events

It's time for another Bitch Library Open House! Join us at our library in Portland this Sunday for zines and snacks with Anne Elizabeth Moore, author of the brand new book Cambodian Grrrl: Self-Publishing in Phnom Penh.

What: You're invited to hear Fatemeh Fakhraie, Bitch contributor and founder of Muslimah Media Watch, read from I Speak For Myself: American Women on Being Muslim on Saturday, July 23rd at 11am. Fakhraie wrote a piece called "Roots" in I Speak For Myself, a brand-new collection of 40 personal essays written by American Muslim women under the age of 40, all of whom were born and raised in the US. (Find out more about this important anthology on our blog.)

Following the reading and a Q&A, Fakhraie will be available to sign copies of the anthology, which she will be selling at the event.

Delicious refreshments will be provided, and our lending library will be open for checking out books!

When: Saturday, July 23 from 11:00am - 1:00pm

Where: Bitch HQ is located at 4930 NE 29th Ave. (right off Alberta Street) in Portland, OR

RSVP and invite your friends on Facebook!

Attention PDX-ers (that's code for Portland, Ore. residents)! Don't forget that next Tuesday is the semi-annual Bitch Clothing Swap!

Note: Leslie Hall will not actually be present at the clothing swap. But that doesn't mean there won't be a sequined leotard with your name on it.
This year we'll be at the happening Jupiter Hotel at E. 8th and Burnside. It's only $10 to attend and swap to your heart's content, and $7 if you bring in a bag of your own clothing to exchange. There will be some boutique items on sale for additional moneyz. Get there early to drop off your clothes and get first pickins' (although as someone who has had last pickin's, there are great finds throughout the evening!) All proceeds benefit Bitch Media, and items left at the end of the night are donated to the community. One person's awkward jacket is another person's priceless find, so spread the word, clean out your closet, RSVP on Facebook, and support what you love while getting a new wardrobe! Details after the jump....

Folks in the Bay Area are in for a ten-day treat this month with the community focused Safetyfest, a "celebration of all the fierce ways queer and trans people in the Bay Area stay safe and strut our stuff." Beginning on April 8th, this cooperative effort will bring together anti-violence artists and activists from groups like Community United Against Violence (CUAV), Mangos With Chili, The Bikery, EL/LA, and the Self-Defense for Self Determination collective to provide innovative workshops and community building events focused on LGBTQ safety. Part fun and part fundraiser, all of the offerings at Safetyfest are either free or sliding scale, and no one will be turned away.

I spoke with festival planner and performer Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha about the inception of Safetyfest and why people should attend this groundbreaking event.