UPDATE February 20, 2024 – INSPIRE has informed kawarthaNOW the International Women’s Day event scheduled for March 8, 2024 is no longer taking place, providing the following statement:
“Due to circumstances beyond our control, Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project’s International Women’s Day Event is postponed. Refunds will be processed no later than March 31, 2024.”
Early bird tickets are now on sale for the second annual International Women’s Day event hosted by INSPIRE: The Women’s Portrait Project.
Taking place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8th at the Peterborough Waterfront Holiday Inn, the event features inspiring speakers, workshops, an artisan fair, and more.
“We set the bar pretty high at last year’s event and it was a bit overwhelming to begin the task of pulling the pieces together for this year,” says INSPIRE founder Heather Doughty in a media release. “But the committee knocked it out of the park and we have an incredible lineup of speakers and workshops planned. This is going to be an incredible day — one that you don’t want to miss.”
Emceed by Peterborough performer, filmmaker, and author Megan Murphy, the day begins with opening speaker Dr. Dawn Memee Lavell Harvard, a member of Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, on the topic “Investing in Indigenous Women and Girls: Inviting everyone to the table.”
Attendees can then choose from one of three morning workshops and one of three afternoon workshops.
The morning workshops include “Women and Diet Culture” by dietitian Atheana Brown, “Re-ignite your Self-Confidence” by Team Synergy coach Meg Nimigon, and “Wen-Do Women’s Self Defence” by Wen-Do instructor and social worker Heather Howe.
The afternoon workshops include “Streamline and Simplify Your Space” by Organized By Design founder Nicole Cooke, “I’m not creative but I have to be: how creativity makes you, Peterborough and the world sparkle” by officiant and storyteller Hermione Rivison, and “Women and Cyber Security” by Jessica Erickson of MicroAge.
“The topics of our workshops are very wide — there is a workshop for everyone,” Doughty says.
During both the morning and afternoon, attendees will have free time to network and visit the artisan fair featuring more than 20 female-led businesses. There will also be a sitting yoga session with deep breathing exercises led by Stephanie Bolton, a photo booth, and a community song session by Mila Redwood, founder of Sing for Joy in Toronto.
The day will end with keynote speaker Leah Goldstein, a world champion kickboxer, the first female instructor to train commandos in the Israeli military, and a record-breaking endurance cyclist at over 50 years old. Goldstein will inspire attendees with her story of physical and mental determination and how she has used it to live a life of “no limits.”
Early bird tickets are available online at www.inspirethewomensportraitproject.com for $80, which is $20 less than the regular price.
Group tickets are also available, with early bird pricing of $240 for a group of four or $480 for a group of eight.
The theme of International Women’s Day 2024 is “Inspire Inclusion,” which Doughty is encouraging by providing people with the opportunity to purchase “pay it forward” tickets, which will be distributed to local agencies so that individuals facing financial or other barriers will be able to attend the event.
“What better way to live those words than by doing this?” she says. “This community has a huge heart and I know that attendees will show that by supporting this initiative and providing an opportunity to uplift and empower another individual.”
For more details about INSPIRE’s second annual International Women’s Day event, including information about speakers and workshops, and to buy early bird tickets, visit www.inspirethewomensportraitproject.com. Sponsorship opportunities area also available.
“We are so excited for this day and we hope to see everyone there,” Doughty says. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to fill the Holiday Inn?”
