Just one week to go until Sugar & Spice!
Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th March

Sugar & Spice is The Lesbian & Gay Foundation's annual celebration of International Women's Day for lesbian and bisexual women. This FREE festival features workshops, discussions, socialising, wellness activities, crafts, food and lots of fun!

2014 marks the eighth year of Sugar & Spice, and this time it will take place over a whole weekend. The theme for this year's Sugar & Spice is 'Make Love Not War', which ties in with Manchester's International Women's Day theme - 'Women as Peacemakers'. We'll be celebrating the love of the lesbian and bisexual women's community and also exploring the things we still need to fight for. 

Activities we have lined up include: kickboxing...LGBT history walk...recycled crafts...community leadership...yoga...screenprinting...how to have the sex you want...swimming...massages...cupcake decorating...parenting workshop...discussion...bike ride...song writing...music...movies...and free food!

Sugar & Spice is free and you don't have to book to come along but this year we are allowing people to pre-book places for some of the workshops and activities. We are advising you to do this if there are specific activities you'd like to take part in, as places are strictly limited. Pre-booking is completely free. Go to www.lgf.org.uk/sugarandspice to see the full line-up and reserve your places.

Sugar & Spice 8: Make Love Not War takes place on Sat 8th March 12-6pm & Sun 9th March 11am-4pm at The Lesbian & Gay Foundation, Number 5 Richmond Street, Manchester M1 3HF. This is a free event, open to anyone who self-identifies as a lesbian or bisexual woman, but some activities do need to be pre-booked. Go to www.lgf.org.uk/sugarandspice for more details. 

Tell us what you think & what you want!
Win £50 shopping vouchers

We want to hear from YOU! We're carrying out a survey to help us develop our services and events for lesbian and bisexual women, and also to find out a little about what women want and how they find out about events and activities.

Whether you've never been to The LGF or attended our events lots of times, we want to hear from you. In fact, we just want to hear from as many lesbian and bisexual women as possible, so we can build a picture of what our community wants and needs.

As a 'thank-you', everyone who completes our survey will be entered into a free prize draw to win a £50 shopping voucher. The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. Click here to take the survey now.

The Vagina Monologues
Fri 7th & Sun 9th March 

Volunteers from The LGF are producing and directing a production of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and raise money to support not only our work, but the international  One Billion Rising campaign.

The Vagina Monologues covers everything from hair, periods and mutilation to orgasms, sex and abuse. As a female viewer it will leave you feeling empowered and as a male viewer you’ll be left feeling in awe!

Performances will be held on Friday 7th March at 9.30pm and Sunday 9th March at 7:30pm at Eden Bar, 3 Brazil Street, Manchester, M1 3PJ. Tickets are £8 (£6 concessions). All funds are donated to The LGF and V-Day. Tickets can be bought from The LGF, Eden Bar and online by clicking here (booking fee of 10% applies for online sales). Both performances will be BSL interpreted.

Rapture Unplugged - Sugar & Spice after-party
Sat 8th March 7pm

Celebrate International Women's Day in association with The LGF's Sugar & Spice event, with a bespoke evening of entertainment downstairs at Taurus bar on Canal Street from 7pm until at 1am.

The fab folks behind Rapture Club Night are putting on a one-off Rapture Unplugged event. Expect words from Steph Pike, live female vocals from Kelly Blue and Rachel Whatever and records from DJ Hazel, with a chilled out, acoustic vibe. The DJ set will celebrate fabulous female artists played in vinyl form as much as possible to further appreciate the glory - feel free to bring some of your vinyl to be played!

Tickets for this intimate event are strictly limited and will sell out! Book yours now by clicking here. Tickets are £5.50 each. 

Happy Hands! An intro to British Sign Language
Sat 15th March 2-5pm

Spend an informal and fun afternoon learning the basics of how to communicate in British Sign Language. Our 'Happy Hands' workshop will teach you how to introduce yourself and how to fingerspell, as well as a few other important words and phrases.

Happy Hands takes place on Sat 15th March from 2-5pm at The LGF. Book your place now by emailing women@lgf.org.uk. This workshop is FREE and is open to anyone who self-identifies as a bisexual or lesbian woman.

Happy Hands is one of The LGF's monthly skills-based workshops for lesbian and bisexual women. Other forthcoming sessions:
Sat 12th April 2-5pm -  Eggcellent Egg Decorating
Sat 18th May 2-5pm - Build you own app

Email women@lgf.org.uk to reserve your place on any of these workshops.

Celebrate International Women's Day in Manchester

International Women's Day (IWD) was first celebrated in 1911 as a day to recognise women's role and achievements and to highlight the continued struggle for equal rights. In some countries International Women’s Day, every 8 March, is an official holiday.

Although it's not an official holiday in the UK, there are events taking place in Manchester throughout March to celebrate International Women's Day. You can download a brochure of events by going to Manchester City Council's International Women's Day webpage.

