How to raise money

1) Write out your mission/vision/plan.
Include images, logo, background, history, statistics....make it a sales tool, you're gonna use it to approach sponsors AND in the future for press/media.
You can use this site, ladyfest.org and .co.uk for inspiration or if you want Manuela can send you the Amsterdam one and you can change it as necessary.
2) Have a brainstorming meeting for budget/fundraising.
At the meeting: Come up with a list of ALL (and any!) ideas for any organization, company, project, charity or fund that may want to be associated with Ladyfest. Circle ones you or someone in the team or that you know has already a relationship with, and immediately call them!

[Important!!! Some (whether you know them or not) need 2-3 months in advance! Especially governments/organizations and funds.]

--> Approach the ones you have left, find out how you can apply, or who the contact person is, basically, make sure you have the right person/application form and know what you are doing. Send them the info pack if necessary.

Ideas:
- the city hall: because it's a cultural/artistic event
- gay organizations: because it's an event organized by women about female talents. Some of the bands are notoriously linked with the queer scene.
- women's organizations: same as above
- charity/initiative funds: there's some set up especially to help out projects like this. Most governments will have some kind of program that helps bands play/tour, or helps individuals with starting up a (valid) idea....

3) Organize some benefit nights!
There's enuff bands that would play for nothing or simply expense coverage, and this is a good pre-promotion for the fest as people will have started to hear about Ladyfest already.

4) Make individual efforts:
Get some independent merchandise girl/project to offer a good price for T-shirts, etc. or organize a car boot sale, or find a university that prints posters and flyers for free. -Get volunteers to help out on the day, instead of hiring out venue people (ask the venue if you can).

5) Strike deals:
For instance, Glasgow rented out rooms in a hostel for a special price. Or you can ask a shop/brand or label to put an ad on your website, at the festival, or on the promotion (the program, the posters...) of the fest.
Or, like some U.S. fests did, get Bacardi Breezer or a clothes line label or record labels to come to the day and pay to rent out a stand (depends on the size of the venue).

6) Stay cheap/d.i.y.:
Try to organize it in a squat, in a youth association, in a social or charity projects' headquarters.... It all depends on who/what you wanna be associated with!

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Committees & organisation

(This is how Ladyfest Olympia did it :)

Visual Arts/Film
This committee will organize visual arts events and film showings.

Website
This committee will build and update the official web site.

Budget/Revenue/Fundraising
This committee will devise a budget, raise funds and organize the money associated with the festival.

Volunteer Coordination
This committee will recruit and organize a large pool of volunteers to work prior to and during the festival (ie. ticket takers, door people, concession etc.) This is a committee that will be working during the actual festival.

PR/Advertising/Press
This committee will get the word out about the festival via print ads, setting up interviews, etc. They will place ads according to the budget and try to get news about the festival out to as wide an audience as possible. See the example here of a press release/info from Ladyfest Amsterdam.

Bands/Booking
This committee will solicit and choose the bands that play at the festival. They will act as liaisons between performing bands and the festival in general.

Merchandise/Booths/Zines
This committee will organize all the merchandise associated with the festival. They will organize people who want to sell stuff or display political information etc at booths.

Panels/Workshops
This committee will solicit and facilitate panels and workshops on diverse subjects. They will act as liaisons between speakers and presenters and the festival.

Performance art/Spoken word/Cabaret/Open mic/Talent show
This committee deals with performances that aren't rock/music shows. They solicit and facilitate these types of performers.

Facilities
This committee will be in charge of staffing technical support ie. sound people, lighting technicians, security etc. People on this committee should have an interest or background in technical support for performances of all kinds. They will work closely with the committees that have solicited performers to get all the right equipment/people in the right place at the right time.

Documentation of the Festival
This committee will facilitate audio and visual documentation of the festival. People with interest and/or experience with film, photography, video and audio recording are encouraged to join this committee.

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Organizer's experiences

Nina about Ladyfests Belgium:
Looking back at both Belgian Ladyfests I feel so lucky to have been able to participate and just the fact that they took place. When Ladyfest Glasgow took place in 2001 and the next year several European Ladyfests were being planned, I was dreaming with a few friends about that it would be so cool if a Ladyfest would happen in Belgium. But neither of us had any experience with organising gigs nor did we have any good contacts of other organisers or venues. And we didn't really dare to hope someone else would take the initiative…

But then I met Coline who was an experienced gig organiser and she told me she wanted to organise a gig with girl bands and asked if I wanted to help. I was so happy. Coline was telling about this Belgian quiet riot grrrl band, Sleepy Lili, who she had invited and she owned her own DIY feminist label. So we decided to call the girl gig »Ladyfest(ival)«. It was rather small, just one day with female bands and spoken word, but an enormously great atmosphere that I had never before experienced at a gig. Feminists and punk girls everywhere but also very supportive boiz.

