Sarah Palin Action Planning Meeting TODAY in Jackson

>> TIME TO MOVE!
Please attend an organizing meeting for the
Girls and Women for Obama show of support
to coincide with the Sarah Palin Fundraiser
presently scheduled for September 24 at Teton Pines
All those who can help plan, execute and attend a hand-in-hand show of support for Obama that will line the bike path to the entrance of Teton Pines please attend this meeting. Women outside of Teton County are encouraged to come so contact all whom you think could join in.
Wednesday, September 17 @11:30
Oswald Gallery
165 North Center Street
Please bring friends, ideas and commitment (lipstick, optional)
Questions/comments please contact Mary Woollen mjwoollen@msn.com
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Come hear some of the best women in the music biz!

Targhee Fest is this weekend! This is my favorite event of the summer and this year promises to be as great as previous years if not better. The fantastic lineup includes several female musicians of note: Emmylou Harris, Susan Tedeschi, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Carrie Rodriguez.
Emmylou Harris needs no introduction. Susan Tedeschi is a blues-oriented guitarist and singer and her last cd, Hope and Desire, proved that she's got a voice to match her 6-string skills. Grace Potter played at the Moose over the winter and the show rocked. Her sister is a local artist. Carrie Rodriguez is a fiddle player who originally joined forces with Chip Taylor, a veteran singer-songwriter, and is now touring on her own. Her lovely drawl and gorgeous playing always brings my thoughts to Texas, the home state for both of us. She captured my attention on her first cd with Chip and continues to keep me coming back for more.
Of course, there are some fantastic men in the lineup as well including Lyle Lovett, Derek Trucks, Taj Mahal, Martin Sexton (another great live performer), and Tony Furtado. All in all it should be a great weekend.
I'll be the one down front showing my appreciation to these performers by dancing my ass off. See y'all there!

She's all that

As us Cowgrrls know, there is at least ONE female deejay in town, who Planet JH failed to mention. I'll give a shameless plug for my sweetheart, Zanne deJanvier, who will spin on Tuesday, July 29 at the Natl. Museum of Wildlife Art, 6-8 PM. Don't let the desolate windswept image on the Museum's email promotion fool you. Zanne will be serving up samba, bollywood, afrobeat, and all manner of sizzlin' tunes. I promise you won't hear her collection of danceable world tunes anywhere else in town.

If you know other female spinners in town, let us know!
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Film Fest Wrap-Up

My friend Shannon attended the special screening of "Don't Fence Me In" during last weekend's JH Film Festival. The documentary about Wyoming women and girls was made by Bonnie Kreps and Charlie Craighead. After the screening, there was a panel discussion on Wyoming women and activism. I asked Shannon to share her reflections:

I had a great time at the screening of the homegrown film "Don't Fence Me In" at the film festival on Saturday. I was inspired by the quality of the film from the cinematography, to the audio to the editing, and mostly I was inspired by the stories of the women featured. Hearing the story of a young women elected county commissioner on the reservation, or the first female black legislator, or the rancher from Powell, or the rural doctor, or the young environmental activists from our neck of the woods, was a reminder that Wyoming does have diverse landscapes and experiences that shape women's lives. The discussion with the film makers afterward allowed the point to be made (thanks to Mickey Babcock) that this film was made because Wyoming is the Equality State (NOT!) and it is important that women's stories be told so that folks can take action to support equality. I hope this film gets good play time. Kudos to all of the folks involved: Bonnie Kreps, Amy McCarthy, Mickey Babcock, Charlie Craighead, and the cinematographer/editor (I can't remember her name, but she did a fabulous job). PS Charlie said this was the first time he worked with an all women crew and that the approach to movie making was very different and that he loved it!

Women's Conference on Sustainability THIS WEEKEND!

I wish I was going to be in town for this event. The Equipoise Fund and The Nature Conservancy, the first-ever Women's Conference on Sustainability is happening right here in Jackson starting Friday night, May 2. The conference features keynote addresses by Melinda Karmaer, founding director of Women's Earth Alliance, and Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal.

I was particularly impressed by what Jen Simon of the Nature Conservancy Greater Yellowstone program said about the need for this kind of conference:

"Women seem to be talking about conservation and sustainability in a very different way than men. It seems to be tied to everyday decisions they make: where to eat, what to buy, how to spend their money, how to raise their children.

"In particular, I looked at women like Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement and Melinda Kramer and noticed their projects don’t just address the environment; they address all facets of people in the community.

"These projects include economic empowerment and social justice as a necessary component of a sustainable future. And that's a particularly inspiring idea: that you could use conservation to remedy a whole host of systemic issues.

"The other unique factor is the increasing ability of women to make financial decisions. And because women approach conservation differently than men, such decisions will become an increasingly important driver in whether and how sustainable products are distributed and developed in the coming years."

For more info and to register, go to The Nature Conservancy page here.

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Hill Climb Hellions!

A posse of eco-minded lasses shook things up at the Hill Climb yesterday. Thanks to our friends at JH Underground for this great post!

Breast Fest '08!

Support local breast cancer survivors and celebrate women at BREAST FEST 2008!
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Where: Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, 130 S. Jackson.

Fundraiser for breast cancer research with music, food, auction, raffle. $5 suggested donation.

TODAY: Girls Actively Participating!

Tonight, the Girls Actively Participating! (GAP!) art and writing show will be unveiled at Hard Drive Cafe. GAP! is an after-school program for middle school girls that builds skills and self-esteem. It's awesome and so is Amy Manhart, who runs it.

Join the girls in celebrating "WHO WE ARE: An exhibit of self-portraits by the GAP! girls" on Tuesday, March 25, 5-6:30 PM at Hard Drive Cafe.

For more info about GAP! go to: http://gapjh.org.