International Women's Day Celebration at Simon's Rock

Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington hosts a series of events on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9 in celebration of International Women's Day. The weekend will include a discussion on the impact of war on women hosted by the Berkshire County Chapter of UNIFEM; a roundtable on feminist strategies of peacemaking; small-group workshops on poetry, songwriting and storytelling as forms of activism; a screening of the film Warrior Marks; and will culminate with an evening concert of songs for peace. All events are free and open to the public.

The celebration will begin on Friday at 4 p.m. in Kellogg Music Center, when the United Nations/ UNIFEM Berkshire County Chapter will host a presentation on "Women in Peace: The Global Picture" with speakers Elizabeth Ruzicka-Dempsey, Anne Barstow and Marian Ciborski.

On Saturday at 1 p.m. in Kellogg Music Center, a roundtable entitled "Re-examining Power, Re-envisioning Peace: Feminist Strategies of Peacemaking" will include panelists Kum-Kum Bhavnani, professor of sociology and women's studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara; Karen Christensen, CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group; psychotherapist, photojournalist and writer Sara Laing; Carolyn Oppenheim from the Friends of Open House Arab-Jewish Peace Center in Israel; Argentinean poet and activist Ruth Sanabria; and Susan Witt, Executive Director of the E.F. Schumacher Institute.

Small-group workshops will take place at 3 p.m. in Fisher Science Center, led by Argentinean poet and activist Ruth Sanabria on "Poetry and Activism"; local singer-songwriter JoAnn Spies on "Writing Songs for Peace"; and acclaimed storyteller Rona Levanthal on "Fictional Tales of Truth: Creating Stories We Can Live With in the Oral Tradition." Alice Walker's film on female genital mutilation, Warrior Marks, will be shown at 4 p.m. in Fisher Science Center. An evening performance including feminist a cappella group Nice Shoes from Mt. Holyoke College, storyteller Rona Levanthal, and singer-songwriter JoAnn Spies will conclude the celebration at 7 p.m. in Kellogg Music Center.

For more info call Professor Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez at 413-528-7224.