I had finished the first issue of my zine Flapper Gathering on the train to Leuven and I was spreading lots of Riot Grrrl Belgium flyers at Ladyfest. Coline and I were thinking about starting a 4-track mailband together. Diny (who's involved in the Feminist Café Poppesnor now) was there with a zine and pads info stand. The audience, however small, seemed so nice. The squat had this magnetic attraction that made it so hard for me to go home afterwa! rds. Everything seemed perfect and possible at that moment. But thinking about it now, makes me realise it was not the starting point of a riot grrrl wave yet. It was a great event on itself (at least for me, 'cos I can't speak for everyone), but nothing really grew from there. Riot Grrrl Belgium consisted of just the same very few people as before. There wasn't any kind of riot grrrl scene or DIY feminist counter/subculture or underground movement yet.

Coline, Tinne, Lies and I were quickly thinking about organising a second Ladyfest in 2003, a bigger one than Ladyfest Leuven. The first plan was in Brussels, but then Liège was better because there was a good venue, La Zone. Organising Ladyfest Liège was more difficult for me than Ladyfest Leuven. I had more responsibility, it was a bigger festival with more bands, artists and activities, the organisers all lived far from each other which made it very difficult to have meetings, and because of personal problems some organisers couldn't participate anymore. But there were also enthusiastic new people involved. Despite some little problems, I enjoyed Ladyfest Liège very much (great bands & DJ, great artists, great people!). It was also important for me, because I really learned a lot about organising gigs, something that's very useful now for the events we're doing with the Riot Grrrl Collectief.

Finally, I wanna thank everyone who made Ladyfest Leuven and Liège possible: Coline, Tinne, Lies, Lara, Eric, Frutz, Sara 's Jegers, the people of Villa Skwattus Dei, the people of La Zone esp. Pierre and Ryton, the SPMB collective, all the bands, all the artists, the audience, the other Ladyfests for inspiration, Ladyfest Europe for the unity feeling and support,… thanks!!!


Ladyfest Belgium:
http://www.geocities.com/ladyfestbelgium

Rebel Fest and other riot grrrl events
http://www.geocities.com/rgcollectief

Riot Grrrl Belgium
http://riotgrrrlbelgium.cjb.net

Flapper Gathering
http://www.geocities.com/riotgrrrlbelgium/echo.html


Ladyfest Amsterdam 2002 (July 26-28, 2002)
--Various venues---
Inside review by Manuela, one of the organizers.


Although months after the event, I feel that a review is due. Don't complain that it's too late, because I was deeply involved in the festival and it took me months to recover from more than a year of excitement!

It all started at Ladyfest Glasgow 2001. I never ever thought I would be organising a festival, the most I had organized was a fundraiser at aged 11, a "Crazy Fashion" show (don't ask). I was your average consumer of punkrock and riotgrrl music, who knew a few people here and there in the scene and in bands, but nothing special. But my first new friend in Holland was Hilde (she's in Lady!Die with Mandy and Ruth), and when I found out that they were playing in Scotland, I was just as happy and jumping for joy as them! I saved for months and months to get there, and woke up at 8 am on the morning of ticket sales to get tickets for all of us….

It was so great, that from the moment I saw Cria Cuervos (third band of the first day, I believe), I started getting everyone's email addresses frantically, mumbling something like "…I might do a festival in Italy…". By the second day it was a reality, because everyone I told, said I simply had to do it. My notebook was getting filled with names and flyers, I told Hilde who said "yeah, let's do it" and by Day 3 we even had a location: France, cause it would be central in Europe and everyone could go (plus it's hot in the summer, we added laughing at the Scottish rain). And yeah, our grandiose plans even went as far as deciding we would make it a totally European fest, (nb: no EU-positive feelings here!) in the sense that we would showcase the riotgrrl scenes from our own area, instead of always the American or English bands (where riotgrrl is mostly diffused). After all, the two of us had always spoken of doing great things in Holland, right?

