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Night Howl
By Karen Reardanz

Angela Dawn Homemakers 2001: On Dec. 3, Winter Girl Fest taps the talent of these thoroughly modern women for a Kuumbwa show that covers all the basics--everything from folk rock to juggling. Grrrls Night Out: The local ladies of rock, spoken word and, of course, juggling, usher in the winter months with a talent free-for-all at Kuumbwa ONE THING THE SANTA CRUZ ARTS SCENE definitely has going for it is a strong network of women. So strong, in fact, that it seems like a collective of local women performers pops up about every other month to showcase its talent. This month's contribution to this estrogen-infused alliance is the Winter Girl Fest produced by Shane Star Productions. Organized by a core group of dedicated volunteers and led by event-funder Shani Heckman, this fest has all the ingredients one would expect from a local female extravaganza. Herland employee, former It Girl member and comedic gem Vnes supplies the intermission entertainment and keeps the whole night running smoothly as emcee-ess of the evening's festivities. Bitter Plumb is the fest's featured band, a folk-rock combo that some say bears a striking sonic resemblance to the Indigo Girls. The solo acts begin with Jericho Star's Tacy Traverso, Molly Fleming and her Indigo Girl covers, and Sohaila Zanjani performing her own riot grrrl material and taking the stage on her own and with Jessica Rose, who's giving everyone a sneak peek at tunes from her upcoming album. Diane Patterson rounds out the line-up, making her way down from Davis on a folk-rock, jazzy beat. And no Surf City festival would ever be complete without a little spoken word. Melissa Banales, RAE, Debra Fay Holton and Sista Snatch (who comes away with the best darn name of the show) address issues of race, gender and sexual orientation in their own special lyrical sort of way. Topping off the whole Girl Fest is Iman Lizarazu with a show-stopping juggling performance, as seen in this year's "A Gay Evening in May" and "Women's Cabaret." Organizer Heckman is gunning to make the Winter Girl Fest a multi-seasonal event, hoping to get one together on a quarterly basis to showcase all the burgeoning and established talent this area has to offer. This one will be on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at 7:30pm at Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St, SC. Tickets cost $7/$5. For more info, call 476-2455. Home for the Holidays Ahh, nothing like the holiday season. A time of tradition--dysfunctional families, overeating and frantically wrestling other shoppers for that special gift. Papier-Mache Press pays tribute to the festivities with its new anthology, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays. Four local authors featured in the book--Melissa Milich, Karen Ackland, Linda Ann Ford and Bernice Rendrick--will be on hand to read their tales of seasonal cheer. This National Writers' Union and Cultural Council event will be held on Tuesday (8pm) at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, SC. They request a $3 donation. For more info, call 423-0900. Mary Spicuzza FutureThink Atelier will be transformed into the Green Lounge on Monday, as Bo and Friends practice the art of disc jockeying. ... Folk-poppers Dogwood Moon play Mobo Sushi on Dec. 4. ... Dresden plays Kuumbwa on Dec. 5. [ Metro Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]