Sessions • Festival Schedule • Community Agreements •Community Altar • Professional Development Credit • EEDCC Home
Join us for a day of innovative and creative approaches to education practices inspired by the wisdom and courage of women’s voices, work, labor and art. Participate in workshops and interactive art; enjoy a meal with your community, and examine your gender-based beliefs.
SESSIONS
Opening Session
10:00 AM • PAC Courtyard
Join us for an engaging and empowering opening session where participants will gather into small groups to share stories, reflections, and experiences. This interactive session honors the diversity of women’s journeys and fosters connection, understanding, and collective inspiration to set the tone for the festival. Together, we’ll set the tone for a day of discovery, celebration, and community. .
45 Minute Sessions
Suspending Assumptions and Cultivating Connectedness • Wendy Corbin
11:00 AM & 11:50 AM • [Dance Studio]
Collective self-reflection, learning, and vision that is focused on building an inclusive social justice focused community. The goal is to create a web of connections to facilitate continuous learning and support that revolves around an inclusive shared vision.
Using the Arts for Releasing and Moving Through the “Funky” Areas of Our Lives • Kellie Davis & Rising Scholars
11:00 AM & 11:50 AM • [Studio Theatre]
Join us for an engaging workshop where students and staff from the Rising Scholars program, dedicated to supporting currently and formerly incarcerated students, will explore their transformative journeys through the arts. Participants will reflect on their past experiences and present realities, highlighting the power of artistic expression to amplify their voices and foster community unity.
Since its inception, the Rising Scholars program has experienced remarkable growth, organically quadrupling in size since 2020. True to the program’s ethos, this workshop will prioritize student voices and encourage open dialogue among attendees to collaboratively enhance our understanding of the role of the arts in personal and communal development.
We invite you to be part of this enriching experience, and together we can discover how the arts can connect us all.
Workshop Creative Writing with Bravura • Clare Rolens & Stacey Trujillo
12:40 PM • Howard Brubeck Theatre Stage
Join the faculty advisors of Bravura, Palomar’s award-winning literary journal, for a creative writing workshop focused on support and communication. Creative writing can help you connect in a meaningful way with others, but it can also help you learn about yourself. For this workshop, we encourage you to bring your own piece of writing to share, but you can also join us to be a part of the process!
70 Minute Sessions
Colibrí Writers Presents: Storytelling + Bilingual Voices • Moderator: Angelica M. Yanez, Presenters: Gracie Azua and Raquel Reyes-Lopez
11:00 AM – 12:10 PM (One session only) • D6
In this discussion and poetry reading we celebrate the power of storytelling, the beauty of bilingual poetry, and the necessity of centering the voices of Women of Color. This event honors the complexity of code-switching as a cultural survival tool, a creative act, and a linguistic dance many of us perform daily. Together, we’ll explore how these themes emerge in poetry and storytelling, grounding ourselves in the experiences of Women of Color.
Colibrí Writers is a collective of Latine, Chicanx and Indigenous educators, storytellers, cultural workers, ARTivists, published authors and art curators that aim to create spaces that honor multilingual artistic expression, community building, mentorship and shared resources in performance and publishing to uplift and inspire San Diego BIPOC Voices.
Freedom Dreaming 101 • Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger
12:15 PM – 1:25 PM (One session only) • D6
Poet and educator Lucille Clifton said, “We cannot create what we cannot imagine.” In order to live and lead for liberation, we must create space for dream design that translates to meaningful transformation for our students, our schools, our communities, and ourselves. When we root our imagination in love and justice, we increase the possibilities for collaborative action, loving accountability, and lasting freedom. In this workshop you will explore how to liberate your body, mind, and education community. Come as you are, stay open to discovery so we can get and stay FREE!
ACTIVITIES
All day long there will be music, snacks, beverages and unstructured activities for connecting with each other, so we encourage you to go with the flow!
Courtyard Gathering Place
Enjoy some unstructured time in our community courtyard! Beverages, snacks and music all day long. Meet new people and connect with some you already know. Share your experiences, thoughts and ideas. Sontaneous drum circles may happen at any time.
Community Art Project • HBT Circle
Offerings also known as “altars” are a sacred indigenous practice with a long-standing history in what we call Mexico and Central America today. The practice of altar-making is a way to honor loved ones and is part of the indigenous tradition Miccailhuitl or “Day of the Dead.” Altars typically contain items that represent the four directions (North, East, South, and West) and reflect the elements of air, fire, water, and earth.
Join us in building our own community altar as a way to honor women who have inspired and influenced us. We invite you to add to our community altar throughout the day with memories, tissue paper marigolds, or objects that celebrate the women who have made a positive impact in our lives such as the women activists and educators that have guided us in our academic journey.
Vibe Space: A Living Survey
A creative space to explore and express your lived experiences. Add your thoughts to our wall of questions inspired by the theme of the conference. Enjoy the vibe of a free flowing creative space.
Lunch & A Show
1:30 PM – 2:25 PM • PAC Courtyard
Enjoy some delicious food prepared by Frida’s Taqueria accompanied by Palomar Student Performers: Drag Queens Thalia Void & Friends; Ballet Folklorico [add student names]; and “Savage Daughters” choreographed by Patriceann Mead to the song by [get info on song and dancers from Patricanne.
