Women's Liberation Radio News

Edition 101: Michigan Festivals 2024 with Thistle, Jenna & Elizabeth Boyce

Greetings! Thanks for tuning in to our 101st show. Thistle, here! It feels surreal to post this month due to the imminent departure of our beloved sound engineer and producer, Jenna DiQuarto. Jenna has been with WLRN for 8 years and diligently produced our monthly show with care and craft. You leave some big shoes to fill, dear Jenna. Thank you for your years of service and dedication to the collective, to the station, and to our archives. You will be sorely missed by all of us! Today's show begins with an announcement about our partnership with Garnuu.com/WLRN. Tune in to learn more about this exciting opportunity! Our World News segment is written and delivered by Mary O'Neill with fill-in from Jenna DiQuarto. Caroline Parks was our editor this month and Jenna delivers her commentary about her experiences at this year's Fest as a shuttle driver and general volunteer around camp at the festival. The interview segment is directly from the Land on a quiet morning before the mass haul out. Thistle got to sit down with her instructor, Elizabeth Boyce, WPI festival coach for the ukulele ensemble to hear her reflections on the event this year. At the very end of the show, hear from our sponsor, Garnuu.com/WLRN and then it's onto our sign-offs by different members of the collective. This month's musical selection is a song by Nedra Johnson, board member of WWTLC.org, singer/songwriter, and producer for Big Mouth Girl, an entity that produces a yearly festival on the Land in Michigan. The song is entitled August Moon and depicts the Michigan Magic women tap into when in hive mind mode among those sacred ferns. Margaret's artist's statement follows about the featured cover art for this month's show. Thanks for tuning in! Artist's Statement: "For Edition 101, I used some photos Thistle had from her time at the festival this summer. I basically took the photos and arranged them - emphasizing the banners - WLRN, PUSSY POWER, and RISE around a photo of a tent with musicians playing. I played with the colors - allowing it to become an abstract, and festive, unifying whole - like the festival itself."

Duration:: 50m
Broadcast on:: 05 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

You are listening to WLRN. Hey, WLRN listeners. It's Thistle. Thanks for tuning in to September's show. I just wanted to give a shout out to our newest member, Lola Bessis, for reaching out to Garnu.com, a period products company. She asked them if they would sponsor our trip to Philly at 2025, and they said yes. So after this announcement, the first thing you'll hear is an ad Lola produced for today's show. You can also find the ad on our WLRN YouTube channel to share with friends and family. And please share. For every new purchase of Garnu tampons, pads, or other menstrual gear, Garnu will give you a 15% discount when you type in the code WLRN. Or if you purchase their products on their site at Garnu.com/WLRN, that's g-a-r-n-u-u.com/WLRN. They'll then donate that 15% savings you get to WLRN to support our adult human female brigade going to the Philly Conference next year in the UK. The Philly Conference will gather over 3,000 women interested in exchanging ideas and tactics in our fight to topple the patriarchy. Thanks for tuning in to your feminist community-powered radio station in the Femisphere, WLRN. Enjoy the show. Um, excuse me. Where is the feminine hygiene aisle? Over here. Ugh, all these brains! Oh child, a rescue remedy is on the way. Have you heard of Garnu? Garnu? Never heard of it. Well, Garnu knows what an adult human female is, and we respect women. We are one of the few brands that proudly calls its users what they are, women and girls. Plus, they're making a real difference by supporting anti-trafficking efforts. Wow! A brand that actually sees me and makes an impact. I'm sold. Thank you, fairy goddess mother. Choose Garnu. Period care that's safe, talks and free, and celebrates you as a woman. Visit Garnu.com to learn more and use code WLRN for a special discount to check out. WLRN, addition 101. Broadcasting in three, two, one. I was born woman off my knees. I will stand for my liberation. Sisters rise again. I was born woman off my knees. I will stand for my liberation. Rise and rise again. Greetings, and welcome to the 101st edition podcast of Women's Liberation Radio News for this Thursday, September 5th, 2024. This is Jenna, WLRN's audio producer. After eight years producing women's independent media, the time has come for me to bid WLRN a due, as the road of my life takes its next turn. I will forever be grateful for finding this collective back in 2016. I've met amazing women and learned a lot about working as a collective, radical feminism, and people in general. With my departure comes the opportunity to pass the torch to the next sister who will edit audio and produce the podcast. If you are someone who either has experience in this arena, or has a desire to become experienced, please visit the WLRN website and volunteer. I will be holding a Zoom instructional session to help explain not only what tasks you can expect as a collective member and audio producer, but also best practices