A festive crowd picnicked, danced and celebrated in Castlemaine’s Botanical Gardens to mark International Women’s Day on Friday.
The event featured a lineup of live music acts and raised more than $500 for a literacy and life-enrichment program run by the Friends of Castlemaine Library for local prisoners at Tarrengower women’s prison in Maldon.
“You’re going to make a lot of people happy,” event organiser and musician Kavisha Mazzella told the crowd as the donations were tallied.
“The women’s literacy program is the kind of project that ripples out.”
The global annual event acknowledges the achievements of women around the world and the Castlemaine celebration roamed over a fair bit of territory including a potted history of women’s voting rights in Australia and a climate change flag ceremony.
Live music on the program included the women’s anthem Love and Justice and Song for Peace while a couple of Mazzella’s numbers included a moving ode to her own mother who passed away last year – “we have our ego battles with our mums but as we get older we start to appreciate,” the musician said.
She also sang a song paying homage to champion Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne – which went down particularly well with the local crowd that included quite a few men who were clearly enjoying the opportunity to celebrate alongside the women in their lives.
Among those enjoying the live entertainment and picnic atmosphere, Castlemaine local Mary Hassall had more than one reason for celebration.
“It’s also my birthday so it’s always a celebration – and I don’t have to organise it!” Mary said.
