Barnstaple will mark International Women’s Day this Friday (8 March) and Saturday with a host of female-led events, performances and activities across four venues across the city to appeal to people of all ages. It will be held.
This two-day extravaganza brings together a wide range of inspiring people and organizations to celebrate women’s art and culture with live music, exhibitions, hands-on activities, a variety of speakers, quiz nights and more.
The event in Barnstaple will focus on Market Street’s Rabbit Hole, Pannier Market, Barnstaple Library and Guildhall and will raise funds and awareness for North Devon Domestic Abuse Prevention Action (NDADA).
The celebration is a collaboration between The Rabbit Hole, Gardeners Collective CIC, NDADA, Barnstaple Town Council, One Barnstaple, Libraries Unlimited, North Devon Council and Flushing Barnstaple.
It’s all being coordinated by Tatiana Matthews from community benefit company The Gardeners Company, who said they wanted to bring the whole community together to celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 in style.
Rabbit Hole features a courtyard stage with live music by female artists throughout both days and a speaker stage with 18 talks and presentations from a variety of inspiring local women and organizations. Additionally, there will be a quiz night on Fridays from 7pm to 9pm.
Performers include Sasha Brennand, Chloe Marie Aston of Piano Bike Girl, Amanita Grove and Gabby Young, who will perform from 12pm to 7pm on Friday, and from 9pm DJ Nina Love will be performing.
Enjoy Kaylie Jay Richardson, the Flemington Singers, Georgia Palmer, Maddie Warren, The Groove Collective, and DJ Lady C on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The speaker stage was very diverse and included local gluten-free blogger turned author Sarah Howells, Devon and Cornwall Police, cancer survivor Louise Butcher, NDADA CEO Hannah Ashford, and even business leaders. There will also be talks focusing on women, leadership, and the scourge of domestic violence.
Above: Gluten-free blogger and author Sarah Howells speaks at The Rabbit Hole at IWD24.Credit: Steve Joyce
Barnstaple Panier Market will host a variety of activity sessions for people to try their hand at throughout both days, including yoga, hula-hooping and skateboarding.
On both days, Barnstaple Library’s foyer will offer a cafe atmosphere, providing the opportunity to connect and hear from many inspiring women, as well as enjoy a performance by ‘3-minute poet’ Furla .
On Friday and Saturday from 11am to 4pm at the Guildhall, the town council’s heritage team will be hosting an exhibition about inspiring women from around North Devon, past and present.
The Rabbit Hole will also host a range of empowerment, craft and sculpture sessions over the two days, hosted by The Gardeners Co, Sunrise Diversity and NDADA.
Organizer Tatiana Matthews said: “This #IWD24 event is a fantastic collaborative event put together by a truly inspiring group of women.
“For such a great cause, organizations, venues, performers, workshop facilitators, and our community come together. We celebrate and showcase women’s successes, while also helping women grow locally and at scale.” To enable us to raise awareness and funding for the work of NDADA, which is a lifeline for too many families, while tackling some of the challenges facing the world.
“Our work with The Gardeners Co CIC is all about connecting with ourselves, our environment, or each other, and this event has the same purpose: to bring our community together. It’s about celebrating International Women’s Day.”
NDADA CEO Hannah Ashford added: “NDADA is excited to be a part of this event. Our empowerment workshops will help those who have experienced domestic violence experience recovery options and help them process and recover from their trauma. I hope you understand that.
“In my talk, ‘Domestic Abuse – It’s Everyone’s Problem’, I aim to break down the idea that domestic abuse only happens to certain types of people. Rather, domestic abuse ripples throughout the fabric of society. It’s a public health crisis with implications for everyone, young and old, rich and poor, and of all genders. ”
For the full line-up of IWD24 events in Barnstaple, visit www.barnstapletowncouncil.gov.uk/iwd24.
* Soroptimist International Barnstaple and District will also celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday. Members will be outside the gates of the parish church on High Street at 11am handing out white roses to women passing by. Soroptimist will also provide cards listing helpline numbers for various organizations that raise awareness of violence against women.