BOLD: Bold, Old(er) Lesbians & Dykes
4TH Annual Westcoast Conference
Vancouver, BC
Sept 4-7, 2008
Lesbians of all ages welcomed!

BOLD 08 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Note: BOLD organizers reserve the right to make changes to this schedule, if deemed necessary. Every effort will be made to notify registrants beforehand. Please check this website regularly for updates.

WORKSHOPS:
All Day Friday and Saturday morning. Workshops will be held on the 2nd and 7th Conference floors which are accessible, including bathrooms. Following are some of this year’s lineup of workshops. Visit this site for more updates:

FRIDAY MORNING WORKSHOPS Workshops 9:30 - 11:30 AM

"HOW'S YOUR BRAIN WORKING THESE DAYS???"
Brain Gym for Mind/Body Fitness
Presenter: Lori Wall

Sharpen your mental muscle; experience the joy of easy-to-do playful movement-based activities from the field of Educational Kinesiology. Learn about the mind-body connection in relation to how we process information, affecting our perceptions, thinking, memory, moods and relationships.
Lori Wall is a Licensed Brain Gym®Instructor with a University Counseling Certificate for Working with Adults on Issues of Aging and Mid-life. She teaches workshops on mental fitness for adults/seniors, consults and develops learning programs for individuals of all ages and abilities.

OPENING TO THE MUSE: Creative writing workshop with FERRON**
This workshop will be repeated on Friday afternoon

A series of speed writing exercises that helps us jump into our creative mind. Usually a piece of writing comes out of it... Ferron is a creative spirit: a poet, storyteller, performer, and muse. This will be a great opportunity to hang out with Ferron and find your inner muse. When she isn't writing or performing, Ferron has been creating magical retreats for women in Michigan in a place called "The Fen". Says one participant: "I found Ferron has a marvelous gift for teaching poetry and making a place where creating is the goal and perfection does not hold us back. Although I see myself more as a visual artist, I have the urge to write."
**Workshop limited to 30 women. Sign up at Thursday evening reception.

Presenter: Liliana Kleiner

What is Lesbian Culture in the 21st century? Are we just part of the larger groups identified as "GAY Culture " and/ or "FEMINIST Culture"? What does it mean today to be a "lesbian"? The workshop will briefly review lesbian culture in past and present times, from social-political- artistic and spiritual angles, and discuss the possibility of an integrative view of lesbian culture for the future.

Liliana Kleiner: Feminist lesbian artist, teacher and therapist; taught in Women's Studies in Montreal; Dream Analyst-therapist. Creator and Director of an alternative Tango school in Victoria BC. Filmmaker, performer. Creator of art books and shows in North America, Latin America and Israel. www.lilianakleiner.com.

"ANY TEMPORARILY ABLE-BODIED WOMEN HERE?"
Presenters: Chris Morrissey and Donnelly

Join this workshop that values the voices of womyn living with chronic health conditions and disabilities. Participate (or not) in an issue-oriented activity designed to build trust and understanding of what it is like to live life with chronic pain, illness and disability.

Chris Morrissey works for the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual (LGTB) Centre with the Generations Project. She volunteers with LEGIT, Canadian Immigration for same-sex partners and the Rainbow Refugee Committee.

Donnelly (Donna Lee) is a 58 year old, single, ably challenged, Queer lesbian tomgrrl, singer, songwriter, past activist, trauma therapist, and grandmother.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

OPENING TO THE MUSE: Creative Writing Workshop with FERRON**
This is a repeat of Ferron's Friday morning workshop and is open to new women
**Ferron's workshop is limited to 30 women. Sign up at Thursday evening reception.

NEVER TO OLD TO FLIRT: Flirting Skills for Everyone
Facilitator: Val Wilkins, Vancouver

Flirting isn't just for the young, single or the sexually bold. Come and discover how to use flirting to bring more fun into friendships, relationships and everyday interactions. Singles and Couples welcomed.

Val Wilkins is a Psychotherapist and a longtime flirter in her personal life. As a Therapist with many years of experience she believes in the importance of healthy relationships and in the expression of healthy sexuality.

CAREGIVING IN THE LESBIAN COMMUNITY
Presenter: Judy Capes

As we age we are more likely to be actively involved in caregiving - for our partners, parents and friends. Many questions arise: How do we maintain our own health and well being; how do we still have a life? How do we communicate with those we are caring for? Each person's situation is unique. One answer doesn't fit all. Come to this workshop for answers, support, and understanding.

Judy Capes is a trained counsellor, specializing in grief and loss, and working with older people. She's experienced in the ways women cope in a variety of situations.

