most popular workshops being those called "So you think that you should only sing in the bath?!"

Gilly currently works as a programme leader at The Sage Gateshead - but also teaches guitar, piano and music theory. She passionately believes that everyone can be encouraged to sing and that having fun in a group is one of the best ways to start!

This workshop will be a quick, gentle introduction into some enjoyable styles of singing for those who are less confident as well as those who have a little more experience. Everyone is welcome ...... come along and surprise yourself!!

Changing the world with a zine

(AKA introduction to zines and DIY publishing) Zines (or fanzines) are independently produced magazines or booklets. They can be on any subject, from your favourite band to vegan recipes. They come in all shapes and sizes from mini zines that fit in your pocket to glossy A4 magazines that come with free CDs, and they range from the serious and profound to the funny and entertaining (and sometimes all of those things in one zine). But most of all, they are a way for us to put our own voices out there, to express our own opinions and tell our own stories without being dictated to, stereotyped or overlooked.

This workshop is taken by Red Chidgey, who is also behind the feminist history workshop.

Radio broadcasting

An extremely hands on workshop where you will get the opportunity to get down and dirty with a mobile radio station.

The Community Broadcast Initiative Tyneside (CBIT) is a non profit making organisation that has been formed by community broadcasters across Tyneside. CBIT's aim is to encourage and/or facilitate the development, production and broadcast of community radio, which promotes community learning, cohesion, regeneration, celebration and empowerment. www.cbit.org.uk.

Feminist history

Information to follow

DJing with vinyl decks

Learn to DJ the old-skool way, before ipods and CDs took the fun away!

This workshop is taken by The Community Broadcast Initiative Tyneside (CBIT), who are also behind Radio Broadcasting and Jingle Belles.

Assertiveness

Karen and Ally from Skillshare Northeast will provide you with a mini diagnostic tool to see where you feel you are at in terms of your assertiveness and will have plenty of tips for those of you wanting to build on any weaknesses. These ladies are extremely experienced trainers and you will undoubtedly leave this workshop feeling inspired!

In 2004/05 SkillShare worked with over 125 groups including Hartlepool Voluntary Development Agency, Moneywise Credit Union, Cancer Care Alliance and North Tees Womens Aid. Other organisations receiving training include Sure Start Programmes, Cleveland Police Authority and New Deal for Communities. SkillShare provides capacity building training and community development support enabling people to play a more active and influential role in the regeneration of their communities.

Jingle belles

An opportunity to create your own Ladyfest Jingle! If any of them are particularly good then they may actually be featured live on radio when NE1 FM is launched in December.

This workshop is taken by The Community Broadcast Initiative Tyneside (CBIT), who are also behind Radio Broadcasting and DJing with Vinyl Decks

Customise your own clothes

Designer, Laura Gledhill runs her own fashion brand Heidi Seeker specialising in fun, crazy, rock and roll bags and clothing. A self confessed queen of customisation, Laura loves transforming old clothes and accessories into fabulous new items using a variety of different techniques. Join her and the Heidi Seeker gang in a workshop to transform an old item of clothing or accessory into a super customised wonder garment!

(please bring at least two things to customise)

Poetry and prose workshop

Polish your writing skills with Elizabeth Whyman. Elizabeth's poems have appeared in many magazines in the UK and USA, and she was a finalist in the 2006 Cinnamon Press First collection award and won the 2006 Poetry Can first collection prize. Her debut collection will be launched in 2007 at the Bristol Poetry Festival. She works at Mslexia, the magazine for women writers and has run creative writing workshops at various venues in the North East.

Forum/political theatre (workshop)

Forum theatre gives you the opportunity to revisit past events and incidents or imagine future ones and act them out, exploring and changing the power dynamics to recognize oppression. This can be done with live action scenes and still images.

PLEASE BE AWARE: Some of the topics participants choose and the explorations that follow may be triggering. Please be prepared to check out concerns with us before and during the workshop, and ensure you have a support network if you have unresolved issues after the workshop. Because of time constraints, we will probably not tackle broad issues, just specific incidents people wish to replay.

Chella Quint is a writer and performer living in Yorkshire but is originally from New York. She writes the zines Chart Your Cycle and Adventures in Menstruating, plus a few oneshots. Sarah Thomasin is a performance poet from Yorkshire. Chella and Sarah also perform with an impro troupe in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and do spoken word stuff with Creatovate, Sheffield.

Find out more about Forum/Political Theatre at www.chartyourcycle.co.uk

Ladyfest discussion

Ladyfest Newcastle is organised entirely by volunteers. None of us had ever done anything like this before, and at the beginning we didn’t have a clue where to start. But we made it happen, and if we can do it then anyone can! If you’re thinking of putting on a Ladyfest in your home town or you’re just curious to know what was involved, come and ask us some questions and hopefully we can spare you some of the mistakes we made!