Early Risers’ Yoga
8.30am – 9.30am, Former Library
To honour the spirit of WOW Alice will teach a class focusing on the Warrior poses; for strength, flexibility, balance and stamina. All are welcome. Please bring your mat if you have one.
Alice Rose Elliott (Yoga Alliance) grew-up practising Iyengar yoga. She loves precision, alignment and laughter and mainly uses yoga to keep her focussed on long bike rides.
This event is free but ticketed

Views on the News
9am – 9.45am, Garret Theatre
Start your WOW day by getting the lowdown on the weekend headlines that affect women with Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council Samantha Dixon and Sughra Ahmed, Yale World Fellow and global faith and cultural relations consultant.
Included with your WOW Pass

Welcome to WOW Chester & Badass Women of Chester
10am – 11am, Theatre
Jude Kelly CBE, Southbank Centre Artistic Director and founder of WOW – Women of the World festival, welcomes you to WOW Chester and delivers a keynote on why a gender-equal world is a much better world for everyone.
Then, celebrating the badass women of Chester, which has always been full of incredible women – come and hear about the courage, initiative, intelligence, willpower and all round badassery of some of Chester’s greatest foremothers. Be prepared to be inspired.
Included with your WOW Pass

Pram Talks
11am – 4pm (performance lasts 45 minutes), Storyhouse Lobby
Created by All Things Considered Theatre Company, Pram Talks is an interactive audio performance for two parents at a time. Parents from across the Northwest have shared with us their stories about the highs and the lows of parenthood. Come and eavesdrop on their conversations, and start your own with the person sitting next to you; by asking the questions you may not thought of asking.
The performance will involve walking a short distance but you will be guided throughout.
This event is free but has limited spaces

Under 10s’ Feminist Corner
11.30am – 12.30pm, Storyden
Feminism isn’t just for grown-ups or teenagers! Are you a budding young feminist? Do you think girls should have the same opportunities in life as boys? If so, we’ve got the perfect session for you. Join other young feminists for an interactive workshop, exploring what being a girl means, and get tips on how to start a campaign in your bedroom. This is a mixed session for all genders aged 6 – 10 years old.
Also on Saturday 2.30 – 3.30pm & Sunday 11.30 – 12.30
This event is free but ticketed

Radical Love: Female Lust
11.30am – 12.30pm, Cinema
An all female show of visual art by 40 artists – half from Arab and Muslim cultures, half from various others, all responding to Medieval poetry by women across the Arab world. The poems are vibrant, bold, funny, beautiful, full of desire and celebration of life and love and longing. Talk by artists Roisin O’Loughlin, Rosaline Shahnavaz & Farah Soobhan.
Included with your WOW Pass
Launches a free exhibition over the weekend

Smashing the Glass Ceiling: Women in Business
11.30am – 12.30pm, Garret Theatre
From the battling the gender pay gap to boardroom quotas and getting your voice heard, what are the particular challenges faced by women in the workplace? We discuss why gender equality in business is good for the bottom line and how women in the North West and beyond are smashing the glass ceiling. Speakers include Simone Roche, Sandra Green, Gabriella Gay and Jenny Garrett. Chaired by Jo Henwood.
Included with your WOW Pass

A League of Their Own: Women in Football
11.30am – 12.30pm, Cinema
Football is now the top participation sport for women and girls in England yet the women’s game still stands in the shadow of the men’s game. Whether the boardroom, the training ground, the dugout or on the pitch, we discuss and celebrate contributions by women to our national game. Speakers include Nicola Palios, vice-chairman of Tranmere Rovers Football Club, Gavin Makel, Head of Women’s Football at Manchester City, and Anna Kessel, sports writer for the Guardian & the Observer and co-founder and chair of Women in Football.
Included with your WOW Pass (limited capacity)

Story Café
11.30pm – 12.30pm, Meeting Room
Stories Are All Around Us. Join the conversational circle to share with others. Lisa Rossetti has “told tales” nationally and internationally, bringing people together to listen to the wisdom of traditional folktales, encouraging conversations and connections with our own lives and experiences.
Included with your WOW Pass (limited capacity)

WOW Bites
1pm – 2pm, Cinema
Come along to WOW Bites for short talks, performances, readings and soapbox moments delivered by all sorts of women with amazing stories. Speakers cover a wide range of subjects from the serious to the frivolous.
Included with your WOW Pass

Singing Workshop
1pm – 2pm, Former Library
Join A Handbag of Harmonies, a choir of vivacious women from Chester for this workshop suitable for all ages and abilities.
Included with your WOW Pass

