Local virtual celebration planned for Women’s Day
Monday is International Women’s Day, and this year, the day will be celebrated virtually by the Humboldt Branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
The event — part of Arcata Playhouse’s Womxn’s Festival, From Zero to Fierce — will include timely songs by the Raging Grannies; a keynote speech by Sharrone Blanck, president of the Eureka Branch of NAACP; and a sing-along with Jan Bramlett and Leslie Quinn. It’s scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link can be accessed by registering with the Zero to Fierce Festival at https://zerotofierce.org/registration.
The event has been held by WILPF for many years and aims to recognize the successes and struggles of women in this country and around the world. In many countries, March 8 is a national holiday, celebrated in a similar way to Mother’s Day.
All funds raised at this event have gone to support the Edilith Eckart Memorial Peace Scholarship whose grants support local groups or individuals benefiting peace and/or social justice. Eckart was a longtime peace activist and founding member of Humboldt WILPF and the scholarship was created to honor her memory. WILPF has recently become a DreamMaker Project of the Ink People, and donations to the scholarship may now be made online at https://inkpeople.org/dreammaker-data/ edilith-eckart-scholarship. Donors in March will be entered into a drawing for a choice of prizes.
Groups and individuals interested in applying for the scholarship, which is currently open until April 1, may access application information at https://wilpfhumboldt.wordpress.com/scholarship-information/.