Although FEMfest celebrates Women’s Equality Day, the University of Idaho will celebrate the national holiday Friday so new students can be introduced to the Women’s Center and what they have to offer.
“This year the Women’s Center decided to put on FEMfest to educate and raise awareness for Women’s Equality Day and promote the Center’s 40th anniversary activities,” said Lysa Salsbury, Program Coordinator for the Women’s Center.
UI celebrates FEMfest every year, providing education on the historical legacy of the struggle for women’s equality, according to Salsbury.
FEMFest is the first in a long list of events hosted by the Women’s Center to celebrate their 40th year.
With FEMfest, the Women’s Center wants to debunk common myths about the Center, Salsbury said, such as the Women’s Center being only for women. It is also to introduce all the different organizations, on and off campus, that deal with gender equality issues, she said. FEMfest will feature nearly 20 booths. Each one will have activities and giveaways. Three featured booths will be from the Moscow Women’s Giving Circle, the Society of Women’s Engineers and the Rolling Hills Derby Dames.
The Moscow Women’s Giving Circle is a local philanthropy group with 50 members who pledge a certain amount per year Salsbury, a member herself, said. The money is then pooled together and dispersed via grants throughout the community.
Salsbury said the group has donated $100,000 in the last 5 years. She said it is a low key but high impact way of funding deserving community projects.
This year, Salisbury said the Moscow Women’s Giving Circle is expanding membership to anyone who wants to give any amount of money – traditionally, the minimum was one dollar per day. Salsbury said this gives an opportunity for any women, especially students, to be a part of something meaningful at an affordable cost.
President of The Society of Women’s Engineers, Sara Sumner, said, “I am excited to celebrate ‘Women’s Equality Day.’ As a woman in a career field dominated by males, I am happy to get together with other women and celebrate what we have accomplished throughout the year.”
Sumner said the booth will offer a mentor program for freshman women engineering majors. These freshmen will be paired with an upper classman to give them advice not just about the engineering field, but general advice as well.
Cathy Wilcins, aka Splat Cat of the Rolling Hills Derby Dames, said they will use their booth to spread the word about roller derby.
Wilcins said roller derby is a full contact, female dominated sport, but right now Rolling Hill Derby Dames are the only derby league in the area.
FEMfest will be held at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24 in the Idaho Commons Plaza.
Emily Aizawa can be reached at [email protected]