Under 10’s Feminist Corner
2.30pm – 3.30pm, Storyden

Childlessness: Exploring the Taboo
2.30pm – 3.30pm, Garret Theatre
Approximately 1 in 5 women in the UK will remain childless, through infertility or through choice – and this number has been increasing since the 1960s. Yet women who have difficulty conceiving, or who have chosen not to have children, are often portrayed as selfish in a society that still holds on to the idea that women should be mothers. This in-depth discussion will look at childlessness through circumstance and choice. It highlights the complex emotions of uncertainty, guilt, and shame that women can experience as they make sense of how the taboo of childlessness impacts their lives. Dawn Llewellyn will be joined by Jody Day and Lizzie Lowrie.
Included with your WOW Pass

Jody Day book signing
3.30pm, Garret Bar
Jody Day signs copies of her book Living the Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks to Your Plan B for a Meaningful and Fulfilling Future Without Children, which the British Medical Journal has recommended as “the book to recommend to… patients when they face coming to terms with unavoidable childlessness.” It was originally self-published by her in 2013 and hit the top slot in its category on Amazon in both versions.
Open to all

Vulvanomics
2.30pm – 3.30pm, Cinema
When you were growing up did you talk about ‘froo froos’, ‘tuppences’, or ‘lady gardens’? Or were ‘vaginas’ and ‘vulvas’ more commonly referred to? And what does it mean that when we say ‘the C-word’ we’re conjuring up generations of shame and taboo? And why do we say the phrase ‘the C-word’, and not the word itself? Vulvanomics is an informative, sometimes light-hearted talk from speaker Emma Rees’ book.
Included with your WOW Pass

Speed Mentoring
2.30pm – 3.30pm, Former Library
Join our speed mentoring session to share your challenges and exchange ideas and stories. Speed mentoring is an opportunity for you to be mentored by experts such as scientists, campaigners, CEOs, journalists, WOW speakers and many more. Open to women at all stages of their careers, the session lasts one hour, and during this time you have four 15-minute speed mentoring sessions.
This event is free but ticketed (Please arrive for registration at 2pm)

A Handbag of Harmonies
3.30pm – 4pm, The Kitchen
A performance from Chester’s choir of vivacious women. They sing in four-part harmony with dazzling choreography and guarantee to leave audiences with smiles on their faces.
Free

Toilets Are A Feminist Issue
4pm – 5pm, Cinema
Come and find out why you should give a shit about toilets. From women always having to queue, to the lack of toilet facilities in the developing world having a devastating effect on women’s safety, what can toilet provision tell us about gender equality? Come and join Professor Clara Greed, Ada Oko-Williams, Technical Support Manager for Sanitation at WaterAid and Changing Places campaigner and disabled feminist Sarah Rennie to discuss. Chaired by Domino Pateman, Senior Programmer for WOW – Women of the World Festival.
Included with your WOW Pass

Beyonce Dance Class
4 pm – 5pm, Former Library
Seen On Screen have pioneered a national fitness trend teaching people of all abilities how to dance like their favourite pop icons, whilst getting a dream body, boosting self-esteem and having loads of fun. No previous dance experience (or coordination) is needed so two left feet are welcome and strongly encouraged!
Included with your WOW Pass

Molly Naylor: Telling You
4pm – 6pm, Meeting Room
Writer and performer Molly Naylor delivers a lively, fun, low-pressure workshop designed to shape, share and celebrate autobiographical stories. Sharing stories is a brave, generous and human act. This workshop is about building both confidence and empathy. Performers and non-performers welcome.
Included with your WOW Pass (limited capacity)

Women and Addiction. Fallen Angels Dance Theatre and the Power of Visible Recovery
5pm – 6pm, Garret Theatre
Dr Wendy Dossett from the University of Chester will open the session exploring some of the challenges and the joys facing women in recovery today. This session also includes a performance from Fallen Angels Dance Theatre’s Building Recovery project. ​
Included with your WOW Pass

Over The Garden Fence
7pm – 7.45pm, Garret Theatre
Written, directed and performed by Hayley Riley and Louise Evans of Haylo Theatre, Over the Garden Fence follows the story of Annabelle and her Gran Dolly. Annabelle and the audience are take on a nostalgic journey through Gran’s life, sharing memories of happiness, sorrow and joy. It is a fast paced, uplifting and comical exploration into family, life and relationships that promotes an awareness of dementia that is accessible to all. The stories within the play are personal.
Plus post show discussion
Additional Event: Tickets £10

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