Hosted by The Music Education & Performing Artists Association, The GRRRLZ ROCK Music & Arts Festival honors the contributions and growth of women in the arts through mentorship, safe spaces and supportive resources. The all-inclusive, month-long festival celebrates its 20th anniversary in November. Matrisha Armitage, director of MEPAA and “fairy rock-mother,” says that this year is the festival’s biggest one yet. “Just to think that it’s been going for 20 years is super special,” Armitage says. “So in celebration of that we pulled together musicians who haven’t played in the festival for a while. And we have some out-of-state and out-of-town performers that are coming to celebrate with us.” From dances to rock and punk shows, community members can expect a variety of performances. “We added dancers, different kinds of performing arts in the community, different artists of different genres and different diversity,” she says. “It wasn’t just about the ‘heavier, edgier, grungy’ part of rock and roll. We kind of made it a little more family friendly,” Armitage says.

The GRRRLZ ROCK Music & Arts Festival has performances throughout November at various venues beginning Nov. 3. Proceeds provide free instruments, instruction and arts resources for youth and families at the MEPAA Music & Arts Center. For more information about events, visit GrrrlzRock.com or GrrrlzRock on Facebook.