The world’s first taboo-busting menopause festival will take place in Perth.
Organisers want to break down barriers and help people address the rarely-talked about “third stage of life”.
The festival follows the success of a Menopause Cafe held in the Fair City last summer, which encouraged men and women to share their experiences.
One of the cafes was attended by broadcaster Kirsty Wark, whose documentary The Menopause and Me was an inspiration to project leaders
Four free events will be held at Perth Theatre this spring as part of the festival, including a sing-a-long and expert presentations.
The first event on Saturday, March 10, features a talk by Dr Laura Jarvis of Tayside Menopause Clinic, who will shed light on symptoms and ways of the managing them.
This will be followed by a session with singer/songwriter Debra Salem.
Dr Jarvis, who specialises in sexual and reproductive health, said: “In the 15 years I have been involved in the Tayside Menopause Clinic, we are certainly seeing more referrals which signifies that women are in search of more information and advice.
“Although we are generally seeing the more complex cases, we applaud Menopause Cafe for opening up the subject more widely and encouraging dialogue amongst men and women.”
She said: “Normalising the subject will make a huge difference to the way the menopause is managed and the festival will play a positive role in that.
“In the past, some women felt that they couldn’t talk about the menopause, and that they just had to get on with it but now, with women living longer and many of us holding down demanding jobs, we are starting to realise we have a right to a better quality, and that we should do our utmost to be informed and take positive steps to improve our wellbeing.”
The festival will continue with a talk exploring metal and physical wellbeing on Saturday, March 24, plus more events in April and May.
The cafe project which inspired the festival was partly organised by Rachel Weiss of sponsors Rowan Consultancy.
She said: “Following the success of last year’s events, we began to realise that there was a real need for wider discussion about the menopause and how to best manage it.
“We were keen to strike a balance between providing information while also creating fun events where people can relax and talk casually with others.”
She said: “The menopause marks the third stage of our lives and can be a pivotal time and a catalyst for much positivy, so a festival, with communal signing and plenty of tea and cake, should help encourage people to talk while also receiving some useful information.”