Although International Women’s Day isn’t until March 8, Moose Jaw began the celebration early with a free brunch on Mar. 1 to begin the conversation about the importance of women and their achievements.
Organizer Isabella Grajczyk was excited to offer the free event to the community, welcoming anyone interested in celebrating the national day to recognize women to attend entirely free of charge, thanks to a grant from Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and the Canada Service Corps.
“I'm really happy with it. I was a little bit nervous, but we had a really good turnout and I think everyone enjoyed it, so I think it went really good,” said Grajczyk.
The catered brunch brought together women of all ages for an impressive meal, a presentation from guest speaker Christine Boyczuk, and plenty of donation door prizes from local businesses in the city.
“I wanted it to be accessible to everyone,” said Grajczykk. “[So] I really liked the range of people that we were able to come here. It's really nice to see and it makes it feel more well-rounded.”
Grajczyk planned the event after a conference in Halifax about event planning and decided to bring that knowledge back to Moose Jaw in a meaningful way.
“The people that I met there really inspired me and I thought this would be kind of a fun thing to bring to Moose Jaw and to get the community involved,” said Grajczyk.
Boyczuk gave a speech highlighting the importance of women supporting women and cultivating positive relationships to encourage success for everyone, which really embodied the soul of International Women’s Day.
”This is what we celebrate, all of the beautiful women here and the beautiful strengths they have. We're all different, but we're always worth celebrating,” said Boyczuk in her presentation. “My humble opinion is that the diversity among us should be celebrated and embraced, and not just tolerated.”
That message really encompassed what was also important for Grajczyk, in bringing together a group of local women to celebrate International Women’s Day felt important for the community.
“I think it's just important to kind of lift each other up and create those connections and those bonds when you can, because it can be so easy with day-to-day life just to get distracted and just concern yourself so much with yourself,” said Grajczyk.
She has aimed to create a positive space for women to enjoy the event together, and brunch-goers certainly agreed on her success.
“If you bring the community together, you can just have a nice time where everyone’s enjoying free food together and free prizes,” said Grajczyk. “And that’s a nice atmosphere I wanted to build because I think that’s really important.”
