A weekend with the girls

The spirit of feminism is strong in Portland, from the influence of the LGBT crowd to the do-it-yourself attitude of the feminist knitting groups. Being a woman in this city affords more and better opportunities all the time.

With the Siren Nation Women’s Music and Arts Festival approaching, this weekend is no exception.

Siren Nation is a Portland-based arts organization that creates opportunities for female artists and showcases their work through performances and exhibitions. This annual festival is their time to shine as they feature several female artists working in film, music, craft and the visual arts. The festival is a series of exhibits, screenings and live shows, all in the spirit of celebrating women in the arts.

For those seeking visual arts, the festival kicks off tonight with a free art show featuring over 50 Portland artists at the Olympic Mills Building in the southeast. The show runs a theme of the journey of women through time and of each artist’s personal journey.

Friday and Saturday are designed for the music lovers. Someday Lounge will be hosting eight local music acts for the event, from bands you might know, like Y La Bamba, to bands you should know, like Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs. The tickets are cheap, the lineup is excellent and the likelihood of a cheery, dancing crowd is certain.

Hollywood Theatre will host the event’s film festival Saturday afternoon, which runs a theme of revolutionary women. The documentaries, directed by women and starring women, are sure to educate and empower the audience with stories of women like Patsy Mink, the first woman of color to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
And it would be unwise to miss the showing of Storm Large’s “Eight Miles Wide,” a music video in which a clusterfuck of characters dance in the South Park Blocks and sing about…well, I suggest that you just YouTube it.

Sunday will provide a chance to check out various arts and crafts from local women artisans or drop by for one of the many workshops being offered at McMenamins Kennedy School. It’s an opportunity to learn more about food fermentation, guerilla quiltmaking or any of the festival’s other quirky workshop subjects.

Now in its third year, the Siren Nation Festival has seen strong support from Portlanders. The huge artistic community here has gladly welcomed it. Unlike other festivals like the Portland Women’s Film Festival (POW Fest), Siren Nation embraces all forms of art. After all, the festival was designed in a spirit of inclusion and equality for women. It’s only natural that it extends this ideal by roping in a mishmash of excellent filmmakers, musicians, visual artists and craftsters for us to enjoy.

If you support the arts and women’s equality, or even if you’re just looking for a good time, then it’s time to dust off those old Riot Grrrl Ink albums, put on a pair of knee-high boots and declare this a weekend of female empowerment and artistic expression.