and how-tos on getting the job of producing this podcast done. Thanks for your consideration, sisters, and thank you for continuing to listen to WLRN. This month's edition focuses on my and Thistle's reflections of the WPI and RISE Festivals that happened simultaneously on the land where the Michigan Women's Music Festival happened for 40 years before it was shut down in 2015. The land where the original fest took place is now the site of multiple fests and events throughout the summer. We'll hear an excerpt of an interview Thistle did with Elizabeth Boyce, the ukulele ensemble instructor at WPI, the fest that Thistle attended, and I'll share my experiences at this year's inaugural RISE Fest. The producers of both of these festivals, and I'm sure all of the events that took place on the land as well, did an incredible job of creating and scheduling programming and bringing women together. The team at WLRN produces a monthly radio broadcast to break the sound barrier women are blocked by under the status quo rule of men. This blocking of women's discourse we see in all sectors of society, be they conservative, liberal, mainstream, progressive, or radical. The thread that runs through all of American politics except for separatist feminism is male dominance and entitlement in all spheres. To start off today's edition, here's Mario Neil with Women's News from Around the Globe for this Thursday, September 5th, 2024. Take it away, Mary. Thanks Jenna. Before we proceed with the news, I just want to say that you and your work will be sorely missed here at WLRN. I wish you the best as you journey on to your next projects. And now, on to the news. Melanie Behr Hicks, a female Spanish athlete, has lost out on the opportunity to qualify for the 200 meters in the 2024 Paralympic Games, because a trans-identified man, called Valentina Patrillo, defeated her. Patrillo has previously competed in the men's category. A young female doctor trainee was raped and murdered in a state-run hospital in Calcutta, India. Police have already arrested a man who is a hospital volunteer worker. Following her murder, tens of thousands of women have marched in protest in West Bengal. One woman who marked with her 13-year-old daughter said, "Let her see whether a mass protest can set things right. Let her become aware of her rights." Over the last 15 years, such atrocities have sparked protests in India, after several women have suffered similar fates at the hands of men. Little has changed thus far. The Taliban has published vice laws banning women's voices and faces in public. Under the new laws, it is mandatory for women to wear veils. In addition, women cannot sing, recite, or read aloud in public, as female voices are deemed intimate. It is also forbidden for women to look at men they are not related or married to. These laws come amid women's rights activists calling for the international community to take notice and bring the Taliban to the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity. The provincial court of Ciudad Rayal acquitted a 20-year-old man who raped and impregnated a 12-year-old girl. The court granted the man a legal exception because the girl is Romani, despite Spanish law prohibiting sex with minors unless the individuals are close in age. The court stated, "In Romani culture, this is normal behavior." Trans activists disrupted a women will speak rally in Melbourne, Australia, throwing eggs and water balloons at speakers. The women will speak organizers had booked the steps of Parliament House for the rally and the transqueer solidarity organized a counter-protest. The counter-protestors held signs that said queer, bash back, and fascist graves are gender-neutral toilets. It is still unclear how acknowledging biological reality and advocating for women's rights is fascism. Australia's federal court has ruled that the female-only social media platform Giggle for Girls discriminated against the trans-identified man when it revoked his account after determining that he was, in fact, a man. The app must pay the man $10,000, which is equivalent to roughly $6,700 US dollars, but does not have to issue a written apology. The platform's founder Sally Grover posted on X that the fight for women's rights continues and also that she expects to relaunch the app soon after she suspended it in 2022. This is the first ruling that the federal court has made on gender identity discrimination since the Sex Discrimination Act was altered in 2013. The UK's NHS has announced that it will review adult gender services beginning in September. This comes after the cast report detailed concerns about gender treatment for children and young adults. Dr. Hillary Cass, the pediatrician who authored the report, said that while she was investigating child gender services, staff members and adult gender clinics approached her with concerns regarding inadequate consent, limited explanations of what treatment involves, lack of guidelines and proper follow-up among many other concerns. Crystal Kaiser has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing Randall Volar, the man who trafficked her as a teenager. She pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, but also testified that Volar sexually trafficked