Windsor celebrates women

By Taylor Busch

The Ladies Expo and the International Day of the Girl were just two of the many women-focused events to take place in Windsor over the month of October.

The Ladies Expo, an event to raise funds for breast cancer awareness, was a day for women to shop, connect and be educated on current women’s issues.  The booths focused on health and beauty, fashion, environment, child birth support and education, financial investment, party planning and breast cancer.

Sherry Coomes has been the show producer for the last five years.

“All our booths are geared towards women, our entertainment gears towards women and we have a lot of giveaways and prizes for women,” said Coomes.  “It’s just a day where women can come and be pampered and enjoy themselves.”

Several of the booths were put on by female entrepreneurs from Windsor including Terri Hastings of Something Shiny, Carly Nicodemo of You Makeup Kits, and Marica Soleski, a fitness coach who recently lost her government funding but chose to continue teaching at a reduced rate.

“It’s all about feeling good and how you feel internally and it’s about being fit inside and not worrying about what’s on the outside,” said Soleski.

On the International Day of the Girl, organizers attempted to use group exercises and expressive artwork to educate young girls on the importance of inner beauty.  Amy Mullins, a registered social worker, has lead more than 10 self-esteem camps for pre-teen girls in Puce, Ont. and Tecumseh.  She said she believes there is a great need in our community for these types of services.

“It is not a sentence that you have low self-esteem,” said Mullins.  “It’s empowering for kids to know that they can change their destiny by how they think.”

Mullins uses a unique combination of Dove self-esteem content, science experiments, meditation exercises and physical activities to make the day both educational and fun.   Many of the camps have featured guest speakers from the Children’s Safety Village and the Bulimia Anorexia Nervosa Association.  Jennifer Merritt, a healing arts teacher, helps Mullins with many of the camps.

“We try to create an environment where it’s open, honest and non-judgemental,” said Merritt.

On the same day, teenage girls went to different sites around Windsor to write inspirational quotes for women on sidewalks.  Some of the quotes located outside of the Hiatus House included, “There is no such thing as a weaker sex” and “Be true to you.”

Windsor West MPP Teresa Piruzza, the minster of Women’s Issues in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s cabinet, attended the event.

“Overall it’s about raising esteem, confidence and the belief that you can do anything you put your mind to,” said Piruzza.  “Anything we can do to raise that esteem and confidence is good.”

Piruzza also said she is hopeful that Windsor will continue hosting events for women throughout the year.  The next Ladies Expo will be April 13, 2014 at the Caboto Club.  Mullins is planning her next True Beauty Self-Esteem Camp for December and can be reached at [email protected].