With a dozen events in its history, Womynsfest has earned the distinction of being one of the longest-running free women’s festivals in Philadelphia.
The brainchild of contractor, community activist and occasional artist Vitamin D (aka Denice Witkowski), Womynsfest is a yearly celebration of music, art and performance. The event currently calls The Rotunda home, but Witkowski remembers where it started — and the state of the arts scene that sparked a need for it.
“The first show I did was at the Tin Angel in 1999 and I did some shows at other venues,” she said. “The reason I started it was because I had a roommate that played drums, and a lot of bands that she played in were male-dominated. It felt like women took a backseat.
“Today, there are a lot of changes even though we started in 1999. More women are playing up front. When I started it, it was because my roommate was complaining. I wanted to find venue with a community of sorts. I had heard about this new venue, The Rotunda, which was hosting jazz bands. So I asked about hosting an all-women’s fest and a world-peace fest. So that’s basically how it started.”
This year’s roster of artists is as eclectic as previous years, as it is being headlined by Liberty City Kings Drag and Burlesque, Philadelphia’s award-winning and only queer drag and burlesque troupe. The show will also feature performances by local and locally known singers and songwriters Rosa Diaz, Mia Johnson, Alia and Lady Shiv, the latter of whom is a classically trained opera singer and one half of the circus-cabaret-pop band Autobahn da Fe.
Outside the musical spectrum, the festival will be rounded out by journalist, minister and author Edie Weinstein (aka Bliss Mistress), who writes a regular column for Wisdom Magazine called The Bliss Mistress Guide and a daily blog for the interfaith website Beliefnet called the Bliss Blog. Weinstein will regale the Womynsfest guests with a reading from her new book, “The Bliss Mistress Guide to Transforming the Ordinary into the Extraordinary.”
Comedy will come to Womynsfest in the form of ApocaLIPS, a Philadelphia-based all-female improv group specializing in stand-up, storytelling and everything in between. Also, filmmaker Bonnie MacAllister will be on hand to screen a few of her thought-provoking short films. Dance and Philly Fringe regular Mira Treatman will perform a piece of physical theater.
Local vendors like Deadfish Media Group and Earthen Life Style will also participate in this year’s festival, providing original artwork for display and merchandise booths offering graphic apparel, jewelry, CDs, hats, ties and more.
The festival’s reputation has grown beyond the Philadelphia area, as performers from outside the immediate region have become common on the show. But Witkowski said the main focus is on local performers.
“I try to keep it in Philadelphia as much as possible but some of the performers from Brooklyn, Delaware or New Jersey get in touch with me about the festival,” she said. “A lot of times I go see groups and what I do is email all the groups and express an interest in having them at the festival. The first eight to 10 performers that get back to me are the ones that become part of the festival. It’s a bunch of women that over the years have heard about it.”
The festival is also open to performers of different genders, including trans and men who like to dress as women, as long as they are in keeping with the spirit of the festival. Witkowski said, while the show draws a considerable LGBT audience and this year’s event includes the very-out Liberty City Kings as headliners, she’s not sure where the other performers fall in the LGBT spectrum.
“A lot of times I don’t ask people and I’m not really certain about some of the performers because that’s never been my main focus,” she said about LGBT performers in Womynsfest. “As far as trans, Steph[an] Hayes used to be my biggest performer and I lost him last year [he relocated to China]. He’s no longer a participant in Womynsfest, which is an interesting point. But I don’t ask. Usually they make it known. I never think about asking them unless they tell me. I don’t think of performers as gay or lesbian. I think of them as musicians.”
Witkowski added, “I consider myself ‘try-sexual,’ not bisexual or gay. I’ll try anything.”
When asked which performers she’s most excited to see this year, Witkowski praised them all but singled out a few who she expects to really deliver the goods.
“Every year it’s tough because I love Mia Johnson,” she said. “She always surprises me with new songs. I’ve known her for years. She’s been in the festival the longest, besides Steph Hayes. She always brings something new to the table. I’m excited about seeing Alia. She’s one of the most fabulous, hardcore and energetic people. Edie Weinstein is a great writer. It’s hard not to plug her.”
Womynsfest is billed as an all-ages show and, for most part, it is. But Witkowski said that at some point the content becomes not exactly adult, but geared to a more grown-up audience. And it’s probably a good thing that the Liberty City Kings are closing out the show.
“We usually warn the audience that after 9 o’clock on Sunday night the performances become more open,” she said. “The acts performing that are on earlier were told that the content should not be child inappropriate. At 9, most of my friends who come out with children usually go home because it’s a school night. I usually make an announcement at that point that the show is going to get a little more verbal. I usually find that the age group for the show is 18 and up. If they are under 18, they are usually accompanied by an adult. I haven’t had any problems with adult content.”
When asked about the future of Womynsfest, Witkowski said she plans to keep the festival eclectic, at the same time and at the same place every year.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere and if I ever got to the point where I didn’t want to do it, I would turn it over to some students that are coming out in the lesbian community, because a lot of the kids that have volunteered early on were really cool,” she said. “I would like to turn it over to them at some point but I’m going to be around for a while I hope.”
Vitamin D Productions presents the 12th annual Womynsfest, 7 p.m. March 4 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. For more information, visit www.therotunda.org.