And when Mrova joined us (she contacted me through email after seeing my initial promotion), the trio was formed. She was already involved in holding all-women's events and years of experience in organizing gigs and tours for squats in Amsterdam, she was like the magic wand making it all happen. Although we had some down moments and many dramatic changes of situations, we did it! And I'm so proud of everyone: as well as selling out and kicking ass for 3 days, we raised more than 1500 euro for Rawa (Revolutionary Women for Afghanistan)! A big thanks is due to all the volunteers aswell, so many people helped us, boys and girls together, patting each other's back as they went along with what was needed to be done.

Ladyfest Amsterdam was different than the Glasgow fest. We chose purposely to have an ongoing program (from 12pm till 3am!) that would allow audience to be able to see everything if they wanted to, or have moments of rest if they preferred. Furthermore, we had taken advantage of the fact that there was a small stage in the bar of the Vrankrijk, to use that space for all the spoken word acts, performances and the theatre acts of the program. In the larger stage in the room next door, the bands would already be setting up. The same thing happened while a band was playing: the next act would be setting up in the bar. That way, we saved as much time as possible and there was always something going on. The third night, we did the same at the Occii utilizing the fact they had another small stage upstairs.

The day program was absolutely free, as we agreed that information should not be paid for. There were workshops until 18, then a film program of shorts until 19:30. Then we would free the venue, prepare for the evening program, and reopen the doors at 20 to let everyone back in, this time paying. Since we're talking about money, it's good to point out that we also strived to make the price of the tickets as cheap as possible, to allow everyone to attend (a 3-day pass was only 15 euro!). How we did it? Incr edible support from the Vrankrijk and the Occii, and from foundations such as Mama Cash, Trut and Alert! But most of all, by remaining d.i.y.! If you believe in an idea…

DAY 1---"What you wanna hear about is the music, right?"
At the Vrankrijk.

I knew the fest had started when I saw the massive Ladyfest banner on the Vrankrijik for the first time: "Wow, this is it" I thought, "and everyone can see it in this street!". I swear, that banner took up half the building, and the building is five floors high.

Minutes later, douzens of polish and germans started arriving and asking for a place to stay. We had given hostel tips on the website, had asked squats for help and even had bands and audience at our homes, but still I heard some people had to sleep in their cars (Amsterdam in the summer is unforgiving if you're on a budget). One german gang parked their 'wagen' right outside the Vrankrijk for two days, and took turns sitting in it, using the venue for washing and eating. Yeah, traveller style!

The fest officially starting with Suzie, bargirl, volunteer and performer on Day 2, playing loud radio outside and everyone dancing like crazy. I felt immediately that the grrrl-positive vibe was there, and the fact that it was really sunny (almost 30 degrees for all 3 days!), it put everything right into perspective, we were all there to celebrate (and learn)! Plus Hilde & I got the sun we wanted after all.

The workshops of that afternoon were "Comic drawing" (draw the heroine of your dreams) and "Drag King" (be the man of your dreams). Both of these had to do with expressing our dreams, and playing with our imagination…These were full, as we had to keep on adding chairs and pens, and it was delighting to see all the ladies transformed into hot studs. We hanged up the drawings (one more hilarious than the other), cleared away the make-up, and got ready for the action.

Which didn't happen! The girl who was supposed to be coordinating was solving some imminent band issues, and there was really nobody else to do it (who knew Amsterdam…). We were going to do a demonstration up to the "Elite" fashion agency, and create awareness to the public regarding their immoral practices on teenage models. We'll save this one for the next time, we have the flyers and the masks and everything!

It was time for the film program, and Red and Caroline (our online art/film coordinator and first webmistress for Ladyfest Europe) struggled with the videos: hardly any audience had returned from the vegan restaurant cooking especially for Ladyfest audience (yummy food but very small and dark directions on our handouts), and in the end, there wasn't time to show "Punk Pretty". What the audience did see, was a documentary on "Forgotten Women in History Books", a cartoon clip screened for the first time ("The 8 husbands of Zsa Zsa Gabor"), and a Public performance Art video. Time for the evening program!

When the doors opened at 20 after this first frantic afternoon, the room quickly filled up with people: performers, crowds of audience, organizers, the room was packed and all was sold out by just over 2 hours' time. The T- shirt stand was raided. The bargirls started pouring beers left and right. And Joke Kaviaar, the first spoken word act of the festival, opened up. She is Dutch, and her poems (in English) are on personal topics and very emotion-filled. The audience was especially attentive, you could feel their anticipation of the night's program. Well done, Joke.

