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Home > Press > Press Releases > V-Day Announces Grassroots and Glob...

V-Day Announces Grassroots and Global Plans for V-Day 2002

11/06/2001

Contact: Susan Celia Swan, [email protected], (212) 445-3288

HBO Original Documentary of "The Vagina Monologues", Featuring Eve Ensler, Debuts February 14 - Valentine's Day

Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, Edie Falco, Rosie Perez, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Kathy Najimy Among V-Day Celebrity Supporters to Adopt-A-City and Appear at a Local V-Day Event

November 6, 2001 -- New York, NY -- V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, today announced its plans for V-Day 2002. Following last year's sold-out V-Day 2001 benefit at New York City's Madison Square Garden, V-Day 2002 will go grassroots and global, with a 10-week calendar of events and social action campaigns anchored around Valentine's Day. More than 500 benefit productions of V-Day Founder and Artistic Director Eve Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues", are confirmed in theatres, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world. In cities and provinces from Shanghai, China, to Harlem, NY; Sacramento, CA to Nova Scotia, Canada; from Duluth, MN to Cebu City in the Philippines, an international chorus of voices will rise up to entertain and empower, as women live out V-Day's mission to stop violence against women and girls.

On Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14, HBO will debut its original documentary "The Vagina Monologues", featuring Eve performing the monologues solo and conducting new vagina interviews with real-life women.

Also new for V-Day 2002, many dedicated V-Day performers, affectionately known as the "Vulva Choir", will adopt-a-city and appear at a local V-Day 2002 event. For example, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Rosie Perez are organizers of and will also perform at V-Day Harlem, Gloria Steinem will appear in V-Day South Africa, and Kathy Najimy will return to her hometown to participate in V-Day San Diego. In addition, Jane Fonda and Ricki Lake are scheduled to attend the fundraising evening at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Saturday, February 16. These are just a few of the stars who are slated to participate. The comprehensive list, including confirmed appearances, dates and venues, will be announced later this year via press release and on the V-Day website at http://www.vday.org.

V-Day 2002 is scheduled to officially begin on Friday, February 1, and run through Friday, April 5. The ten-week celebration and social action program will encompass the following events, global campaigns, and grassroots initiatives:

EVENTS
Broadcast debut of the HBO documentary "The Vagina Monologues": HBO's original documentary presents Eve Ensler in a solo performance of "The Vagina Monologues" and captures the intimacy of the play as it was originally conceived and produced off-Broadway. Featuring interviews with Ensler and real-life female subjects combined with behind-the-scenes footage, the documentary will debut exclusively on HBO on Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14, 2002.

An Evening at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City: A gala, star-studded evening of dinner and performances will accompany the announcement of V-Day's 2002 awardees and Stop Rape Contest winners on Saturday, February 16, 2002.

GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS
The V-Day Worldwide Campaign: Benefit productions of "The Vagina Monologues" are confirmed to date in more than 145 cities nationally and abroad to raise awareness and money for groups that work to stop violence against women and girls. More than 200 productions are projected for 2002. For the up-to-date listing of cities, go to http://www.vday.org/world.

The V-Day College Campaign: Much like the Worldwide Campaign, the College Campaign will bring benefit productions of "The Vagina Monologues" to more than 400 colleges and universities around the world in an effort to raise awareness and money for local anti-violence groups and empower the leaders and activists of the future. Student organizers mount the theatrical production from start to finish including casting, location scouting, ticket sales, publicity, and more. More than 600 college productions are projected for 2002. For the listing of participating schools to date, go to http://www.vday.org/college.

GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES
The V-Day International "Stop Rape Contest": Designed to produce innovative and effective strategies to stop rape worldwide, this annual contest is facilitated for V-Day by the human rights group Equality Now. This year, the ground-breaking contest will also be launched on U.S. campuses for first time as the "U.S. College Stop Rape Contest".

The "Speak Up with V-Day and Lifetime" Initiative: Working with Lifetime Television, V-Day will bring the problem of violence against women in the United States to the attention of our Congressional representatives and encourage them to take action. Additional information on the Lifetime and V-Day partnership, including programming, Washington events and advocacy efforts, will be announced at a later date.

The "Rape Free Zone Campaign": Encourages people all over the world to mark their communities as "Rape Free Zones". "Rape Free Zone" ribbons, stickers and tattoos will be available for purchase at the V-Day online store (http://www.eziba.com/vday) after December 1st.

"Spotlight on Afghan Women": Earmarks funds to help women working to end the ongoing gender apartheid in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Recent global events and military action in Afghanistan has made this support even more critical as an ever-increasing number of Afghan women and their families flee the country.

About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.

V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine's Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003...).

Since its creation in 1998, V-Day has awarded close to $4 million to grassroots, national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. The money comes from commercial performances of Eve Ensler's play "The Vagina Monologues", individuals, corporations, foundations, and product sales. Awardees are chosen and funds are distributed annually, in or around the month of February. V-Day is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners
To date, V-Day's 2002 corporate sponsors include Tampax, Marie Claire, Liz Claiborne, and Lifetime Television.

V-Day's 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day's exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Vosges Haut-Chocolat, and Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas).

The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
For additional information on V-Day 2002, contact Susan Celia Swan at [email protected] or 212.445.3288, or visit http://www.vday.org.