The fifth annual Fenland Festival celebrating International Women’s Day will take place in Wisbech next month, bringing together performers, speakers, community groups and local organisations for an afternoon dedicated to celebrating and empowering women.
The free-entry event will be held at the Queen Mary Centre on Saturday, March 14, with doors opening at 12 noon and activities running until 4pm. Organisers say everyone is welcome to attend.
The festival is sponsored by Wisbech, March and District Trades Council alongside the TUC and Unite the Union. Secretary Sue Dockett said the event highlights both progress and ongoing challenges facing women.
“Today’s women need celebrating and tomorrow’s need empowering,” she said.
Visitors can enjoy performances from the Misfit Molly folk dance team, while cookery expert Alison Crouch of Fascinating Food will give a talk accompanied by tastings of her dishes.
Local historian and author Diane Calton Smith will explore education in Wisbech during the Middle Ages, while councillor Jo Rust will open the festival and lead a discussion on the challenges of achieving gender equality. Poet Tracee Findlater will also read from her work After Medusa – Poems of the Gorgons.
Sue added: “The event is a showcase for the achievements of the women of Fenland. Local women entrepreneurs have stalls and so do services and organisations which can be useful to women.”
This year, organisers are encouraging donations to the Mary Macarthur Holiday Trust, which provides holiday breaks for women in need. Toiletries will also be collected for a local women’s refuge supporting those fleeing domestic abuse.
Ahead of the festival, shoppers at Wisbech Tesco can donate toiletries at a Trades Council stall on Sunday, March 8, between 10.30am and 12.30pm, or bring contributions along on festival day.
Festival-goers will also be able to connect with community organisations including the Fenland Family History Society, offering advice on tracing ancestors, and a union-run advice hub providing information on new workplace rights for women.
The Wisbech Ferry Project supporting people experiencing homelessness and the Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum will also attend, alongside craft stalls, local authors, community groups, refreshments and a raffle.
