A phenomenon that has swept across the globe, like a tsunami of change and liberation for women worldwide, is about to wash ashore in the streets of San Diego. An independent festival of art, music, film, photography, spoken word and workshops, the global movement that is Ladyfest has been hosted in more than 70 cities in just five years since its conception, and 23 more are benchmarked.

Ladyfest is set to debut in San Diego July 14-17 at The Center and in Balboa Park.

A “fiercely independent” festival, Ladyfest stands proud from the norm, each Ladyfest event embodying the distinctive characters of the women it envelops in each city.

The aim of Ladyfest is to empower and celebrate the diversity of the global female community, embracing all ethnicities, religions, backgrounds, ages and the spectrum of women’s sexuality and sexual orientation.

A non-profit event, Ladyfest celebrates a vast range of women’s artistic work and expression, giving voice to those that struggle to be heard and inspiring others to find their voice.

“It’s really become all-encompassing of a wide-variety of women’s experiences, [which is] so important for women who rarely see images of themselves that are healthy or empowering,” said Sarah Hurd, director of Ladyfest San Diego. “Ladyfest states the example outside of the mainstream, that we are a wide collective of women with a wide variety of experiences and voices.”

Hurd added that a prime motivator for establishing a Ladyfest in San Diego is, “to create an inspirational legacy for generations of women and girls to celebrate themselves, their community and the power of their art.”

All proceeds from San Diego Ladyfest will benefit Shakti Rising, a grass-roots organization based in Golden Hill, which assists 15-25 year-old females in overcoming addictions and abuses, and offers an innovative, holistic approach to physical, mental and spiritual empowerment.

Fees for workshops and events over the weekend vary between $2 and $10, with a sliding-scale fee option available for those who cannot afford the ticket price.

In anticipation for San Diego’s upcoming Ladyfest, the organizers would like to extend the opportunity for prospective volunteers and sponsors to become involved in making San Diego’s event the most creative, passionate and powerful event it can be. It’s not too late to get involved; link to Ladyfest San Diego’s Web site via this article at www.gaylesbiantimes.com.

The Center

3909 Centre St., Hillcrest

(619) 692-2077

Before Ladyfest 2005 kicks off with its eclectic film, video and animation series, gather in The Center’s lobby for the Feminist Bake Sale, which takes place from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., with all proceeds going to Shakti Rising.

An animation short by Chungmin Moon of San Diego offers “a short, perfumed journey through the day dream of a seemingly sweet, innocent girl.”

‘Phantom Limb’

Memories are recovered, lost and reconfigured while watching passing cars in this short experimental 16mm film by San Diegan Ulrike Armstrong.

‘Trovere’

Erica Carducci explores spirituality and the self in this sincere and beautifully shot short-film narrative.

A reworking of The Sound of Music reveals Kinda Al-Fityani’s experiences and frustrations as a deaf viewer relying on close-captioning.

This four-minute video short by Monique Moumblow offers the cryptic tag-line, “The poltergeist has dumped water on the floor again … It’s January 15th and it’s my birthday.”

‘Anyone Can Imagine Ten Places They’d Rather Be’

Through basement chemistry, premonition, hallucination and artistic expression, the young Suzy Liar tells of a possible promised land beyond the desert in this narrated film by Davina Semo, Suzy Liar and Lucy Sewd.

‘ Badgrrlz.com ’

Snooping in your girlfriend’s inbox never leads to a good time, as Robin Rigby shows in this video short.

‘Twitch’

Leah Meyerhoff’s narrative film explores a young girl’s fear of contracting her mother’s disability.

‘Imprisoned’

An experimental documentary delves into a world of women who have married U.S. citizens and immigrated to the United States in search of the country’s proffered freedom, but find themselves further incarcerated in the Land of the Free. A powerful film by Ayda Melika.

‘Juice’

The passions of life run sweet and ripe in this gorgeous documentary short by Marina Shoupe.

‘Stains and Sparkles’

Haunting music celebrates the vertical rolls, dots and static of the television set in this experimental video by Paula Cronan and Juliana Snapper.

The Arts and Entertainment Center

3026 University Ave., North Park

(619) 260-1731

T.M.I (Too Much Information) present a cross-genre and stylistically innovative “word-performance show,” followed by live music.

Various venues in South Park

South Park, a usually sleepy suburb of downtown San Diego, is set to be taken over by a lively array of Ladyfest workshops, held in an eclectic group of participating venues, shown below.

And don’t miss the opportunity to “lady-fize your T-shirt” with the Ladyfest logo. Simply bring along your own new or used T-shirt and the friendly Ladyfest crew will be happy to customize it for you for a nominal fee.

2963 Beech St, South Park

(619) 233-6679

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Girl Zines

1:00 to 2:30 p.m.: Card-making

3:00 to 5:00 p.m.: Jewellery making

2985 Beech St, South Park

(619) 338-YOGA

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Hip-hop and salsa dancing workshop

3010 Juniper St, South Park

(619) 284 7684.

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Knitting workshop

1635 Fern St, South Park

(619) 232-0674

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.: Bike repair workshop

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon: Women’s reproductive health clinic

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.: Waldorf class

1:00 to 2:00 p.m.: Women and activism

2:00 to 3:00 p.m.: Body image

3:00 to 4:00 p.m.: Belly dancing class

3004 Juniper St.

Friday, July 15

8:00 p.m.: Sex Affection

9:00 p.m.: Barrabarracuda

10:00 p.m.: Weirdo Begeirdo

11:00 p.m.: Rose for Bohdan

3:00 p.m.: Pretty Thigh

4:00 p.m.: Shevil Kanevil

5:00 p.m.: Lozen

6:00 p.m.: Squab

7:00 p.m.: Naomi

8:00 p.m.: The Waltz Invention

9:00 p.m.: Kickers

10:00 p.m.: Sharp Ease

11:00 p.m.: Laco$te

12:00 midnight: Hott Beat

5:00 to 7:00 p.m.: Siren Open Mic

7:00 p.m.: Urban Tribal Dancers

8:00 p.m.: Angie Evans

9:00 p.m.: Bellow and Howl

10:00 p.m.: My Little Red Toe

11:00 p.m.: The Strangers

12:00 midnight: Sleeping People

1544 Broadway

(619) 230-1VOZ

An all-day exhibition of art, photography, spoken word, dancing and music.