Celebrating women: what they do and who they are: every day!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 – The Review

VANKLEEK HILL – What better way to promote an event produced by and for women, than to put 20 local women in the limelight? In the early fall of 2010, local freelance photographer Marie-Noël Shank had precisely this idea. Having worked in communications and marketing most of her professional life, Marie-Noël, now busy raising her 2 1/2-year-old Maya, can’t stop the creative ideas from sprouting.
She jokes, “It’s a habit . . . I look around me all the time and think ‘How could this be communicated more clearly, more effectively? Is this saying what it needs to say?’ I’ve always been a thinker, an idea person, a creative type.” She mused on the event title (Yes, Women Can!) off and on for a few months imagining how she would go about advertising it, if the organizers were to approach her as a client. “One morning, I woke up with the whole idea in my head: I thought, sure, women can, we do!—a lot of things, anything and everything, every day! We keep things moving and running smoothly in our families, our businesses, our communities, our relationships, etc. with lots of commitment and passion—I wanted to show this as best I could because to me, this is what this event is all about.”
So she “pitched” the idea to Yes, Women Can Chair Louise Sproule, who was taken with it immediately. (Yes, Women Can! takes place on Sunday, April 17 at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre and is a day-long event featuring exhibitors, demonstrations, speakers and more for women. The focus of the event is learning and improving quality of life for women as they meet other women in business, the arts, alternative health, fitness and entertainment. )
Sproule confirms that she, took, had been thinking about a photograph to represent the women’s event.
“I had been thinking along the same lines, but had thought of having a diverse group of women in one big photo. Marie-Noël’s idea seemed like the perfect fit,” says Sproule.
The idea that emerged was to show many different local women, of all ages, of all walks of life, of all types of interests and backgrounds, by capturing some warm and very real “human” portraits (as opposed to made-up, touched-up artificial-looking images or models).
Twenty women were chosen according to some key ideas Shank and Sproule wanted to highlight: empowerment, positive living, passion, authenticity, femininity, strength and humour. With all this in mind, Shank set out, camera and tripod in tow, to photograph each woman, on location: “I was blown away by these women. They shared their passions with such great enthusiasm, loads of pride and generosity.” She notes that many of them jumped at the opportunity to participate because it served an event for women and they believed in that quite strongly. Shank recalls leaving a first phone message to one of the women, telling her generally about the idea and getting this voice-mail in return: “I don’t know exactly what this project is but it sounds worthwhile & interesting. Count me in! I can’t wait to hear more from you!” This later became a common occurrence.
There were some funny anecdotes along the way, Shank recollects, like the shoot she did with Isabelle Perdigal of Bonne Mine Farm and her llamas and alpacas. “The females were in heat and were separated from the males. Even if they were far apart, I had to make sure not to get between them or too close to them, which was difficult, in order to get the perfect photograph. Then, out of nowhere, this large, 6-feet-plus llama came way too close for my comfort!! You could feel a ‘tense’ energy in the animals; it was pretty wild. So long as Isabelle kept feeding them, I was okay, but I still had to work pretty fast!” Marie-Noël says that she has a new-found respect for the very hardworking, entrepreneurial women in the area: “I remember mucking around in the semi-frozen fields of Julie Anderson’s dairy farm, before sunrise, on a very chilly November morning, thinking to myself ‘You have to love what you do to be out here at this time, every day, month after month, rain or shine!’ It’s obvious she does enjoy it, and I hope I managed to capture some of that joy and pride with my lens—with Julie and all the other women.”
The 20 Yes, Women Can! women represent many interests and endeavours: horse training, choir singing, pastry-making, ministering the faith, lifeguarding, farming, volunteer fire fighting, quilting, veterinarian care and marathon running, to name but a few.
“It was important for me to photograph them in their element, to give a glimpse into their world, what makes them ‘tick’. I had so much fun zigzagging across our area taking all these pictures! I feel blessed and honoured to have met such remarkable, humorous, “real” and honest women. They really can — and do it all!”
It is of note that all 20 women participated voluntarily by giving their time and image freely to promote the 2011 edition of Yes, Women Can! The event organizers extend extend their sincere thanks and best wishes to all of them.
The photo montage on the front of the magazine cover will be used for the Yes, Women Can! goodie bags, which every ticket-holder will receive on April 17, notes Sproule. The montage is also on directional signs to be posted in town for the day of the event.
Organized by The Review, the 2011 edition of Yes, Women Can! will raise $5,000 for five $1,000 scholarships — one scholarship for a young woman graduating from each of five local high schools. In 2009, the event raised $5,000 for the Mill Street Park splash pad.
“I am really pleased about how our event has expanded from the first one in 2009. This year, we have 12 select artisans, a mini food court and we have doubled the number of presentations,” Sproule said.
Advance tickets are a must for this event.
Visit the website to see ticket sale locations or to buy tickets online. The entire schedule of speakers, presentations and the event floor plans are also online., along with information about exhibitors as well as the bursary application forms for students.
If you purchase your advance ticket before March 31, you could win one of several earlybird prizes. Visit the website for the list of prizes to be won.