N&D 3.6.24 // National Women’s History Month Activities

In the words of Fiona Apple, this week we’re all about the “ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies!” In honor of International Women’s Day Friday and National Women’s History Month, we have a unique selection of events for your consideration for March and beyond. The future is female, and it starts now.

 Thursday, March 7, 2024 

The 39th annual Texas Storytelling Festival is Thu-Sun at the Denton Civic Center (321 E McKinney St, 940-349-7275). Among the featured storytellers, Fran Stallings tells traditional folktales and science-based eco-tales, and Kathy Hood Culmer does inspirational writing and biblical storytelling. The festival itinerary lists 30 speakers offering 24 hours of storytelling, plus nine workshops and six special events, including a concert, ghost tales, family story time, a liars contest, a poetry slam, and a story slam. Visit TejasStoryTelling.com for access every day ($135) or one day ($60), or pay $15 at the door for individual events.

 Friday, March 8 , 2024 

Happy International Women’s Day! Two significant North Texas events are putting the D and FW in DFW. Here in the Fort, join Katrina Carpenter and Mia Moss noon-5pm at the third annual Watch Women Work pop-up event at Black Coffee (1417 Vaughn Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-782-9867), featuring products and services from 30 local female entrepreneurs. Brews and bites from Carpenter’s Cafe and Black Coffee will be served. In Dallas, the works of fiber artists Sam Lao and Hannah Busekrus will be on display as part of the installation “Stay Sweet” at Punch Bowl Social (2600 Main St, Deep Ellum) 6:30pm-8:30pm. You can also check out the opening night of a second installation at the nearby Sweet Tooth Hotel (1511 Elm St, Deep Ellum) 5:30pm-9pm. The first 50 guests will receive a free Calirosa cocktail courtesy of Calirosa Tequila and Topo Chico. There is no cost to attend any of the above.

 Saturday, March 9, 2024 

My mother-in-law loves butterflies, and her birthday is in March, so this one’s for her. Daily thru Sun, Apr 14, Fort Worth Botanic Garden (3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, 817-463-4160) hosts Butterflies in the Garden, the largest exhibit of live butterflies in North Central Texas. All tickets are for timed entries between 10am and 4pm. Tickets are $12 at the door or at FWBG.org/Butterflies. Happy Birthday, Donna!

 Sunday, March 10, 2024 

After Lola’s closed (RIP), Tiffany Parish and husband/business partner Blake Parish scrambled to find a new location for their long-standing rummage sale and farmers market. Well, it didn’t take long for the newly formed Honeysuckle Rose Events to find a new home. The Fort Worth Community Market, every second Sunday of the month, will now be at the South Main Micro Park (105 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-923-1649) 11am-4pm. Today’s event features free admission, 50+ vendors selling handmade/homegrown items, and live music by Matt Tedder, Morris Holdahl, and Simon Flory.

Sunday is also a perfect day to take flight. The Dallas Wings, the WNBA team that plays in Arlington, is holding auditions for their 2024 cheerleading/dance team known as the Flight Crew at Maverick Activities Center (500 W Nedderman Dr, Arlington, 817-272-3277) 10am-4pm. They are hunting for entertainers at least 18 years old who have dance experience in multiple styles. There are no minimum or maximum height or weight requirements, and all body types, genders, and nationalities are welcome to try out. Should you earn a spot on the squad, you will be expected to attend biweekly rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday evenings and perform at all Wings home games. Register at Wings.WNBA.com/flight-crew/. For questions, email NBarnard@DallasWings.com.

 Saturday, March 16, 2024 

The Hindu tradition of holding a spring festival (Holi) dates back thousands of years. It only took 14 for the Dallas-based Festival of Colors to add a second (hopefully annual) event in Fort Worth. The primarily female team is bringing the Holi Mela Festival of Color to Panther Island Pavilion (395 Purcey St, 817-698-0700) 11am-4pm. Along with getting crazy with some color powder — wear white for the full effect — celebrate the culture of India with dance performances, a drum circle, music, and vendors. Fort Worth singer-songwriter Rylie Dylan is the host, plus she will perform alongside Akhil Bhardaj and DJ Koka. Food, beer, and wine will be available at the food court. Tickets start at $8 on Eventbrite.com.

 Tuesday, April 9, 2024 

Please — I implore you — show some support (and by that, I mean donate money) to Planned Parenthood of Texas. Beyond that thing we can no longer have done in our state, PP provides health care and essential OB-GYN services for women in need. An Evening with Planned Parenthood at Bass Performance Hall (525 Commerce St, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280) 6pm-8:30pm will feature an “inspiring, mission-driven program” with craft cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Organizers say the goal is to “take strides towards a world in which everyone can access quality health care and information to live their lives fully, without judgment.” Amen to that. Tickets start at $100 at WeArePlannedParenthood.org.

 Saturday, April 27, 2024 

The female-founded team at Don’t Forget to Feed Me, the only pet food bank in North Texas, provides a vital service for pet owners who have fallen on hard times. After all, a (good) girl’s gotta eat! Today from 7:30am (when my cat wakes up) to 11am (when my husband wakes up), those who enjoy jogging, running, and walking more than just the dog can attend the Hungry Hound Hustle 5K at MUTTS Canine Cantina (5317 Clearfork Main St, Fort Worth, 817-377-0151). Registration is $40-45 at HungryHoundHustle.Athlete360.com. If you don’t get up until noon (like me), you can buy the T-shirt for $25 and still help the cause.

 Every (Damn) Day 

Now, back to Fiona (and yes, please hand me those bolt cutters)! Fiona Apple’s fifth studio album came out in April 2020, and it really helped me get through the pandemic. There’s a track on Fetch the Bolt Cutters where you can hear her dogs barking toward the end, and that felt very real at a time when we all worked from home with our pets. The idea for the title came from a line in a police drama that she was streaming. In an episode of The Fall, Gillian Anderson and company were freeing a kidnapped girl, and Apple told NPR, “I shot up from the couch, wrote it on the blackboard immediately, and said, ‘That’s what my album’s called.’ ”

The takeaway is that we should each “fetch” our own preferred tool of liberation and set ourselves free from whatever is holding us back. For some of us, that means getting out of our own heads and doing the damn thing, but there are others, like those experiencing domestic violence, who have more tangible needs. If you are in an abusive relationship or a relationship you are afraid could become abusive, One Safe Place (1100 Hemphill St, Fort Worth, 817-916-4323, OneSafePlace.org) wants you to know that you are not alone. If you need an emergency exit from your situation, they take walk-ins 9am-4pm Tue-Fri, but it’s best to call ahead if you can.

Read about the impact of women in law enforcement at the Lake Worth PD in Living Local.