Banquet celebrates International Women’s Day

On Wednesday night at the Sawridge Inn in Jasper, more than 100 women and three men enjoyed a banquet while celebrating women’s achievements as part of International Women’s Day.

Guest speaker Kamia Shepherd, author of The Seventh Sister, said the novel was a result of her experiences including traveling and being without the ability to communicate with women in different parts of the world. 

“I often look at these women whose lives seem much more difficult than mine, and I wonder what stories they tell their daughters to give them strength, hope,” she said.

Shepherd read from her book, which she said is a creation myth which begins at the beginning of time and follows a reincarnating thread of female consciousness up until and past the present day. She wrote the novel because for a long time she would scour bookstores and libraries for stories about the divine feminine and never found any.

“I decided to write the book I wanted to read,” she said. The author, who grew up in Jasper, said International Women’s Day is a good opportunity to focus on and celebrate women, and hope for better lives for women internationally. “We live in a pretty fortunate society,” she said.

Attendants also watched a one-act play written by Shepherd and directed by Sonia Deleo called We’re All Daughters, about three women at different stages of their lives connected via a higher understanding.

Guests also took in a slideshow of images of women from the community that was dedicated to the memory of Barb Pugh and Patti Prowse, prominent Jasper women who passed away in the last year. 

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some countries, such as China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, the day is a national holiday. The first International Women’s Day was observed in 1911.