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Women’s Expo seeks to empower women this weekend

Victoria Women’s Expo set for Saturday and Sunday at Pearkes Recreation Centre
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Kristin Greffard, owner and lead instructor of Sheepdog Self-Protection, will be one of the presenters, during this year’s Victoria Women’s Expo being held Saturday and Sunday at Saanich’s Pearkes Recreation Centre. Submitted

Empowerment is the theme of this year’s Victoria Women’s Expo being held Saturday and Sunday at Pearkes Recreation Centre.

The show opens Saturday at 10 a.m., closing at 5 p.m. Doors reopen Sunday at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors.

Held against the background of the feminist #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, show producer Virginia Ritchie said the show will highlight how women can take charge of their lives, regardless of their current circumstances.

“It’s not about outside looks,” she said. “It’s about what is inside.”

Organizers sought to capture this sentiment under the appeal to BeYOUtiful, and several elements of the expo will actively promote it.

They include so-called PowHER talks, panel presentations featuring women from different spheres of life who will be discussing their experiences in overcoming adversity on the way towards living fuller lives.

Perhaps the most prominent of these speakers will be Robin Farrell, a Victoria radio personality, whose presentation “Get bitter…or GET BETTER! How to lose your life and get it back again in 12 months or less” will detail her broadcasting career.

Other presenters include Jill Van Gyn, founder of FATSO Peanut Butter and writer for Eat Magazine, who will be talking about entrepreneurship, and Kristin Greffard, owner and lead instructor of Sheepdog Self-Protection, whose seminar will show women basic fundamental skills with which they will be able to fight during a physical encounter.

Other speakers, such as Dr. Kamran Forghani, an anti-aging expert, and Brad King, author of Fat Wars, will respectively offer medical and nutritional advice.

Ritchie said vendors will cover a wide range of fields. They include clothing, jewelry, exercise, nutrition and medicine, she said.

The Victoria Women’s Expo and Langford Browns Social House are proud to support the Victoria Women’s Transition House and the Cridge Centre for Families with fundraising from the coat check and snack bar.

Overall, Ritchie said she wants the show to bring the community together.

“I want everybody to feel beautiful,” she said.

Buy your Victoria Women’s Expo tickets online to save at: showpass.com/victoria-womens-expo.



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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