her when she was only 16. She was 17 when she killed him in 2018. While a Wisconsin state law absolves trafficking victims of criminal liability for offenses that occur as a result of trafficking, the court ruled that Kaiser had to provide evidence that the crime she committed was the result of trafficking. Vice President Kamala Harris has made history in the United States by being the first black woman and the first person of Asian descent to accept the nomination for President of the United States. She did so at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. If the vice president wins in November, she will be the country's first female president. That concludes W.L.R.N.'s World News segment for Thursday, September 5. I'm Mary. Share your news stories, announcements and tips with us by emailing info@wlrnmedia.com and letting us know what's going on. This is Jo through, and you are listening to W.L.R.N. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> First time I came to festival, learned that I'd always been afraid. To finally lay that burden down, I could not believe the way. Of all the trauma, I had carried deep inside my bones. Expectations, limitations, I had made my own. Maybe we can't, we can't do nothing about the way they're framing us. We just keep keeping on, 'cause we know we love. We know we love. We know we love. We know we love. We know we love. Mothers and daughters, women born, women and we gather. And we gather in the light of the August moon. Amazon, women and we're out in the woods. And we heal by the light of the August moon. [MUSIC] >> That was Nidra Johnson with her song, "August Moon." Ms. Johnson is an organizer of the Big Mouth Girl on the Land Festival, a festival in this new era of festivals on the land where Mitch Fest was held. Next up, we'll hear an interview Thistle did with Elizabeth Boyce. It was their last morning on the land at breakfast time before everyone had packed up and left. Elizabeth was this year's ukulele ensemble instructor for WPI Bandkent. Take a listen. >> Okay, good morning, Elizabeth. Thank you so much for granting me this interview. This is Thistle, and I'm sitting with Elizabeth. She was my instructor for the ukulele choir this year at WPI in Michigan on the land. Hi, Elizabeth. Good morning. >> Hi, thanks for having me, Thistle. >> Yeah, it was really super fun to be in your class. How did you find out about WPI? >> Yeah, so this is my second year at WPI. I found out about it last year as it was my first year. I just figured out these sort of things existed at all. >> Yeah, how did you find out about it? >> I got asked to play in the string quartet last year because I had a connection with one of the women in the string quartet. We did our undergrad degrees together at Grand Valley State University. She plays in the string quartet with Lori Jarski, who is the program director of WPI. So I ended up playing in the quartet with Lori as well. So Lori and my friend, my friend who is not here this year, and now I guess I'm just kind of in the loop. >> Yeah, so it was music that brought you to the land. But now you're noticing that there's a lot of women here. Can you talk about that? >> Yeah, so after last year, my first year here on the land, I found that I had a lot of transformation happening just being around all these women in this profoundly safe and supportive space. I've dealt with a little internal misogyny, and so just realizing that there is literally realizing there's a space that exists like this. And now I know, of course, there are many others like this here. >> Really? Are there? In cities or out in the woods or where? >> I just heard people speak of these other festivals they go to in other states. >> Uh-huh, but you haven't been yet. >> No, I've never been. >> Okay, it's only one I've been to. >> Michigan's pretty unique in a lot of ways. >> I'm so new to everything. So I just haven't, you know, I don't know what's out there. >> Yeah. >> Where are you from? >> I'm from Michigan, yeah. >> And so you grew up in the, in which town? >> Yeah, I grew up in Ann Arbor area in Chelsea, Michigan, which is like a, it's a small, pretty small conservative little town outside of Ann Arbor. >> Mm-hmm. >> So a lot of my growing up, like when there were fun things happening, we would go to Ann Arbor. >> Mm-hmm. >> But yeah, it's been a really fun journey to, like, from the last year of Whippy to this year of Whippy, just to see how my relationships with women have changed and like how I notice, I notice more in my body how I feel around, I feel very safe around the presence of women and. >> That's fantastic. And so that started happening that transformation after you left camp last year and then leading up to coming. >> Yeah. >> This year. >> Yeah. >> And what do you think's happened maybe internally this year, if anything? >> I know. I feel like I'm, it's like right at the pin point, the pin head, and then we're going to see, I'll see how everything unfolds in the next year. But I guess if I were to, like, project forward, what I hope, I found this year, there was a lot. I guess being a leader of the ukulele ensemble, and being maybe more involved with the people on the land, the coaches. So I think everyone here just