Celebrate women at Zonta Fest June 7

Before you make plans for next Saturday night, consider attending Zonta Fest at the Custer Beacon June 7 from 5-9 p.m.

Zonta Fest is hosted and coordinated by members of the Zonta Club of the Southern Black Hills, whose motto is to “build a better world for women and girls.”

Originally, Zonta Fest began as Luna Fest at the high school auditorium and featured a variety of vendors selling things that were oriented toward women. Since then, it has evolved into an event that focuses on women artists and musicians.

“We really wanted to promote women artists and musicians in the community. So we kind of narrowed the focus,” said event co-chair and club secretary Marianne Fridell. “They really did well with that. We have such wonderful artists in town and in the area.”

Some of the musicians have gone on to make it part of their livelihood, which Fridell said is fun to see.

This year, the evening will kick off at 5 p.m. with songs from Sue Hey, Carrie Genovese Black, Fridell and Margie Neugebauer.

Hey is a music educator and has been a puppeteer for most of her life. She and her husband owned the Butterfly Puppet Theater up until a couple of years ago. Fridell said Hey grew up on a ranch, so a lot of her music reflects that background.

Black is expected to share a song with a recording of her brother, who passed away from AIDS.

“The song is very powerful for her, because she can sing with her brother in the recording,” said Fridell.

Fridell said she likes to get in there too, because she is always writing songs. She said, “My song is something I wrote during COVID, kind of an encouraging song.”

Then, Zonta Club vice president Neugebauer is planning to do “On Eagles Wings.”

New to Zonta Fest this year, Marnie Cook will take the stage at 5:30 p.m. Having spent many years in different areas of South Dakota, Cook has become a regular on the acoustic circuit in the Black Hills.

“With her live-sounding boss harmonizer backing her warm, resonant voice, Marnie crafts a rich and immersive musical experience that deeply connects with listeners. Her style shines through in her selection of favorite covers, seamlessly interwoven with deeper cuts from well-known artists,” Cook’s bio reads.

At this point, there will be a break in the music for a Sultry Shimmy belly dance performance at 6 p.m.

“We’re excited that they’re coming back,” said Fridell. “They’re just full of energy. You watch them, and you think, ‘I couldn’t do that, but I sure would like to.’”

Fridell said belly dancing is a tradition passed down through the ages as well as a way people gather and enjoy their time together.

“Sultry Shimmy has a focus on body positivity,” said event co-chair and club president Kim Nelson. “They promote positive self-esteem, body confidence and empowerment.”

“Part of why we are really interested in promoting that is women enjoying the movement of their body. We’re very much involved in safety for women and those kind of issues—human trafficking and preventing those kinds of things. We want people to realize there’s a very big difference between women, how they dress and how they enjoy their body and abuse,” said Fridell.

Sultry Shimmy is a returning performance this year since attendees enjoyed it last year. Fridell added that it is beautiful to watch.

“They really fit in with the goals of our group. The aim is to get people to understand,” Nelson said.

At 6:50 p.m., Hanna Honors takes the stage. Honors has performed for Zonta Fest in the past, but this will be her first year performing solo at the event.

As a lifelong musician and resident of Custer, Honors is heavily involved in Custer’s art community.

According to her bio, “She is the lead facilitator for Kids Rock Custer (formerly Girls Rock Custer), a videographer/interviewer for the Custer Area Arts Council and a private music teacher. With experience playing in a variety of genres and instruments, her original music is a blend of modern pop, folk and indie rock with an edge.” 

Fridell said, “She’s been a performer for quite a while, so people around town really know her. It’ll be fun to see what she’s doing now and how she describes her music.”

Abbey Leach is up at 7:20 p.m. Leach is in the earlier part of her career and has some interesting music, according to Fridell. She does covers as well as original music.

“She has a nice, intense beat. Her guitar work is pretty spectacular,” said Fridell. “She has gotten together a group of three musicians to come with her.”

Having recently relocated to Rapid City from Boise, Idaho, Leach “values traditions and the classics with a style inspired by greats of the past such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Her sets include a carefully curated list of covers, along with intimate originals, in which she tries to see herself and the world in a positive light,” reads her bio.

The evening will wrap up with Gumbo Lilies led by Pegie Douglas.

“We’re very excited about Gumbo Lilies coming back,” said Fridell.

Gumbo Lilies is also known as the Badger Sett Band, honoring the music and poetry of Badger Clark, South Dakota’s first poet laureate.

Douglas will be joined by Marcia Kennobbie, who plays the mandolin, guitar, bass and sings. Katie Spraggs is a violin and fiddle teacher and performer, and Becky Voght plays bass. Douglas, Kennobbie and Spraggs are all inductees to the Legends of Dakota County Music Hall of Fame.

Throughout the event, there will also be several local artists selling their creations. Kayla Andrews of Little Bat Designs will have items crafted with watercolors, pen and ink and digitally. These will include things like greeting cards, prints, postcards, stickers, bookmarks, calendars and magnets.

Deborah and Sarah Shannon will also be participating. Deborah does hand-painted dot mandalas on boards, wine glasses, mugs, bookmarks and more. Meanwhile, Sarah hand-paints temporary tattoos using organic henna.

Susan Scheirbeck is another artist attending with stained glass panels and window hangers.

WEAVE (Women Escaping A Violent Environment) will have an informational table as well. 

Fridell said the Zonta Fest has “always been a vehicle for WEAVE to get their word out. Zonta started 30 years ago, and after a couple of years, Zonta was motivated to help WEAVE come into being. There’s always been a close connection. So that’s a big part of getting WEAVE out there and getting the community to know about it.”

The evening will feature a silent auction and raffles as well. For the silent auction, artists will be donating pieces and club members are making baskets. This will start at 5 p.m. and close at 8:30 p.m.

Gift card raffles will be going on throughout the event and conclude around 8 p.m. The 50/50 raffle will close at 8 p.m. too.

Women and men alike are invited to come out to the Custer Beacon for the Zonta Fest. 

“It’s a fun event. I think people have a good time,” said Nelson. “There’s something for everybody.”

There is no fee for entrance, but a love offering will be taken at the door. 

All of the money raised through the event will be used by Zonta Club as service dollars. 

“We disperse those to organizations in the Southern Black Hills that are doing programs that support women and girls,” said Nelson. “It’s different every year.”

Last year, Zonta Club donated to Custer YMCA Child Care, Black Hills Parks and Forest Association, Custer Recreation and Wellness, The Red Ribbon Skirt Society, RISE (Recover, Inspiration, Support, Education), WEAVE and Fall River Thrift Store.

Nelson and Fridell said  Zonta Club of the Southern Black Hills is grateful for all of the sponsors that make the event possible.