Then it was the turn of the first music act: Rose Turtle, Australian and travelling around Benelux, doing a solo act with her ukulele and a load of effects with her pedals and drum machine. Charismatic and fierce yet shy at the same time, she delighted the audience with her sometimes mellow, sometimes energetic poppyrock songs and covers, including a slow dark version of "Maniac" (Flashdance). Even the punkrock teens waiting for Bambix were dancing! Heidiland was next. A German band, they played what they call "Prash pop", again, poprock but with a totally original style: the violin was played powerfully as if it was an electric guitar and the girls played together happily, creating again, a cheerful atmosphere in the crowd. That's all I can say, I'm afraid, I was at the door around that time!

As the audience took a break, Heather Taylor, who had just stepped off her plane and come straight inside to perform, Canadian spoken word act, was performing in the bar. Again, personal themes and stories of love and everyday life everyone could relate to, with an emphasis on women's stories. By now the venue was packed with audience ready to see the 'heavier' part of the program, so she did well even though the noise level was getting rude as the Amsterdammers can be and the place was hectic.

And then Hissyfits were next. Only arriving 20 minutes earlier (they're from New York) due to problems and a 24-hour layover in an airport during a missed transfer, completely exhausted and jetlagged, with no sound-check and almost teary faces, the girls took over the stage, and rocked hard to make up for all this. After all, the fans were there…with cheers and excitement, they performed their set of "Bangles-sweet" three-part vocal harmonies, accompanied by indie rock riffs and electric crunch. Again a little poppy, but a very professional rock show, under the circumstances! Way to go girls.

As Bambix finished soundchecking (they too, were late, and as the Ladyfest Amsterdam program runs through, if you've missed your practice opportunity….), the "Baraka" theatre performed in the bar. Four Croatian ladies also in the hardcore band "La Kurtizana" due to play the next day, they used sound and light effects to bring across themes and feelings of life and death…without any words! Incredible how much you can say with movement and creating the right atmosphere.

And ta-da ta-da, Bambix was ready to play. The crowd was now waiting for it, their batteries were charged with beer and excitement, and they were quickly fighting for the front of the stage. There was a time when Bambix played Lowlands, and in Brazil aswell, they're used to having a lot of support and once their clothes torn off… Bambix' intense melodic hardcore punk is precise and professional, after all, they have been around since the late 80's. The audience loved them, and this was definitely the highlight of the night!

After Bambix the time was past 1am…time for the night program! And this is where our dj acts showed their ability to handle the decks, and a now super- excited audience. Till 3am, Dj G. Bean spinned tunes from female rock musicians.

DAY 2---At the Vrankrijk and ? a secret location revealed only on the day "Sorry, we're closed".

After going to bed at long past 4 am the previous night, at 10am, we were back in the Vrankrijk to set up for the day (Day 2 started at 12:30 with breakfast). Outside, a few people were already waiting for us to start! We had to shoo them away, as we prepared the milkshakes, juices and toasti for all.

The Dominatrix gals had arrived very late the night before from a gig in Germany, and immediately set up their "Women in Brazil" workshop inside. This workshop was well-attended with some boys aswell, and it was extremely educational for everyone: it's extremely hard for the "true story" to get to us sometimes, and these ladies were really passionate about the subject, coming from Sao Paulo themselves.

The second workshop that day was "Self-defence for women", in a location only revealed on the day (a squat in Amsterdam, for those that really insist). Although it started a bit late, it was extremely popular. After there were twice as many people as established, I was asked to start sending people away…and I continued doing so for the next hour…it seems as if this one was very needed! Participants learnt verbal strategies, and practiced a few moves with each other.

The film program was once again, messed up, this time for a technical issue: the VCR with American system was taken by the Vj of that night who had already spent hours setting up, and all the films of that day were in that format. Aaarrgh! We showed instead a documentary done by Mikki Poplar, Californian living in Berlin, called "Need and Want" a collection of interviews of women from all over the world regarding the subjects of sex. Hilarious yet serious at the same time (especially the girl with the shoe fetish)! After that, we showed some experimental video-pieces from Emma Corbeash, an undiscovered UK artistic talent. Dinner was cheap and good! Today "De Peper" 's cooking crew had come round to the Vrankrijk with wheelbarrows filled with big pots of food for everyone.

At 20:15, we let everyone in once again for the evening program. Starting the evening was "Texta Queen", Arlene from Australia, who showed slides of her nude paintings of "Women in their natural habitats" (usually bedrooms filled with toys), and told stories about each one. Dressed up in a heroine costume with coloured marker pens, she entertained everyone greatly with her sense of humour and intelligent outlook on the world.

