BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State University, the BSU Women’s Studies Program and the BSU Women’s Resource Center will sponsor three off-campus activities over the next several weeks as part of the continuing celebration of March as Women’s History Month.
• March 27 – 7 p.m. – “Voice of My Own,” presented by Mask & Rose Women’s Theater Collective at the Wild Rose Theater/Old Masonic Temple, Bemidji, Minn.
Covering a broad spectrum from Sappho to writers of the present day, “Voice of My Own” points to not only the triumphs of women in literature, but also the discouragement, derision and disbelief to which they were too often subjected. Spanning 26 centuries, the play evokes the words and feelings of women who were frequently obliged to hide behind anonymity or male names in order to practice their art, and from whom fantastic strength of character and indomitability were required.
General-admission tickets will be available at the door for $5, with BSU students admitted for $3 with a valid ID.
• April 3 – 7-9 p.m. – women’s music by “Caleigh” at Brigid’s Cross Irish Pub, Bemidji
Caleigh (pronounced kay’LEE), an Americanized rendering of a Gaelic word for a musical celebration, is a local group consisting of three Bemidji State University music graduates who share their talents on a variety of instruments. Dee Furfaro provides the grounding percussion and bass as well as acoustic guitar and haunting lead vocals. Lenore Siems plays fiddle, viola and mandolin while April Larson adds celtic harp, keyboard, banjo, accordion, acoustic guitar and vocals. “Caleigh’s” music ranges from original music and arrangements to well-known, contemporary works of Jay Ungar and Mary Black on through traditional world music of Russia, Italy and Spain. There are also traditional Appalachian songs as well as bluegrass tunes.
• April 5 – 7 p.m. – “A Sense of Wonder,” a one-woman play written and performed by Kaiulani Lee at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Bemidji, Minn.
“A Sense of Wonder” is a one-woman play written and performed by Kaiulani Lee, based on the life and works of Rachel Carson. Sometimes called “the patron saint of the environmental movement,” Carson was a marine biologist and zoologist best known for her book “Silent Spring,” which alerted the world to the dangers of chemical pesticides and launched our modern environmental movement. Carson also was considered one of America’s great poets of the natural world.
Lee has been touring the United States with the play for over ten years. It has been the centerpiece of regional and national conferences on conservation, education, journalism, and the environment. She has performed it at over 100 universities, dozens of high schools, the Smithsonian Institute, the Albert Schweitzer Conference at the United Nations, the Sierra Club’s Centennial in San Francisco, and at the Department of the Interior’s 150th anniversary celebration.
Tickets are available at The Wild Hare and Overbeek’s, and also will be available at the door. Tickets are $15, with seniors and BSU students with a valid ID being admitted for $10.
A complete listing of events surrounding Women’s History Month is available by visiting the Bemidji State University events calendar on the Web at http://www.bemidjistate.edu/calendar. For more information about Women’s History Month and the activities surrounding its recognition, contact the BSU Women’s Center at (218) 755-3771.