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AUG. 7-11
The words “A Ladyfest D.C. benefit” had been appearing on show fliers for so long, I’d started to wonder if it was an event or a charity organization. But when you’ve got a festival as mind-bogglingly comprehensive as this one, it’s understandably going to take time, planning, and a helluva lot of fundraising to get it off the ground. From Aug. 7 to Aug. 11, Ladyfest D.C.—a volunteer-run, multimedia celebration of women in the arts—will present dozens of musical performances, film screenings, art exhibitions, workshops, and even the occasional puppet show that make it well worth the extended wait (and often hefty admission price). Ladyfest D.C.’s eclectic band component, including almost 40 local bands, will combine acts such as Quix*o*tic, Crucial Defect, and B-Girl Manifesto with legendary femme-rockers Kathi Wilcox and (a recently reunited) Tsunami. Adams Morgan/Mount Pleasant-area spaces will house Ladyfest D.C.’s art shows, which feature the works of more than 20 local and mail-in female artists. Film screenings, many of which will be held at the Sacred Heart School in Mount Pleasant, will showcase, among others, Astria Suparak’s short film series Looking Is Better Than Feeling You and Helen Stickler’s documentary Andre the Giant Has a Posse, which follows the nationally recognized guerrilla-art sticker and marketing campaign. On Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Black Cat, San Francisco’s queercore punkers Tribe 8 (pictured) will perform with D.C.’s self-proclaimed “#1 unisex go-go band,” Ms. Spice and the Malenium Band, while workshops, film screenings, and DJ performances will be held on the backstage. All profits from the festival will go to the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and unlike some other feminist festivals—whose exclusionary regulations prohibit men and transgendered persons from attending—Ladyfest D.C. is are open to everyone. The festival runs to Sunday, Aug. 11, at various locations around the city; see City List for details. (Matthew Borlik)