wants to be expressive and to be safe to be expressive. And I think that's part of the magic of the land. And so for me, I think the next part of that, like, magic is like being able to be vulnerable and expressive and songwriting. I would really like to do that. I would really like to song right and sing. And if that's all brand new to me, though I am a musician. >> Yeah. I was a music school for, like, almost 10 years after high school, but it was all, like, classical symphony orchestra or string quartet. So we were reading directly off of pre-made parts and trying to replicate it exactly. And so now it's like, oh, there's a world of music where it can be fun and joyful and literally what music it was meant to be all along. So I'm definitely refining my joy of music through the festival. And I think in the coming year, like, I'm hoping to just, like, open up my creativity surrounding music and kind of break down the shame around, you know, not being good enough. Which is part of why I think Whippy is so unique and important is it's for girls and women. And as you know, girls and women are socialized to keep ourselves quiet, to not express ourselves, to put others before us, and to really be self-critical, to scrutinize ourselves, to make sure that we're perfect. You know, and then when you come here to music camp, it's okay to make mistakes and to be expressive and to find that joy in music like you were talking about. What was it like to be a teacher of adult women? Were there any unique challenges to that? And rewards. Yeah, so that was interesting. I'm 28. I'm going through my first Saturn return. There's interesting things that go along with that. So in the ukulele ensemble, I was the youngest member, I think I'm pretty sure. So that I felt, you know, and I'm also a newbie to the land, so it's not like I've been coming here since I was 14 and know the ropes. I sort of, I tend to be a really passive person anyways. So the work with the older women in the group, I think it was a little intimidating for me at times. I really wanted to make sure I was being respectful of everyone and like the, I guess, since I'm the, this is the first year being in the ukulele ensemble. I didn't really know how the past classes have gone. And so for me, it was a huge learning curve. And I see these women in the class who have been coming here for like decades. And I guess, you know, I appreciate their grace in my journey of teaching the ensemble. But yeah, there were, I guess, to just get into the nitty gritty a little more. There were some very difficult moments where I really, I think, you know, I always bring it back to like my personal journey. Like, steer me back if you want me to stop doing that. But, you know, my, my sort of passivity, I'm like, this is what I need to work on now is my assertion and my bigger voice and just like being okay to be seen and heard and to maybe upset people every once in a while, because, yeah, I think upsetting people is terrifying to me because as a child that meant possibly violence. So being here on the land, when I upset a woman in the ukulele ensemble, I actually went into a freeze response. So I felt like, in retrospect, you know, I'm feeling so much better about this moment, but there was a moment that was very, very hard, speaking with another member of the ukulele ensemble, where I went into a freeze response. I felt really triggered like I was back to being a little child and then I, after the incident was over, I had a little panic attack and I just hyperventilated and kind of got it all out, I think. Yeah, and then it was held by literally, like all the women who saw me struggling, just like, we're like, what do you need? And everyone is like hugging me and... So in the end, yeah, and so in the end, this conflict, this incident became an opportunity for personal growth. Exactly, and I'm just like, I think how I'm viewing it is like, I just, you know, my body sometimes feels like I'm stuck in that childhood state. And I think this was a really great opportunity to become present in my body during conflict, while I had all these women around me to bring me back to Earth. And it was a safe place. And, you know, the human contact, like the hugs and the eye contact, the mediators up in. I mean, that's set up ahead of time, that there are mediators present on the land to help with these types of situations that come up because when you do get hundreds of women together in close quarters camping 24/7, there's bound to be some conflict. And so the organizers had the foresight to have mediators on the land, and there happened to be one there. And can you talk about that, how that was? Yeah, but I was very grateful for the mediator because I was, like I said, I was kind of frozen there. I felt like a statue, and when she came up, it was like, kind of flipped a light switch on, and I was like, oh, I can walk away. And I need to right now. And as soon as I did, is when I started having my panic attack. So, yeah, the mediator spent time with each of us, each, you know, me and the other person who I had a little kerfuffle with. Just taking our sides of the story, making sure we were feeling, you know, like feeling safe and just like making sure our needs were met. That's