Workshops 2006

*Workshops are a suggested donation of $5.
**Workshops operate on a first come first serve basis. Some workshops have limited seating (see descriptions below).

***For room information visit the LFO information table at our craftsale, located at Bar 1848 in the Unicentre Building of the University of Ottawa (room 205).

• Growing veggies in small spaces
• Born to Lead - Starting your own business
• Howdy Harmonica
• I'm Coming! A Guide to Women's Orgasm
• Handmade Graphics
• Bike Better!
• Rock the needle- knitting for boys
• It cuts both ways
• Fat politics – Panel Discussion

Growing veggies in small spaces (1 hr)
Presented by Fleurette Huneault
Saturday, September 30th, 11-12

Is it possible to grow a variety of vegetables in a small urban space?

Yes! Not only is it possible, but this workshop will teach you to do so successfully and help you appreciate just how rewarding this can be. Led by a master gardener, you will learn about pot sizes and other requirements for fruitful balcony gardening. The talk is supported by handouts showing soil, sun and water requirements.

Fleurette has been growing vegetables on an organically managed site for thirty years. In 1998, she joined the Master Gardeners of Ottawa and obtained a Horticultural Certificate from Guelph University.

Since then, she has presented talks and workshops on organic xeriscaping, organic vegetable gardening, and small space vegetable gardening at events such as Seedy Saturday Ottawa; Seeds of Hope; Bytown Urban Garden Growers Lecture Series; and, Food Security Council of Ottawa Lecture Series.

>Born to Lead - Starting your own business (2hrs)
Presented by Tracey Clark, Marie Desjardins & Alexandra Howell
Saturday, September 30th, 12-2

In 2000, Tracey Clark opened the Bridgehead coffeehouse, a business selling ethically produced coffees, teas, and gifts. Six years later, Tracy successfully operates six Bridgehead coffeehouses in Ottawa, as well as a national mail order business. Listen to her experiences opening up a business in Ottawa and learn how she has managed to make a fair trade model viable for herself and those who work for her.

In the second hour of this workshop, members of Ottawa's Entrepreneurship Centre will explain the importance of business planning, rules and regulations and give practical advice for starting a business.

Tracey Clark is the owner and founder of Ottawa's famed Bridgehead ethical coffeehouses. Marie Desjardins & Alexandra Howell work for the Ottawa Entrepreneurship Centre, providing valuable resources to those embarking on the exciting path of becoming their own boss.

Howdy Harmonica (1 hr)
Presented by Catriona Sturton
Sunday, October 1st, 2:30-3:30

What harmonica key wards off alligators? Why can you bend the notes on a harmonica? Catriona Sturton answers all your harmonica questions with practical and entertaining tips. While introducing the basics of harmonica technique (how to hold the harmonica, play notes, chords, trills, bends, riffs and improvised melodies) she also demonstrates some advanced skills and songs for everyone to enjoy. "It's surprising how many people dream of being able to play the harmonica"

says Sturton, "but are not sure how to get started." After attending the Howdy Harmonica workshop, not only will you be able to play a simple song, but you will also have a better appreciation of the harmonica virtuosos.

To participate, bring a diatonic (10 hole) harmonica in the key of 'C". Don't have a harmonica? You can still enjoy the workshop and learn some tricks for future reference.

Catriona has been playing the harmonica for 14 years and got her start as a teenager in Ottawa, studying from Larry "The Bird" Mootham. She has taught harmonica in Toronto and Guelph, and her harmonica playing has backed up Neko Case, Guy Terriffico, Al Tuck and others. Catriona is a former member of several great bands, playing bass for Halifax's Plumtree, guitar for Hiroshima's The Secret. She currently fronts Catriona and The Screaming Elks out of Toronto where she now studies harmonica with Carlos del junco (one of Canada's best harmonica players!).

I'm Coming! A Guide to Women's Orgasm (2 hrs women only, 18+)
Presented by Shelley Taylor
Sunday, October 1st, 1:30-3:30

Some women never experience orgasm, some can have orgasms once in awhile, or on their own, or never on their own, or ... you get the picture. The female orgasm can sometimes be rather elusive, and that can be okay, but it can also be very frustrating. This session will look at some of the reasons women have difficulty with orgasm, offer suggestions around play to enhance sexual feelings, as well as covering important anatomical information. Discussion includes g-spot, clitoris, and tips to use both alone and with a partner.

Shelley Taylor is the founder of venus envy, an education and women oriented sex shop and bookstore (Halifax and Ottawa). She has been facilitating workshops about sex and relationships for the past 7 years and loves presenting at Ladyfest!

Handmade Graphics (1.5 hrs)
Presented by Una Lee
Saturday, September 30th, 3-5

Good design comes from your brain and hands. In this intensive workshop, Una will show you how a good idea and the creative use of materials can result in stunning graphics without the aid of computers. A wide variety of image-making, reproduction techniques, and design basics will be covered. If you have a limited budget and want to promote your music, writing, organization, or small business, this workshop is for you. Image-making materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to come with some idea of what they want to create (a poster, a t-shirt, etc.) and anything they might like to incorporate, such as drawings, magazine clippings, different types of paper, or garments.

*15 participants maximum

Una Lee is the graphic designer for Ladyfest Ottawa. She lives in Toronto (though frequently inhabiting Ottawa) and spends her time crafting visuals for good causes.