After Lunch, a Movie
The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM • Film Showing & Discussion • Performance Lab D-10
The M Factor is a film shredding the last taboo and shame cycle for women in menopause. 55 million women in the United States are currently experiencing menopause. The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause explores the hidden impact of menopause on women’s lives. With evidence-based information, the film empowers women to make informed health decisions and aims to remove the stigma surrounding menopause and aging. A silent epidemic affects millions of American women, resulting in billions in lost wages, upended careers, family disruptions, and emotional chaos. “The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause” confronts the neglected menopause crisis, challenging societal and medical shortcomings, and advocating for a revolutionary approach to women’s health in America where she’s prepared for midlife.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
- 10:00 – 10:55 • Opening Session • Story Circles • Performing Arts Complex Courtyard
- 11:00 – 12:10 • Colibrí Writers Presents: Storytelling + Bilingual Voices • D6
- 11:00 – 11:45• Using the Arts for Releasing and Moving Through the “Funky” Areas of Our Lives • Kellie Davis & Rising Scholars • Studio Theatre
- 11:50 – 12:35 • Suspending Assumptions and Cultivating Connectedness • Wendy Corbin • Dance Studio
- 11:50 – 12:35 • Workshop Creative Writing with Bravura • Clare Rolens & Stacey Trujillo • Howard Brubeck Theatre On Stage
- 12:15 – 1:25 • Freedom Dreaming 101 • Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger • D6
- 12:40 – 1:25 • Suspending Assumptions and Cultivating Connectedness • Wendy Corbin • Dance Studio
- 12:40 – 1:25 • Using the Arts for Releasing and Moving Through the “Funky” Areas of Our Lives • Kellie Davis & Rising Scholars • Studio Theatre
- 1:30 – 2:25 • Lunch & A Show • Featuring Modern Dance & Drag Queens
- 2:30 – 4:00 • The [M] Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopaus • Film Showing (50 min.) followed by discussion • Performance Lab D-10
COMMUNITY ALTAR INSTRUCTIONS
Throughout the day we will be creating our own community altar as a way to honor women who have inspired and influenced us.
We invite you to bring items from home that represent and celebrate the women who have made a positive impact in our lives such as the women activists and educators that have guided us in our academic journey. This is your community altar, so any thing that has meaning for you in relation to our theme will be welcomed. (Please be considerate of our community agreements when choosing your contribution.)
You will also have materials to create items on site throughout the day. Below are some instructions that could be useful:
Clay Skull Instructions
- Roll the clay into a ball about the size of a baseball.
- Gently squeeze the sides of the ball to make cheekbones. Press your thumbs into the ball to make eye sockets.
- Carve out details using a toothpick: an upside-down V for the nostrils and lines to make the teeth.
- Set it aside to dry. Air dry clay typically takes up to 24-72 hours to dry completely.
- Once the clay is dry, you may use acrylic paint markers to color your skull.
Tissue Paper Marigolds Instructions:
- Stack 4 sheets of tissue paper
- Accordion fold the stack of tissue paper.
- Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of the paper to hold it in place. This will also act as the stem.
- Twist the pipe cleaner closed to form a stem
- Optional: you may use scissors to round off the ends or snip them to make fringe cuts or cut a small notch from each end of the flower to shape your flower’s petals before the next step.
- Pull apart one side of the accordion to form a fan.
- Gently separate the layers of tissue paper, then pull apart the other side of the accordion so start forming the flower.
- Fluff each layer of tissue paper to create the flower’s petals.
COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS
Goals:
- Broader Understanding
- Building Community
- Immediate Actions
- Solutions
Create Brave Spaces
- Stay engaged
- Be willing to be uncomfortable
- Speak your truth with compassion
- Make space for everyone to speak
- Affirm and acknowledge everyone’s contributions
Agreements for Dialogue
- Open-mindedness: Listen to and respect all points of view.
- Respect: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
- Acceptance: Suspend judgement as best you can.
- Curiosity: Seek to understand rather than persuade
- Discovery: Question assumptions, look for new insights.
- Sincerity: Speak what has personal heart and meaning.
- Brevity: Be mindful of the time and make space for everyone to share.
Language:
Language is ambiguous and often insufficient. The language we use to communicate about DEIAA and our lived experience is evolving. There is no cultural consensus for the best words to describe the categories and concepts that have been constucted by our history of colonialism and white cultural supremacy. Sometimes language can cause harm; intentional or not. Let’s be mindful and compassionate in our interactions and
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDIT
Because this event takes place over an extended time frame and each participant has different participation details we offer the use of External Training on the PD Portal to get credit for your participation
You can watch a quick tutorial on how to enter External Training by following this link (click here).
To assist you on being able to complete this method a bit quicker, you can utilize the following information for the various fields when entering your External Training:
Title (copy and paste): Social Justice Community Festival 2025
Training Description (copy and paste): Join the Palomar College Community for an inclusive, engaging, and joyous exploration that cultivates the possibilities for transforming our college for prioritizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Antiracism in our practices, mindset, and community building.
Training Date (enter the following date): 01/24/2025 to 01/24/2025
Hours & Minutes: The amount of time you spent at the Festival in Hours and Minutes
Palomar External Training (self-designed) Categories (select): ATTEND Professional Conferences, Workshops, and Educational Events
How does this training lead to student, instructional, or staff improvement? (you can either copy and paste what is presented here, or add your own narrative): This collection of Festival activities allowed me greater understanding of the DEIAA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Antiracism) efforts at the College. Throughout the course of my attendance, I was able to interact with students and colleagues as we explored the different facets of DEIAA.
TITLE 5 Category (select): Departmental or division meetings, conferences andworkshops, and institutional research.
Some of you may be new to External Training and even if you are not, do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions on how to complete your entry for Professional Development Credit for the Festival.