great that the land has those, because I guess one thing other than that, that I've noticed about the way arguments and talking and interchange happens here is very different, I think, than I guess in a place where like all sexes and genders are coexisting. I've found that women here feel so much safer to open their mouths and speak, even if it's disagreeing, especially if it's disagreeing. Yeah, women here model how to disagree in a civil manner. Yeah, yeah, most women. Most of the time. And then if that doesn't happen, we've got mediators. Exactly. And so, and then, you know, that woman that you had the kerfuffle with actually played in the ukulele choir through through to the end of the week. So, that was really neat for us to see that it was resolved enough that there she was and you two were interacting and it was fine, you know. Yeah, so I don't think either of us wanted to have a conflict consciously. I think that we were both acting out unhealed wounds in that in our, you know, the things that were going on. She wasn't feeling heard. I wasn't feeling heard. So, yeah, that's how it went and that's life. Like people just get an argument. And usually when people get an argument, it's like, there's the argument, you have a fight and you leave and then it's over and it's never resolved, you know, with the person or some dramatic thing happens where it can be. Yeah, that can happen. The break off. But what I think the land facilitates is that coexistence and conflict resolution or resolving it enough that you can still be in the same space. That's what it was. I think neither of us felt like, oh no, she's mad at me. We're never going to be friends again because we weren't ever like, you know, it was like, we're just trying to like get through our collaboration and the ensembles together. You know, funnily enough, I was in that ensemble with her in four different classes. I was in with that same person in four classes. So, I was with her the whole week, the hours the day. So, it did not make sense to, you know, keep feeling icy about the situation. It was just like, we'll just keep it nice until we get through the week. And then let it go. And it's good. I mean, you resolved it enough with that mediator that she was able to play in the ensemble. You were able to direct us. And we all had a fantastic time last night. Yeah, last night was so fun. Yeah, talk about last night. What happened last night? Okay, so we had our grand finale of the Whippy. We, you know, had the main, the concert on the main stage. And what does Whippy stand for again? It's a women's performance institute. It also means women playing instruments. Lori, Lori calls it that. I was thinking about that. We got, we sing and we dance too. So it's, yeah. Anyways. Yeah, so the concert was so fun. See, it started at seven. And I think it went until 10 45. Yeah, it was crazy. So, and everyone was so engaged the entire time. It was great. Yeah. So it wasn't like watching TV. It was like, it was just, and I, I performed it for different things. And I think you did too. Yeah, I did. So it was all so fun to see the different styles of creativity that we all have like dug into this week. With the, the Bhutto dance was just freaking awesome to watch. And the Taiko drumming, like just the resin, like the way those drums resonate through the trees. It just makes me feel like we're all on the same pulse, you know, on the same heartbeat. But yeah, so we had our ukulele ensemble, our debut with me as the leader. And I think that, yeah, next year we'll, we'll work the mics a little better. I'd love to have like a, um, they call it dress rehearsal. So we can see how it works. Yeah, that's a good suggestion actually, you know, that we have a dress rehearsal. So we, yeah, know where we're going. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, then the end of the concert last night with, I think it was the mixed percussion ensemble. They had some fire beats. We were dancing hard. Yes, that was incredible. That was a Michigan moment. You, I mean, we were like howling at the moon. I mean, it was just, it was. Everybody was ecstatic. We raised a cone of power. Yeah, we knew Gonzalez talked about. I mean, yeah, everybody was in a heightened state. High, high, high, high. Yeah. So good. And you know, women can do that without men. We don't need men around at these festivals and concerts where the men like, like leave all their beer cans on the ground. You know, that's another thing. That's actually something that I was thinking as I was walking up the path this morning, like women are going to save the world because we fucking respect the earth. Right. Like, I just, sorry, my nipples got hard and I got goosebumps. That is just like, I just, yeah. It's so true. I mean, reserving this land and like, it's all just like beautiful and there's not trash anywhere. There's, you know, everyone has, each one of us has respect for it and that's why it. That's why it works. Um, I saw a picture a couple years ago posted on Facebook of a festival site after the concert in mainstream society and then side by side with a picture of our festival site after everything's been torn down. And the site out in mainstream society had trash everywhere, beer