Bike Better! (bilingual - 2 hrs)
Presented by Katherine Kitching
Sunday, October 1st, 11:30-1:30

This workshop will empower cyclists (and future cyclists) by giving them the confidence and knowledge to use Ottawa's traffic laws to their advantage. You'll learn to move faster, more smoothly, and more safely in the every-day sticky traffic situations encountered around town. You will also develop an understanding of how your body and bike work together and how to set up and use your bike to maximize your comfort and minimize your pedaling efforts! Finally the workshop helps people understand what a meaningful activity cycling can be, by exploring the many ways in which cycling can positively impact individuals and their communities.

*Bring your bikes and helmets if you'd like to benefit from Katherine's help in adjusting them to your body and needs.

*This workshop is suitable for 14 years and up (younger welcome if accompanied by an adult).

*15 participants maximum (some spots will be available for pre-registration by emailing lfo.workshops@gmail.com and some spots will be held for the door).

Katherine works as the workplace program coordinator for Citizens for Safe Cycling (an Ottawa non-profit organization) where she designs and runs workshops which help local employees gain skills and confidence needed to begin to commute to work by bicycle. Katherine is constantly amazed to discover that the more biking she does, the better she feels-- and she really wants to share this magical feeling with everyone!

She is currently working towards becoming a certified "CanBike" instructor.

Rock the needle- knitting for boys (boys only -1 hr – bilingual)
Presented by JP Guevremont & Anne Guevremont
Sunday, October 1st, 1:30-2:30

This workshop will give boys the basics of knitting. They will learn to cast on, knit, purl, and how to deal with all the extra sexiness that the wool can bring to their lives. The workshop will guide the participants through the making of an ipod /cellphone/ lighter/ cigarettte cozy.

*Bringing your own needles (the bigger the better) and wool is encouraged, but not necessary.

JP is a local Ottawa artist & graphic designer who, for the past 10 years, has been enjoying the challenge of the dark arts of the cable, multiple double pointed needles, and the circular needle of speed. JP was recently featured in a Toronto Star article on men who knit. His sister, Anne, who along with their mom, taught JP to knit, will join him in this workshop.

[Editor's note – perhaps you've noticed that this Ladyfest workshop is for boys only? This may seem a bit strange for a Ladyfest, so we wanted to explain… This workshop is part of our efforts to acknowledge and respond to the fact that men as well as women suffer from the negative effects of gender discrimination. We want to help give everyone a chance to be and do whatever they want without being bound by stereotypes and prejudice - this means women doing 'men's' work and men doing 'women's' work and blurring those lines til they just don't exist anymore. We also want to celebrate the fact that anyone can be a feminist, regardless of their gender, and show the world that Ladyfest isn't just about the ladies!]

It cuts both ways (1.5 hrs)
Presented by Cheyenne McClain & Nick Guerrero
Saturday, September 30th, 2-3:30

Body modification is a form of art and expression of a variety of feelings and states of mind that are often misunderstood in today's society. In their workshop, Nick and Cheyenne will help participants better understand body modification by touching on cross-cultural and historical examples to contextualise how western society has arrived at such a narrow view of this and other subcultural behaviours. Nick and Cheyenne will also articulate the main motivations behind various types of body modification (tattoos, cutting, piercing, etc) and critique the most common, and predominantly patriarchial misconceptions of this. This workshop is open to everyone and uses a combination of small and large group work, art, multimedia, and minimal lecture. It is Nick and Cheyenne's greatest hope that, after this workshop, you will have a broader understanding of this issue and greater tolerance of body modification and other forms of personal and profound expression.

Nick and Cheyenne have been doing workshops together for two and a half years on topics such as relationship dynamics, sexuality, body image, body modification, and rape prevention education while working with adolescents in schools and women's shelters. Their knowledge of body modification comes from personal experiences and interests and independent research. Nick and Cheyenne have appeared at Ladyfest San Diego 2005, attended Ladyfest Bay Area 2004 and are coming to LFO all the way from Santa Cruz, California!

Fat politics – Panel Discussion (Youth are encouraged to attend) (1.5 hr)
Presented by Chelsey Lichtman, Liz Brockest & Zoe Whittall
Saturday, September 30th, 12:30-2

Fat activism is a unique approach to talking about size acceptance; it explores how bodies exist in a continuum, how and why the media favours some bodies over others, and how that affects the way individuals feel about themselves. Fat activism attempts to unravel the reasons why it can sometimes be so difficult to feel beautiful in our own skin, and help more and more people break down the barriers to healthy self-esteem. Fat Activism seeks to educate the public by providing positive images of fat people and deconstructing the myth that fat people are necessarily lazy, stupid, ugly, unhappy, asexual and don't/can't dance.

Join members of the Fat Femme Mafia and a former member of Pretty Porky & Pissed off in a panel discussion that explores what Fat Activism is, why it exists and what it hopes to achieve. The panelists will present a brief history of their two groups and how other fat activists have carved a path for them. You will have the opportunity to engage in the discussion, ask questions and make comments.

Participants will receive a mini tool guide for doing their own body activism.

Chelsey and Liz had both been pondering fat activim for quite sometime before meeting and founding the Fat Femme Mafia in Toronto about a year ago – they've been in full force ever since, performing at Pride Toronto and appearing on MTV. Zoe is a Toronto based author and performer and longtime member of the now defunct Pretty Porky & Pissed Off, a performance art activist troupe dedicated to Fat Activism appeared on Book TV, Bravo, Media Television, CBC TV, and MuchMusic before disbanding in 2005. Zoe has performed all over Canada and in New York City with PPPO at caberets, theatres, and festivals and has facilitated workshops for teens and young activists about fat acceptance and fat phobia.