PORTLAND, ME — April 5, 2010 — Hardy Girls Healthy Women is celebrating Maine girls during its 3rd annual Girls Rock! Weekend, April 9-11, 2010. Girls Rock! Weekend honors girls’ voices, leadership, and activism all over the state.

The Girls Rock! Weekend will feature a special public performance of “That Takes Ovaries!” on Saturday, April 10 at the North Star Café in Portland, starting at 5PM. Based on the book by Rivka Solomon and directed by Cathy Plourde of Add Verb Productions, “That Takes Ovaries!” honors the real-life stories of women and girls who perform gutsy, outrageous, and courageous acts. Following the performance, HGHW will open the stage to audience members who wish to share their stories of daring. Tickets are $5 for adults and children attend for free.

The Girls Rock! Weekend kicks off on Friday, April 9 in Waterville at the 12th annual Girls Unlimited! Conference, Powered by Girl. Focusing on media literacy, girls’ health, future careers, and strategies for social change, the conference will feature workshops developed and presented by girls, for girls.

The 2nd annual Girls Rock! Awards will be held on Friday April 9 at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Augusta. The awards will honor five girls and one woman who are using their voices in bold and powerful ways to make Maine a better place for all girls. The Girls Rock! Awards will be presented to girls ages 12-19 who are making a difference for all girls. “We were in awe of the powerful social change these girls are making. We know that honoring them in this way will inspire other girls to take the lead as well as change attitudes about what girls are capable of doing and what they care about,” said Hardy Girls Healthy Women’s Board President, Tobi Schneider.

Hardy Girls will also honor 2010 Olympian Julia Clukey, an Augusta native on the US luge team, with the Co-Creator Award. The Co-Creator award is given annually to a young woman whose work is advancing the Hardy Girls’ vision. Commenting on why the co-creators chose Julia for the award, Hardy Girls co-creator Karen Heck said, “Julia’s hard work and determination to achieve her goal in spite of overwhelming obstacles gives girls the idea that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself.”

The Girls Rock! Awards are free and open to the public but an RSVP is required. Five Maine girls will be honored:

Title IX Award winner: Mariah Jones, 17, of Hope

Health Advocacy Award recipient: Stephanie Knight, 17, of Acton

Against the Odds Award winner: Danielle Lorrain, 17, of East Boothbay

Community Organizing Award winner: Winey Ogweta, 16, of Portland

Entrepreneurship Award recipient: Kayla Scheimreif, 16, of Waldoboro

The three-day celebration wraps up with the Poetry Mashup and Open Mic on Sunday, April 11, where girls and women are invited to share their creative work, poetry, music, or spoken word.  The event is at Jorgensen’s Café in Waterville from 12-1:30PM. This event is free and open to the public.

To find out more about the events or to register, visit www.hghw.org or call 207-861-8131.

Hardy Girls Healthy Women is a non-profit located in Waterville, Maine working to ensure all women and girls are independent, safe and equal in their everyday lives.

Add Verb Productions is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Portland, Maine that provides health and wellness education through provocative theatre performances with the goal of building stronger, healthier communities.

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