For those interested in finding an alternative activity to the A-Day game this weekend, a new festival may offer a good option.

Tuscaloosa is calling all empowered Southern women this weekend to attend LadyFest Deep South, a three-day festival that celebrates women and their artistic, organizational and political talents. The festival will take place in multiple locations throughout Tuscaloosa.

“Just having something new in Tuscaloosa is cool,” said Maigen Sullivan, a graduate student in gender and race studies. “Tuscaloosa is so known for football, but this is a progressive, not-so-mainstream event.”

Sullivan said she was initially worried when she found out A-Day would take place the same weekend as the festival, but now she hopes that it will expose more people to the event.

“I think it will provide an interesting alternative to Sugarland and A-Day,” said Lyndsey Adkins, a graduate student in gender and race studies.

LadyFest Deep South is a non-profit festival and a regional branch of the worldwide festival of arts and activism that showcases women in music and the arts. LadyFest takes place each year and is held in multiple locations across the globe and organized locally.

In keeping with the original spirit of LadyFest, LadyFest Deep South is a regional festival focused on doing the same thing but with a Southern flair.

“By highlighting the talents and offerings of local artists, skilled professionals and business owners, we bring visibility to local and regional artists – musicians, poets, crafters, for example – provide the space for women and girls and feminists of all kinds to come out and enjoy music, art, craft, poetry, dance, performance art, consciousness-raising sessions, etc. in a safe environment among feminist performers, artists, activists and community members,” said Jennifer Purvis, faculty adviser.

This festival is a collaborative effort forged between University of Alabama students, faculty and staff organizers and volunteers. Some of the main organizers for the event include co-founders Adkins and Sullivan, faculty adviser Jennifer Purvis and public relations and social networking executive Jessica Trull.

Purvis said Adkins and Sullivan came to her with an idea for organizing a music festival.

“I suggested for this community we may be more successful organizing a more diverse event and include local arts and crafts – something like a Ladyfest,” she said. “There had not been a LadyFest in the South for a while, and there had never been a Ladyfest Deep South.”

The surrounding community of regional musicians and other artists, activists, do-it-yourself crafters, merchants and growers contributed to the creation of this festival.

David Allen, a junior, helped with booking all the bands, and his own band will also perform. According to Sullivan, Stephanie Grimes, the administrative secretary for the department of gender and race studies, was a major component in managing the event.

“She was never officially a member or organizer of LadyFest Deep South, but we couldn’t have made it without her,” Sullivan said. “She has been key in helping us manage funding and other details with the University.”

The festivities will begin today at noon with a day of silence in partnership with the Capstone Alliance. The events hosted on campus today, including a screening of PBS’s “In the Life,” will all be free. KIN4LIFE & Nicky Click will be performing at L&N Train Station, with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. It will be 19-and-up, and the cover is $15 at the door.

Saturday events will take place at various locations in Tuscaloosa, beginning in the morning at 10 at Chloe’s Cup. Oz Music will be hosting free, all-ages performances, and families can go to Snow Hinton Park for a family-friendly picnic. At 7 p.m., Baby Haus will have free all-ages performances. The Green Bar will have more music beginning at 10 p.m. but will be 19-and-up, with a $10 admission fee.

The festival concludes on Sunday with an Art and Craft expo at Grace Aberdean Habitat Alchemy and the Alabama Art Kitchen. Local band Berteal will be performing at Grace Aberdean.

LadyFest is a nonprofit organization. All proceeds from the weekend will go to the Alabama Birth Coalition, the Women’s Resource Center, Music Maker and Books to Prisons Project, Alabama.

“It’s satisfying to have created an event that enriches the connection between the University and the local community and that fosters a broader sense of art and culture in the Deep South,” Purvis said.

For more information about LadyFest Deep South and a full list of activities and bands, visit their page on Facebook or ladyfest2011.tumblr.com.