cans, strewn, and then our site was neat and tidy and cleaned up. And this was directly after the last act of the night, you know? And so the comparison, the contrast just really struck me and you're absolutely right. Women care about this land. They care about each other. And it's, it's reflected in how everything looks and feels. Yeah. It's apparent as soon as you arrive, you know? That women are in charge and yeah, I feel like if men were here, we'd have more raccoon problems, you know? More food would just be like strewn all over because they might be more a lot of problems. And more a lot of problems. Yeah. So, well, thank you so much. We are radical feminists and we appreciate, I appreciate that you have shared your, your story with me about coming to the land. Is there anything else you'd like to say to perhaps women out there that are listening that are feeling like, oh my gosh, I'm so shy. I can't play. I don't know if I would be able to, you know, play in front of others. I love music, but I don't know it. Any? Yeah, no, that's good. Like, I think there's a part of each one of us that sort of feels that way. I found like the issues that we have internally are almost always issues that everyone else has. You know, it's like, we're all the same cut from the same cloth. So, the whole environment here is centered around doing things that aren't kind of new to you that will push your creative boundaries. So, it's not centered around achievement or doing it exactly right or the sort of copy paste method. So, like, let's, like, use our own brains and bodies to see how we connect with this instrument or our voice or, you know, what have you. And I think that for women who, you know, kind of would throw, like, not consider an experience like this because of the performance aspect. I think just know that we are literally all in the same boat because the women, all the women here are all trying new things. And that's part of what makes it the safe environment that it is. Nobody's like, who's like an expert in ukulele is going to take the ukulele ensemble. There were brand new women to violin, which violin is a very challenging instrument. And they did, you know, an improv group and, like, it worked. So, and they did the orchestra. So, I think it's like testament to our teachers, but also just the environment of every individual who's here who also wants to explore new things in, like, a creative, expressive and safe way. It's just everyone's kind of doing the same thing. So, it's like you won't be the only one. Yeah. And if you have a moment where you're feeling stage fright and worried about your performance, there's someone there to encourage you. Yeah. So, you're not alone. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Elizabeth. Thank you, Thisto. This was really fun. Awesome. Excuse me. Where is the feminine hygiene aisle? Over here. Ugh. All these brands. This one calls me a menstruator. This one has lead in it. Oh, my. All of them believe a male in a dress is actually a female. What on God's green earth are they thinking? Oh, child. A rescue remedy is on the way. Have you heard of Garnu? Garnu? Never heard of it. Well, Garnu knows what an adult human female is, and we respect women. We are one of the few brands that proudly calls its users what they are, women and girls. Plus, they're making a real difference by supporting anti-trafficking efforts. Wow. A brand that actually sees me and makes an impact. I'm sold. Thank you, fairy goddess mother. Choose Garnu. Period care that's safe, talks and free, and celebrates you as a woman. Visit Garnu.com to earn more and use code WLRN for a special discount to check it. Since 2016, empowering women to be the media and reclaim the narrative. Your grassroots community radio station. Bye, women, for women. WLRN. WLRN. Another summer in Michigan. Every year, I, like so many women, make the journey to women's land for a few days of departure from Area 51. Typically, I stop in Wayland for Michigan family reunion, but with MFR's hiatus this year, my travels continued to heart, to the land I hadn't been on since 2015. By the time Thistle and I arrived, the festival season was winding down, with BMG having taken place the week before, welcoming over 700 women. WPI women's band camp that Thistle was attending, and RISE focusing on intergenerational sisterhood that I was attending, overlapped, and saw a more intimate crowd with less than 300 women. But the smaller crowd didn't equate to less enthusiasm, fewer workshops, or less music, and WWTLC, the stewards of the land post Michigan Women's Music Festival, do an incredible job of not only taking care of the land, ensuring its continuation for future generations, but also organizing and executing the multiple gatherings that take place all summer long. Kudos and thank you to WWTLC for their unwavering dedication to women and girls, and collective skills in achieving what they set out to do nearly 10 years ago. Kudos and thank you to the individual organizers of each event, I know that cannot be an easy endeavor. The fest experience for me is always illuminating or clarifying in some way. The RISE Festival, which stood for reigniting intergenerational sisterhood everywhere, had an almost overwhelming