Grand Rapids is hosting its second LadyFestGR this March.
LadyFest, which first began in Olympia, Wash. in 2000, is organized by volunteers and is a community-based global music and arts festival for female artists.
LadyFestGR is a two-day event slated for March 22 and 23 at the Pyramid Scheme, at 68 Commerce Ave. SW in Grand Rapids.
Sarah Scott, LadyFestGR organizer, stated in an email that “there used to be a yearly Women’s 
Show that happened at various Heartside locations, but it hadn’t happened in a few years, and we all (LadyfestGR organizers) loved the national LadyFest model, so we decided to try it out here. We have the community support for a bigger event, and Pyramid Scheme has been very generous with letting us use their venue, which holds over 400 people and allows us to expand our audience.”
Scott continued, “Every year, we choose an organization to donate proceeds to, and this year we have chosen Our Kitchen Table, a local food justice and advocacy group.”
Nicole LaRae and Jes Kramer, both LadyFestGR organizers, are putting together evening performances and have secured local acts such as Bangarang Circus, Doctors’ Wives and Sarge Tha Dame. LaRae and Kramer have also gotten national acts to participate in LadyFestGR. New York acts Nite Jewel and Jean Grae will be performing, as well as Invincible, from Detroit.
“We scored some really (renowned) and awesome national acts,” Scott stated. “It’s always amazing to see the power of what women can do.”
Kramer is currently working on organizing the variety show which will consist of all local performers and has helped Tami Vandenberg, LadyFestGR organizer, with donations and connecting with sponsors.
“I work on organizing the 12 workshops for the event, which are anything from bookmaking, comic drawing, to women’s health to DIY organizing and women in rock history,” Scott wrote. “All workshops are lead by Michigan women”
On March 22, performances for all ages will run 6 p.m.-10 p.m. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., the performances are 18+.
On March 23, there will be 12 workshops noon-6 p.m., and the variety show will take place 6 p.m.-10 p.m. The variety show is for people of all ages. After the variety show, people 18 years and older will be able to watch more performances at the Pyramid Scheme until 2 a.m.
Even though all performances are performed by women, both genders are welcome to attend.
Visit ladyfestgr.com for more date info, ticket info and workshop specifics. Ticket pricing for the early show (all ages) is $8 and for the late show (18+) is $15. Weekend passes are available at ticketweb.com for $25 per person.