Not included in the brochure, but one of the local highlights in our opinion is 
The Lesbian Immigration Support Group's spoken word, comedy and poetry event on Tue 4th March 7pm at Three Minute Theatre. Click here for more info.

We also love the Warp and Weft 'Stature' exhibition, which is on until 9th March in Manchester Town Hall and features, amongst other amazing women, Esther Roper, an early social justice and LGBT campaigner. 

Do you know an inspiring woman?

Nominations are now open for the Inspiring Women Awards, which celebrate amazing women from across the North West. To nominate someone who inspires you click here.

This month we love...Ellen Page

We were inspired this month by Hollywood actress Ellen Page, who came out as a lesbian. It wasn't just the fact that she came out (although we salute her bravery for doing so) it was also her mode of coming out: in a speech at a charity event for LGBT youth. She told the audience, "I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain."

If you haven't already seen her inspirational speech, you can watch it here. 

The following is a list of events/activities in and around Greater Manchester which are for or of particular interest to lesbian and bisexual women. Unless otherwise stated, these events are not associated with the LGF and event organisers should be contacted directly for further information – follow the hyperlinked text to find out more. If you’d like to see an event or activity listed here in the future please email details to women@lgf.org.uk.

Ongoing until Sun 9th March Stature Exhibition at Manchester Town Hall
Tue 4th March 1pm Bloomers Older Women's Group at The LGF
Tue 4th March 7pm Lesbian Immigration Support Group IWD Celebration at Three Minute Theatre
Tue 4th March 7pm Slam Dunkin' Divas women's basketball training at Loreto High School, Chorlton
Tue 4th March 7.30pm Biphoria at The LGF
Tue 4th March 7.30pm Carousel at The LGF
Wed 5th March 6.45pm Manchester Stingers women’s football training at Trinity Sports Centre
Wed 5th March 8pm Northern Wave women’s swimming session at Chorlton Leisure Centre 
Fri 7th March 9.30pm The Vagina Monologues at Eden Bar
Sat 8th March 12pm Sugar & Spice 8 at The LGF
Sat 8th March 7pm Rapture Unplugged at Taurus Bar
Sun 9th March 11am Sugar & Spice 8 at The LGF
Sun 9th March 7.30pm Sugar & Spice Women's Swimming at Manchester Aquatics Centre
Sun 9th March 7.30pm The Vagina Monologues at Eden Bar
Mon 10th March 7pm Art Class at The LGF
Tue 11th March 6pm Legal Advice Surgery at The LGF
Tue 11th March 7pm Slam Dunkin' Divas women's basketball training at Loreto High School, Chorlton
Tue 11th March 7.30pm Stepping Stones at The LGF
Wed 12th March 6.45pm Manchester Stingers women’s football training at Trinity Sports Centre
Wed 12th March 8pm Northern Wave women’s swimming session at Chorlton Leisure Centre 
Thu 13th March 7pm Rainbow Noir group for queer people of colour at Joyce Layland LGBT Centre.
Sat 15th March 2pm Happy Hands! BSL Workshop at The LGF
Sun 16th March 11am Story Cycles: Glad the Gloom: Esther Roper and Eva Gore-Booth in Salford and Manchester A bike ride exploring the lives of a lesbian couple who played a major role in Trade Union and Women’s Right movements in the late 1800s. Meet at the Gallery of Costume, free but booking essential on 07828 466 999 (distance approx. 16 miles; bring your own bike).
Mon 17th March 6pm LGBT Reading Group: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin at The Molly House
Tue 18th March 1pm Bloomers Older Women's Group at The LGF
Tue 18th March 7pm Slam Dunkin' Divas women's basketball training at Loreto High School, Chorlton
Tue 18th March 7.30pm Carousel at The LGF
Wed 19th March 6.45pm Manchester Stingers women’s football training at Trinity Sports Centre
Wed 19th March 8pm Northern Wave women’s swimming session at Chorlton Leisure Centre 
Sun 23rd March 4pm SM Dykes Play Party in East Manchester
Mon 24th March 7pm Art Class at The LGF
Tue 25th March 7pm Slam Dunkin' Divas women's basketball training at Loreto High School, Chorlton
Tue 25th March 7.30pm Stepping Stones at The LGF
Wed 26th March 6.45pm Manchester Stingers women’s football training at Trinity Sports Centre
Wed 26th March 8pm Northern Wave women’s swimming session at Chorlton Leisure Centre 
Thu 27th March 7pm Rainbow Noir group for queer people of colour at Joyce Layland LGBT Centre
Sun 30th March 8pm Laughing Cows Comedy Club with Aisling Bea, Ms B Haver, Madge Hooks & Hayley Ellis at the Frog & Bucket.


Have we missed something? We're so sorry! We always want to know about events for and of interest to lesbian and bisexual women. Email details to women@lgf.org.uk. 

Find out more about what the Lesbian & Gay Foundation has to offer for women – visit the ‘LGF ❤ Girls’ section of our website: http://www.lgf.org.uk/women.