plethora of workshops scheduled, out of which I attended three. One was a singing circle, one addressed self-censorship, and the third, a workshop I always attended fest, drumming, this year with Pele, who I hadn't seen since last being on the land in 2015. I don't usually attend many workshops at Fests, they're not really the reason I go. The reason I attend Fest every year, and I've said this before in past editions, is to be in an environment exclusively of women. It's ironic because, frankly, I usually spend most of Fest feeling kind of out of place and keeping to myself. There is a high probability I'm going to inadvertently say something that rubs a sister, or several sisters the wrong way, or something less than politically correct. I can almost guarantee that I'm going to be the least knowledgeable in a circle of women who want to talk about sociology and politics. And that's fine, because I don't find those kinds of interactions very enjoyable. What I did find incredibly enjoyable this year were my work shifts, hanging out and trying to be helpful at bees blends, and driving the shuttle between front gate and community kitchen. The first night I was on the land after loading in and setting up camp, my monthly surprised me, as they always do, and I found myself awake in my tent fighting off an anxiety attack at, I don't know, 4 a.m. Box breathing and thinking about what I was doing out in the middle of the woods 700 miles away from my wife. Unfortunately, I missed my work shift with bee the next morning, so I went by and apologized profusely. I basically tried to make myself available to her and her partner Paula any time I could for the rest of my time there. If I'm being honest, I think I fell in love with bee and I just wanted to hang out with her and be helpful if I could. Her vibe and beautiful face put me at ease and I was so appreciative of her warmth and hospitality. Thank you bee and Paula. I can't wait to see you again next year. One of the biggest differences between the land and the farm that homes MFR is the size of the space. It necessitates shuttle service and I was grateful to be one of the many women who contributed to keeping that service going. If I could have lived on that golf cart, I would have. Helping women and having a short time to have a pleasant interaction with them helped minimize the chance I was going to say something or do something offensive. Seeing smiling faces and sharing in their excitement was a perfect environment for me. Just enough time to hear what they were enjoying, where they were going, what workshops they had been to, where they were from, where they had BMG the week before too, how long had they been coming to the land, etc. Driving by on shuttle I waved and shouted hello to sisters I passed by. I was on the shuttle as a rider at one point and the woman driving was saying how she was hoping to cut out of her shift an hour early to attend a workshop, not without coverage of course. I can drive if you need me to. And like that, the gap in coverage was closed. She commented on Michigan magic coming to the rescue once again. Michigan is a magical place, whether I'm on the land, which many women are completely understandably sticklers for, or in the pines with my MFR sisters. Where women organize to prioritize being together, that is where the magic happens. WTLC is already accepting applications for 2025 events on their website www.tlc.org. BMG is going to have more tickets than ever before available. And Michigan family reunion is currently slated for the second weekend of August 2025. I started this commentary remarking on how Fest is always an illuminating or clarifying experience for me. Every year I understand myself better, and I also understand what needs to happen or exist for me to have the best Fest experience I can have. And for that I'm so grateful. I wouldn't exactly call my trip this year the best I've ever had. I was the most uncomfortable I've ever been physically at Fest. It was pretty humid, there were lots of mosquitoes. My anxiety was elevated for most of the trip. My period came on almost immediately upon arrival which I was unprepared for. I had more than one uncomfortable interaction. It truly would not be a Fest if something didn't make my otherwise confident and secure self feel doubtful and insecure. But I also met Bee in Paula and drank terrific coffee, roasted in a special way to ensure the beans don't burn. I met Lisa standing in front of bees on the day I was leaving. We hit it off immediately and had a really great interaction. "Are you Italian?" she asked me. "Are you black?" I responded. We had some good laughs, talked about our lives a little, even managed to talk politics a little. And I said to her, "Where were you three days ago? Sorry to have missed the chance to kick it with her more." A sister on the path, Jamie, saved the day with a box of emergency tampons, which I could have kissed her for. I had the opportunity to drive the shuttle which enabled me to interact with my sisters in a really positive way. In Area 51, I work as a service provider. It's a career that I not only fell into, but also have leaned and grown into. So it was extremely clarifying for me to realize, upon reflection of Fest, that