Grassroots-Fueled Fem Fest celebrates feminism

Whoever thinks girls do not indeed "rule," as the elementary-age-old adage suggests, obviously did not attend Greensboro's annual Fem Fest. Saturday's festival, hosted by the folks at Maya Art Gallery on Tate Street, turned the spotlight on Greensboro's gals and their gifts.

To kick off the night was a band called Full Bloom. Fronted by a female singer, the band performed an all-covers set that was made up of songs from other female artists. Songs included Michelle Branch's hit, "Everywhere," and "Please Sister" by The Cardigans. The band ended with Sixpence None The Richer's version of "Don't Dream It's Over," and handed the stage over to performance artist Milanda.

Milanda danced to a track called "Thickness" by African-American actress, singer and songwriter, Jill Scott. The raw and empowering lyrics drew the picture of a young woman used for her body while her mind is ignored, and then ended with a soulful repetition of the words "let her be elevated." Milanda's powerful dance drew admiration from and brought affirmation to the crowd of predominately women. The comraderie in the room was palpable. Fem Fest attendee and UNC-Chapel Hill student, Lily Smith, said about the festival, "The thing that strikes me so much is the support in the room. Some of the artists seem nervous, but there's also a great deal of nodding and encouraging smiles among friends and strangers in the room."

Next was Spoken word from local author Nevada Staples. She used her time in the spotlight to draw attention to the hardships experienced by the LGBTQ community through four drag-king characters from her book, The Sweetest Taboo.

Greensboro band, Amelia's Mechanics took the stage and band members Molly Miller, Molly McGinn and Kasey Horton performed their set of mostly original music. One song was written in two parts to convey two perspectives on the inspiring historical figure, Amelia Earhart who disappeared in her heroic attempt to fly around the world in 1937. The first part was described by Miller as "community reflections," while the second part was "from the perspective of her husband." Amelia's Mechanics expect to release an album soon.

Also present was the grassroots group Gate City Craftivists - formerly the Greensboro Craft Mafia. Members sold hand-made crafts with intentions to donate their profits to local efforts to end homelessness. They displayed hats and scarves for homeless community members knitted by craftivists, as well as an array of feminist literature. The group meets every Sunday Crafternoon from 3pm-6pm at the Maya Art Gallery. All are welcome to join to effort to "craft for the masses."

Later in the night a comedian, Michelle Maday and local band, Basalt performed. One of Maya Art Gallery's owners and operators, Adrian Penn, described carrying on the tradition of Fem Fest as it began in 2007. He agreed to continue the festival as it fit in with the art gallery's goals to "raise awareness and provide a creative space for feminist artists."