WATERVILLE -- Empowering girls is the focus of a three-day celebration to be held downtown Friday through Sunday and hosted by Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

Girls Rock! Weekend will be held at various locations and will include live music, art exhibits and workshops on everything from dance to drumming.

"Bring your daughters to this rocking weekend of events that recognizes the strength and importance of girls' voices," said Megan Williams, Hardy Girls' executive director. "So often girls' voices aren't heard because our culture tells them to be quiet, accommodating and to take up less space. Girls Rock! weekend celebrates all girls' voices and encourages girls to make themselves heard -- and adults to listen."

Events begin Friday at Railroad Square Cinema with the opening of the film "Girls Rock!" at 7 p.m. The movie was an audience favorite at last year's Maine International Film Festival.

The evening will start at 6:30 p.m. with a live performance by Portland singer-songwriter Marie Moreshead.

The movie itself is a documentary that follows a rock 'n' roll camp for girls at which picking up a guitar and making noise becomes a truly revolutionary act, according to Hardy Girls officials.

Following the film, a reception will be held at Buen Apetito, the restaurant located next to the cinema. Tickets for the entire evening are $15 for adults and $5 for youths under 18. Reservations are required.

On Saturday, the 10th Annual Girls Unlimited! Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at various locations downtown. "Media Makeover: Changing the Face of Art" is the theme of the day-long conference for girls in grades five through eight. The event will include workshops on sculpture, step dance, poetry, drumming and other activities. Registration is $10 for students.

The weekend wraps up on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. with the first annual Girls Poetry Mashup, to be held at Soup to Nuts coffee house at the corner of Main and Appleton streets. This open-mic event will be the culminating showcase for area junior high school students who will be spending the spring semester writing poetry with students from Colby College. The performance will also feature Colby's Poets Rest at Dawn. Admission is free and open to the public.

An art exhibit produced by 16 girls during Hardy Girls' Media Makeover workshops will open at the Blue Marble Gallery on Main Street. The exhibit, to include painting, sculpture and mixed media, will continue through late May.

For more information and to register for Girls Rock! Weekend events, visit www.hghw.org or call (207) 861-8131.

The event is sponsored by Colby College, the Hudson Foundation, Time Warner Cable, the Reisert Foundation, the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and EES, Inc.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com