I was at my happiest engaging with women in more helpful and pragmatic ways. It's already informed my strategy for a great Fest next year. And as always, I was surrounded by drums, singing, and women's voices and laughter. I'm always grateful that women's festivals exist, that there are women out there who care enough about the existence of this space to create it and defend it. Even if my Fest wasn't the most joyous I've ever had, I don't regret the effort and time I spent making the trip happen, and I'm already looking forward to returning to the Pines next year. I remind myself that Fest is for all women, and all women are going to experience Fest differently and walk away having gotten different things out of it. We don't need to align on anything other than the fact that we gather as women born women in a space created by and for women. Within a world that is objectively not for us. Once again, thank you Michigan, thank you WWTLC, and thank you to all the women who attended and made Fest the incredible experience it always is. Thanks for listening to WLRN's 101st edition podcast on the Michigan Women's Festivals, Whippy and Rise 2024. WLRN would like to thank Elizabeth Boyce, violinist extraordinaire, Whippy, ukulele, ensemble instructor, and our guest this month. Thank you Liz for being vulnerable and giving me an intimate interview about the unique environment that is created when women of all ages go into the woods away from men and how we can handle conflicts creatively and even joyfully. Until next time, this is Thistle signing off on another WLRN podcast. P.S. If you love WLRN, consider writing to us at info@WLRNMedia.com to apply to become a member of our team to take on the monthly duties our beloved sister, Ms. Jenna DiQuarto, is leaving behind. Remember, no experience is necessary. WLRN is committed to training women into their volunteer positions at the station. Cheers for now, this is Thistle signing off. If you like what you're hearing and want to donate to the cause of feminist community radio, please visit our WordPress site and click on the donate button. This month and forward into the future before Philadelphia 2025, WLRN is fundraising to support our trip to the UK next year. Please consider making a regular monthly donation of a reasonable amount, say $5 or $10 a month, or make a one-time larger donation to our affiliate fund. After choosing the amount you'll give, be sure to write a note indicating that your donation is for our Philadelphia Fund 2025. It's easy. Just click on the donate button at WLRNMedia.com. And if you're interested in joining our team, we are always looking for new volunteers to conduct interviews, write blog posts, post to our Facebook and other social media pages, and do other tasks to keep us moving forward as a collective of media activist women. Thanks for listening. This is Sec Metchiawel signing off for now. And I'm Lola Bessis, WLRN's Globe Trotting Member. Thanks for tuning in. I want to give a special thank you to WLRN's sponsor, Garnu.com, for entering into a partnership with us to get our team to Phillya in 2025. If you're listening to this, I urge you to go to garnu.com/WLRN. That's garnu, G-A-R-N-U-U.com/WLRN, and order any menstrual care product you see in their beautiful, eco-friendly, and bodily-friendly store. Note that by ordering these fantastic beer products from Garnu, you're also contributing to WLRN getting to a gathering of over 3,000 women next year in the UK. Be sure to use code WLRN or check out. We are also accepting donations on our website at www.WLRNMedia.com. Just click on the donate button, and be sure to make a note that your donation is going to our Phillya fundraiser. Thanks! Next month, we are honored to feature Dr. Dina Siddiqui, a distinguished feminist anthropologist, whose work delves into critical development, transnational feminist theory, and the anthropology of labor in Islam. Our discussion will center on Israel's War on Palestine, offering feminist reflections a year after October 7. Our handcrafted podcasts always come out on the first Thursday of the month, so look for it on Thursday, October 3. If you'd like to receive our newsletter, then notifies you when each podcast, music show, and interview is released. Please sign up for our newsletter on WLRN's WordPress site. Stay strong in the struggle, and thanks for listening. This is Lola, signing off for now. This is Mary, signing off on another edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted podcast. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spinster, over it, and SoundCloud. In addition to our WordPress site, thanks for listening. And this is Jenna, Orvua, dear sisters. It has been my privilege to help handcraft this podcast for you every month for the past eight years. Our monthly podcasts are always crafted with tender love and care and in solidarity with women worldwide. Thanks for your support. We would love to hear from you, so please share, like, and comment widely. [Music] ♪ But how will we find our way out of this? ♪ ♪ What is the antidote for the patriarchal kiss? ♪ ♪ How will we find what needs to be shown? ♪ ♪ And then after that, where is home? ♪ ♪ Don't tell me where is my home? ♪ ♪ 'Cause gender hurts ♪