And then the first band started: "No Sex" from Amsterdam, playing a catchy melodic hardcore punk. With a lot of energy, and dedication, the band played flawlessly. The pit was already busy! To add a special touch, the singer was dressed as Xena the Warrior Princess, and after playing went around cracking her whip. Clit power!

The second performance of the evening started. I won't comment on this one as it was me with Tanja (aka "Bunnies on strike Talking"), and I can't be objective on this one. All I'll say is that we did a few small sketches and spoken word pieces, all with the feminist theme. The crowd was really attentive, thanks to Sanne (another Bunny, though not a Talking one) who introduced our act.

And then it was time for "Lack of Resistance", a band from France. They play emo-core and are formed equally by two girls and two boys, and are perhaps already known from their appearance at Ladyfest Scotland. There were quite a few French ladies in the audience that moshed with them, and they played a good set. Professional!

Astrokings (Drag King) performance was next. Joyce (the performer) was so convincing in her moving about the stage dressed as a beachbum, that a friend of mine who came in at exactly that moment said "What the hell is that boy doing on stage? I thought this was a LADYfest!". Woo-hoo, illusion accomplished!

Next was the band "La Kurtizana", who I must say, stole the night away. Having already proved their multiple talents with the theatre show the night before, they were now playing hardcore at its best: boisterous and angry, yet caring and sensitive at the same time. The singer alternated quickly between a raucous and a girly voice, creating a powerful effect, and the string ladies strung hard. Nina, the drummer, spent a little time explaining to the audience that coming from Kroatia, they realize how we take some things for granted over here, and it was very moving. After that they started playing again…and the audience went crazy!

After the excitement of hardcore, people could relax with MizzTERROR (Suzie)'s performance. She first started stripping, then pouring blood on herself and throwing up more blood on the audience. If that isn't a political statement I don't know what is!

The last live acts for the night were Duldung, anarco-feminist hiphop group from Poland, and Bernadette la Hengst, electro act from Germany. Sadly, I was at the door during this time, so I really can't say anything about their performance, except what I heard. Apparently Duldung were bouncy and fun, a refreshing change after all the harder music of the evening, and even though people couldn't understand their lyrics, it was obvious they were making some strong statements. As for Bernadette, she had a good voice, and s ome very nice beats to her "activist pop".

It was by now almost 2 am, and the last act of the night started: the Drum & Bass Dj and Vj combo! Dj Monica and Vj Nienke made us all boogie hard… there wasn't a still ass in the room, and the visuals were amazing (Nienke splits the screen into two, showing two different pieces at the same time, or the same piece repeated…clever tricks and improvisation). And for those that didn't like to dance, outside, La Kurtizana girls did a fireshow…what a great end of the night, what a climax! At the door, we counted more than 500 people that day. Kick ass!

DAY 3---At the Vrankrijk and the Occii. "Control by Day 3…just when it all ends".

Pointless to say that the third morning, I was a zombie, as were my fellow organizers (Mrova especially, she had been cleaning and sending people home until past 5 am!). After only 3.5 hours' sleep, I met Emily from Haggard on the way to the Vrankrijk, and had trouble finding some morning enthusiasm….this condition immediately disappeared when I got there and found a whole crowd waiting for us to open. Incredible, fantastic, all my motivation was back in a flash! (exhaustion is a beast…).

The workshops that day were "D.i.y. ethics and building structures" and "Body issues and images". The first one was coordinated by me in the name of Ladyfest Amsterdam, Giulia, an Italian girl who runs a d.i.y. grrl/queer Distro and record label since 1997, and Jenny, the founder of the d.i.y. anarcofeminist project "Emancypunx", who basically represents the anarco-feminist scene in Warsaw with distribution, event organization, and much much more (many Emancypunx girls were present at this fest, and were the most enthusiastic of the lot, wow!). We really nailed it down, why we should do what we do in exactly the way we do it and never ever get corrupted with our ideals. Short workshop, but to the point nonetheless.

The second one, given by a small team of German ladies, was a touching experience for its participants. After analysing how the media and society reinforces unrealistic models of beauty and health, of masculine and feminine and why we are divided the way we are, the participants split into small groups and sitting in circles, and talked to each other about their experiences. Hugs and tears, mutual support and empowerment, all these things made the workshop personal and deep.

