Monday, March 7, 2022

Meet and Celebrate the Women of Venice at The Venice West!

Tomorrow is International Women's Day (but isn't it every day, really?), and March is Women's History Month. Thus, it's high time we officially celebrate the badass women of Venice with a proper gathering. When I zoomed into town last October for the world premiere of our film UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality, it was such a quick trip that I didn't get to see all of my favorites, so for my last night I just asked a bunch of ladies to meet me, as I didn't have time to see everyone separately. It was jaw dropping that some of the best of the best Venice ladies had never met each other before, because real Venice isn't all that big. One of the great ones, Kaycee Smith, was there that night, and it planted a seed that is sprouting right now, with an event this Wednesday, March 9th at The Venice West! 

So many Venice women are doing so many cool things and running so many unique and creative businesses, so this shindig is to introduce you all to each other and realize the massive power behind women supporting other women ... plus it will be super fun, with a happy hour mixer from 5-8 pm (bring those biz cards!), and a night of music from 8-12 with an all-female lineup. Aloha Radio kick off the music at 8 pm, followed by Kat HallBeebs (with her backing band made up of basically Fishbone), and my special homegirl Lacey Kay (who was also there that autumn night) and The Calamity will wrap up this excellent night of lady jams. I mean, Get DOWN! The evening will be emceed by Megan Holiday from KROQ, (who herself has been super active in supporting others in their addictions), and House of Jupiter (PR Firm) and Flying Embers (kombucha!)  and the great Beachlife Festival are helping out with sponsorships.

"When women are nice to each other, we can get so much done," explained Smith when telling me about the thinking behind this event. "I know a lot of badass women, and I wouldn't be where I'm at in my life without the help of other women." I would wager that's true for just about everyone. These have been hard times the last couple of years, and many have been isolated and lonely. There may be new transplants that have moved into town during the pandemic and haven't been able to meet the incredible women of the Venice Community yet. Well, this is your chance - and even if you've been in Venice all of your life, I promise that there's some real gems that you still don't know. 

Aside from the music, fun, and promise of meeting fantastic women, there will be live painting by Jen LaVita and Erica Lane reading her poetry. The first 20 gals in attendance will get a swag bag and there will also be new headshots taken for the first 20 ladies to finally update their Linked In pages with! Incentive to get their on the early side, for sure. 

The hope is that this mixer will be such a soaring success that the ladies will take over The Venice West for quarterly nights like these, and the always local Westside Wednesdays will feature all female bands for the entire Women's History Month of March. That, plus the mix and match happy hour (cocktail and an appetizer for $15!) make this the spot I know I'd be this month if I could be. But I can't be, because I'm still in Minnesota supporting women (my Mom). It pains me that I can't be at this first mixer with all my fun female Venice friends, but I know that a community of women supporting, inspiring, encouraging, networking, and even finding jobs for each other can only make Venice - and the entire world - even cooler. 

Have a blast, Ladies, and I'll hope to catch you at the next one! (Oh, and guys can come too ... just know that the night is all about Wonder Women).


The Venice West 

1717 Lincoln Blvd. 

Venice