"LOVING THE DIFFICULT": A Discussion of Jane Rule
Presenter: Janice Stewart

In this workshop we will talk about Jane Rule's legacy to public life and to us personally as a community. Jane's work helped to shape a generation of lesbians both with her powerful novels but also in her political activism. We will explore some of these spaces with each other by talking about our experiences and looking closely at some of the contributions that Jane Rule's work has made.

Janice Stewart has a PhD from McGill University in English. She teaches in UBC's English Department, the Women and Gender Studies program. Janice is the Chair of Critical Studies in Sexuality program at UBC. Her interests include critical theory, gender theory, anti-racist work as well an interest in Modernist writers such as Virginia Woolf, Emily Carr and Jane Rule.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS 4:30 - 5:30 pm

ARGENTINE TANGO LESSON WITH Liliana Kleiner
(sign up on Thursday evening)

Liliana is an accomplished dancer and instructor in Argentine Tango, founder and director of the first Argentine Tango School in BC, director and performer in the multi-media show, "Lesbian Tango", with Constance Cooke and Mirreille Painchaudin Victoria BC, producer/director of "Tango d' Amour" a 16 mm. black and while film screened in numerous events in Montreal PQ, BC and beyond.

Visit www.lilianakleiner.com to learn more about Liliana's background into this intriguing and sensual dance.

FRIDAY EVENING PRESENTATION 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

THE UNIVERSE PROVIDES: ALICE WALKER, JANE RULE AND THE ART OF BIOGRAPHY.
Presenter: Evelyn C. White
Introduction: Nadine Chambers

Evelyn C. White will discuss her ten-year journey as the official biographer of Alice Walker and the support she received from the pioneering lesbian author/activist Jane Rule (1931-2007). Author of the acclaimed biography Alice Walker: A Life and Chain, Chain Change: For Black Women in Abusive Relationships, Ms. White has published articles, essays and reviews in many major publications, including Ms. Magazine.

SATURDAY MORNING WORKSHOPS 9:30 am - 10:30 am

This workshop will explore our sexuality as older lesbians. We will discuss libido. Does it change or just get lazy? There will be tips on spicing up our sex lives. Remember, sex is good for our longevity not to mention our disposition.

Ruth is neither an academic sexologist nor an expert in gerontology. She has no degrees in female mating rituals nor particular medical expertise. She is an aging enthusiast and who better to give sexuality workshops???

OWLS & QUIRK-E: Innovative arts/activist research for/by older lesbians
Presenter: Claire Robson

People who are old are often seen as cozy and safe, or not seen at all. People who are queer are often seen as countercultural and perverse. Claire Robson is collaborating with two groups to see how these stereotypes can be challenged by collective creative processes, and working towards her doctorate at the University of British Columbia. Quirk-e, the queer imaging & riting kollective for elders, meets weekly to make art and perform it to the public. Owls is a group comprised primarily of old lesbians, who engage in reading, writing, and discussion. She hopes that this activist, arts-based research will both throw some light on how we create and recreate identity, and help normalize the experience of both the participants and herself. In this session, she will talk plainly about this work and show some examples. She will be joined by current members of the two groups.

Claire Robson is a writer, a community arts researcher, a primary lesbian, and a clumsily intrepid seeker of truth. She is also a doctoral student at UBC, a latent gardener, a runner, and a hunter. Though she believes in comedic disruption of the status quo, she also sees the importance of Organization. As a Libran, she struggles to achieve balance on a daily basis.

BLOGGING AND SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS MADE SIMPLE**

Presenter:

Mary Bryson, Adventures in Deconstruction
brys.wordpress.com

Presenter:

Spike Harris

In this hands-on workshop, learn how to create a blog, upload images, find lesbian blogs and social networks, and access the L-Word virtually, in Second Life. Bring your own laptop with wireless Internet capability, or use one of ours - with advance notice.

**Workshop limited to 10 participants. Sign up at Thursday evening reception.

COMPLEMENTARY /ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Presenter: Charoula Dontopoulos, BA RPP, CPE. Ohio

Charoula's main focus is women's health issues and cancer care and prevention through helping clients improve their immune system. She offers workshops on wellness, self-help and herbal therapies, both in Columbus and on her farm in South Central Ohio.

Charoula is a Registered Polarity Practitioner and teacher at the Ohio Institute for Energetic Studies, a certified herbalist and an organic gardener. As well, Charoula has extensive knowledge and understanding of ancient Goddess cultures from a feminist perspective. She leads women's Goddess Journeys to Greece and Turkey, on her own and with Pat Hogan of Sounds and Furies.

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