fundraising

 Saturday night in Detroit was a night of animals.

Our Midwest fundraising/outreach tour is off to a fabulous start...

This post is gonna be in the form of a conversation with the amazing Jess Hauser, who organized one incredible dance party/fundraiser last night at the Temple Bar here in Detroit.

Everything's coming together. Here's what's happening in Chicago. Please spread the word...

Another update on my upcoming trip...

Ok, folks – here's my heart on the line: I organized my entire trip around Mother's Day so that I could combine the organization I love plus my mom and grandma, who – as much as they support and love me – really don't "get" what my work is all about.

So please, Twin Cities friends, come – and bring anyone special you want to appreciate – and let's celebrate Mother's Day with gratitude for the amazing people that allowed us to live the lives we have today.

If nothing else, do it for my grandma! She's 91 and she's incredible.

I'm posting updates to my Midwestern trip as they're finalized. Here's what's happening in Milwaukee. More on other cities to come soon!  

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If you live in Milwaukee, please come out for these events – and spread the word!

Bitchcraft, a weekend of music, arts, crafts, and words will take place Saturday, May 17–Sunday, May 18. All events are free—donations are very much encouraged (and appreciated!) and benefit the nonprofit project you know and love as B-Word/Bitch.

Bitchcraft kicks off Saturday, May 17, 5–8 p.m., at Woodland Pattern Book Center, 720 E. Locust St., with performances by singer-songwriters Heidi Spencer and Stephanie Rearick; a sneak preview of "Devotion to Thread," an exhibit curated by Faythe Levine; and some brief comments from me about what we're up to at Bitch! 

Part two of Bitchcraft takes place Sunday, May 18, 4–5:30 pm. I'll facilitate a special session of the Femiknits discussion group—open to non-knitters!—at Broad Vocabulary Bookstore, 2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Our discussion will focus on the ways in which feminism can be re-imagined in our communities. Even if you don't knit, please come and share your ideas, stories, and struggles. 

#1. Who doesn't love a danceparty?

#2. Who doesn't want to dance at a fundraiser for bitch magazine in detroit?

Please forward to all your friends in the Detroit area, and if you'd like to host something like this in your area, please, please, let us know.

Cheers!

Shortly after WAM, Andi and I made a quick trip to Philly. A very gracious Bitch supporter (with two incredibly charming dogs, photographed below of course) had offered to host a fundraising house party for us. An unfortunate snafu with our invite system meant that most of our Philly supporters didn't even know about it. But lucky for us, our host had lured a whole slew of her own friends and neighbors to come out, meet us, and hear about our work. 

I'm coming to the Midwest in May to do some fundraising/outreach! I'm really excited (hence my use of the exclamation point); it'll be my first trip back to my roots on behalf of this organization I love so dearly. It's like chocolate and peanut butter together.

So far, I'm coming to:

Detroit
Chicago
Milwaukee
Madison
Minneapolis

A lovely group of folks has organized a monthly Bitch-themed Think and Drink at the Florida Room, a local bar here in Portland. I had the pleasure of attending this month's meet-up, where we talked about everything from Hillary versus Obama, dogs versus cats, and cranky farm pigs and their geese friends (what can I say, I love me some animal stories?). They even fundraised for us! Apparently they heard the news that Briar likes her beer...

Events are funny beasts - we spend so much time planning them - there is worry, stress, debating over whether there should be candles or whether the program should have the mission statement on the front page or inside back cover - and then when the big day comes they take on a life of their own and magically, everything works (or doesn't but that is another blog post). I just had to write about the auction we had last Saturday night - sm[art] *art show and silent auction to benefit Bitch, because this one worked!