“If you look out your window at a city that you live in anywhere around the world,” Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman, a Drexel University professor and co-founder of the Women Led Cities Initiative, told The Citizen a couple years ago, “it’s likely everything that you’re looking at and living in and moving through has been designed and managed by men.”
Male domination of this sort has all sorts of consequences — from physical and mental health, to mobility and expense — that can, frankly, be exhausting. That, in part, is what makes women-only spaces such a relief: The joy in those spaces comes from the singing, and walking, and reading, and climbing, and hanging out together.
When better to plan your next women’s-only outing than International Women’s Day (March 8, for those who are wondering)? Here, 12 places to check out:
GET ACTIVE
Walk, talk, make new friends
Bianca Solari founded Philly Girls Who Walk in 2022 to, she says, “build a safe community for all who want to make new friends, get steps in, and try new things in the beautiful city of Philadelphia.”
To that end, the club invites women — and anyone — to take low-pressure, 3-mile strolls every week in the places Philadelphians walk: near the art museum, along the Schuylkill, then less usual spots like the Ben Franklin Bridge. Typically, about 100 women — the majority who show up alone — participate. It’s free.
The group’s popularity has led beyond walks to book clubs, yoga and cardio classes and happy hours.
- Sporting Club on Wednesday, March 13 at 6pm
- Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday, March 23 at 10am
- Rittenhouse Square on Thursday, March 28 at 6pm
- The current book club read is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus; meeting will take place on March 18. You can RSVP here.
- Stay updated on all upcoming events by following them on Instagram.
Workout
Navigating strength training can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to weightlifting. Train and Nourish’s three Philly and one Monto studios are designed for and by women, with all women-certified trainers and programs personally designed for each client.
“We do not use cookie-cutter programming when it comes to fitness and nutrition because every woman is different,” Train and Nourish says on their website. “Our routines, our exercise history, our metabolism — all of it can affect the way we exercise or eat. That is why we customize your programming.”
For membership and group class costs click here. Personal training starts at $55 per private session, or $200-$500 per month.
559 N. 20th Street, 1621 E. Passyunk Avenue, 1316 N. Front Street, and 19 Cricket Avenue, Ardmore
Spend your day off cycling
Bike in the city and beyond with the Philadelphia chapter of Radical Adventure Riders, a creator of safe and inclusive spaces for local femme, trans, women and non-binary cyclists.
Past RAR rides include a bikepacking (think backpacking while biking) trip to the Pine Barrens, gravel biking in the Wissahickon, a bike ride to the Jersey Shore and a city ride with a sweet treat at the end — water ice, because it’s Philly, duh.
To find out about upcoming rides and events, join their Facebook and/or Instagram.
Take strides in nature
Hike+Heal offers a variety of curated 90-minute to two-hour hikes and wellness events (meditation, drum circles, journaling, retreats) with the goal of holistically and sustainably building a deep connection among women, especially women of color, and to the region’s green spaces and hidden gems, from the Wissahickon to Bartram’s Garden to … Puerto Rico.
Seasoned pros lead all kinds of jaunts — stroller walks, happy hour strolls, field trips — geared toward hikers of all levels. A trip to Colorado inspired local wellness consultant Brandi Aulston to found the group with five hikers in 2019. Today, joining “The Hive” means access to a private online community of like-minded ladies and special discounts on gear..
Membership is $350 annually. Find more information here.
Climb rocks
Thrill seekers to the front. East Falls’ Philly Rocks Gym holds women-only climbs on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 to 9pm and Saturdays from 9am to noon.
Climbers can try their hands at bouldering or rope climbing (so long as they complete their belay certification), using equipment they rent or BYO. The venue also features a small gym and training area to build those climbing muscles.
To sweeten the deal, first-timers get half off the gym’s $39 Intro to Climbing Package.
3500 Scotts Lane
GET CREATIVE
Find harmony in Delco
Who says barbershop quartets are just for men? The Philadelphia Freedom Chorus, a women’s a cappella group, is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International. It rehearses at a church in suburban Springfield, Delaware County and performs competitively in four-part harmony.
Visit a rehearsal to see if PFC is the right fit for you. Then audition for a chance to join. For more information, click here.
Sing your feminist heart out
Founded in 1975, Philadelphia’s ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir is the country’s longest-running feminist choir. What is a feminist choir? It’s a group of diverse singers who use their voices to promote social justice for marginalized communities through songs, often original, and always by, for and about women.
ANNA has performed at World Cafe Live and Carnegie Hall alongside Demi Lovato, Hugh Jackman, the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus and Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock, to name a few. Their local holiday show — don’t expect much in the way of traditional carols — is an end-of-year must.
The choir holds auditions in late summer for singers they refer to as, “sopranos, altos and siblings.”
Go “where the women spit and the men sit.”
At Women Wine & Words is more than an open mic: It’s a safe pop-up space where women take center stage to share their voices and experiences; men are welcome…to listen. The unique format creates a supportive environment for poets and speakers to express themselves uninterrupted.
Women Wine & Words holds open-mics monthly, often at Hero’s Mark Enterprise, 5091 Umbria St. Past events include a New Year’s Eve party, a poetry slam that welcomes all experience levels, and a celebration of Women’s History Month with an open-mic benefiting women’s shelters.
To get notified of and sign up for upcoming events check out their Instagram or just give them a follow if you want a dose of female empowerment in your feed.
Work wood. Post to Insta.
Manayunk’s Philadelphia WoodWorks — the region’s first membership space for woodworkers — offers a women-only introduction to the craft. The popular course offers one-on-one time with instructors, with small class sizes, on two consecutive Saturdays, 9:30am to 5pm. It is $399 for the course and $99 for materials.
If you get hooked, become a member for $159 a month for unlimited access to equipment and special discounts on classes, private lessons and lumber.
To register for a class click here — but do it soon. April’s class is already booked, but May has openings (just in time for Mother’s Day!).
4901 Umbria Street
MAKE NEW FRIENDS
Read with meaning
Mocha Girls Read is a free, membership-based monthly book club for Black women with 14 sites throughout the U.S., including one here in Philly. MGR’s local virtual gatherings include book discussions (which, as anyone who’s been in a book club knows, are really avenues for conversation and connection); silent individual reading time, “Reading Apart Together”; and occasional field trips
This month’s meeting, to discuss Black Candle Women: A Read with Jenna Pick by Diane Marie Brown, is Friday March 8. To register for this, or future book club meetings, click here.
P.S. Purchase books from Harriett’s Bookstore in Fishtown or Ida’s in Collingswood, NJ, both owned by literary champion Jeannine Cook.
Become a Golden Girl
Live your best Golden Girls life. The Philly chapter of national organization The Transition Network (TTN) offers a busy schedule of gatherings, volunteer opportunities, trips, and conversations — most in person, some virtual — for women over 50.
Upcoming classes include “Basics of Dialogue,” to guide women in connecting with people who are different from them, and a voice master class with tenor Matthew Polezani at Curtis Institute. Trips in March and April will take TTN members for a private tour of Fitler Square’s Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, and the Hindu temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Upcoming volunteer opportunities include helping out at Our Closet and MANNA.
Membership in TTN is $175 annually. Sign up here.
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