Today the evening program was at the Occii, so those who hanged around the Vrankrijk after the workshops were very few, everyone headed off in that direction to sample the delicious dinner cooked today by the Binnenpret crew (just behind the Occii). Those that did remain got to see the film program, which today, featured the punkmentary "Step up and be vocal". Filmed by Sandra, a girl from Bremen, Germany, it featured interviews with member of the San Francisco queer/punk feminist scene; namely, with the likes of Tribe8, Wendy-o-matik, Fabulous Disaster, and many more! A must- see, order a copy if you can!

Opening at the Occii tonight was "Bunnies On Strike", also from Amsterdam. This band is the result of a d.i.y. feminist/animalist project founded by a group of girls and boys from the hardcore scene, who as well as have a band they write zines, do radical cheerleading at demonstrations, and since very recently, started talking (Tanja & I decided to continue our lil performance/spoken word idea). This was one of their very last shows, as members of the band have moved on. It was obvious they'd polished up their songs a lot since the beginning, and Tanja even introduced the band with a piece explaining the project. Energetic no-wave/riotgrrl sounds, the band was a good beginning to the night, it really put everyone into the mood for the evening.

Upstairs at the Occii, Sabrina Capon started her set. Sabrina has a very down-to-earth and sassy attitude towards life, and her pieces come straight from the heart and soul: the audience loved her, and cheered for more. So she spontaneously gave one more piece, which became 2.5…what a surprise, and a great example of modern writing!

Haggard were setting up downstairs. Haggard are the solution to the male- dominated hardcore scene, this duo combines fierce playing with socio- political lyrics, all sung with rough and amazonic voices. They were absolutely amazing, Sts (drummer) has an incredible force and with Emily as a frontwoman bringing the music forward and faster, they rip through their songs and always have a very active moshpit. This time, it was mostly girls jumping about, hurray! They were especially happy tonight, having made friends with Dominatrix who also joined them on to Ladyfest London.

Jeanne Marie Spicuzza was next. This multi-faceted Sicilian American woman moves and steals the audience away with her spokenword/ slampoetry pieces, she is a true performer, putting all of herself into what she does every time. She believes in the cause of women fighting for a place in the arts, and this is evident not only in her pieces but also in what she does: amongst other things, she founded a project for women in film. Tonight, she was impeccable, and the audience rushed to get cds. What a talent! Jeanne helped out a lot during the festival, even sitting at the door. If you want dedication, this is the woman.

And then it was time for a lil acoustic….Mirah, Olympia-based songwriter, who put a soft mood to the rocking evening. Her pieces and lyrics are intimate, the music uses minimal guitar parts and together with her innocent and sultry style, she really quietened everyone down yet warmed them up: when the audience had to sing "I am the light of this world…" there were many joining in. She had just flown in that day after performing at Ladyfest San Francisco, and her luggage was between airports…she even had to borrow a plectrum from the audience. But nobody knew how nervous she had been, she did wonderfully!

The last band of the fest (Dominatrix) was presented by Mrova, who for years, has been trying to get the band over here…grrls are very active in Brazil you know! Anyways, this was a great closing. Playing at their absolute best, this quartet immediately made the whole audience move…the front row was full of girls moshing, a fact they too, noticed. Dominatrix play a melodic hardcore punk dominated by anti sexist lyrics, and other themes cherished by riotgrrrls worldwide. Punkrock gawdesses! They are so caring it makes you wanna hug them. Their cds were sold out once again (it's happened before)!

After this highlight, the Djs started playing their sets: Dj Fabiegator entertained those die-hard audience members that were still in the Occii, while outside, crowds of people piled up to say goodbye to each other. Martha (Teknoize dj) didn't play as literally, the whole audience was in the streets hugging, talking and finishing their last beers, enjoying the clear sky of that last night of July. The festival was over. Time to go home…for some it meant hours and hours of travelling.

Rounding up: What did it all mean, what's it gonna mean next.

Ladyfest Amsterdam was a political and personal fest. The ideals of antisexism and antihomophobia were addressed throughout the fest, and expressed in many ways, ranging from aggressive hardcore music, to gentle talks to each other during a workshop. It's now the duty of its audience to bring these ideals forward into their own communities, or if that's not their style, to use the knowledge learnt to make wiser decisions in their lives.

What will be next? Only time will tell. As the Amsterdam organizers regroup and pass on "the verb" to other enthusiasts, girls in Hamburg, France and Manchester are planning their own fest. Will they succeed? Stay tuned and find out.

By the way, Word is correcting my two words "antisexism" and "antihomophobia": why is it that patriarchy has to be everywhere? You'd think that a software would be impartial, wouldn't you?