City College will host The Women’s Festival this year in the hopes of inspiring women and men alike to live their lives to the fullest through business, spiritual, and personal aspects.

The festival will have eight guest speakers, including Lynda Weinman, co-founder of Lynda.com and Robert Ferguson, CEO of Diet Free Life. It will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 9, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 10 at West Campus.

“It is a great environment for women to gather, for speakers to be heard, and for the public to attend,” Judi Weisbart, said founder and president of A Busy Woman Consulting. “It is a place of learning and connections, and that is what the festival is all about.”

The festival aims to benefit and encourage non-profit organizations, particularly those concerned with women.

“This a non-profit event for the Women’s Festival, and SBCC benefits from the attention from hosting such a large event,” said Melissa Moreno, director of the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

The 2012 festival theme is “Live. Love. Learn.” According to their website, the festival aims to encourage people to build a better world through philanthropy, present business opportunities, and inspire greener living.

“Last year, the Women’s Festival had over 1,000 attendees at Earl Warren Show Grounds,” Moreno said. “We needed more room to accommodate more people, and the festival is coming home, in a sense, since the first one was held here.”

There are three different ticket options: general admission, preferred tickets, and VIP tickets. Preferred tickets include preferred seating as well as an Expo Pass and Fitness and Entertainment Access. VIP tickets offer VIP reception recognition, VIP seating, an expo pass, fitness and entertainment access, and a gift bag.

Ticket prices vary according to preference.  General admission costs five dollars, which makes the festival affordable for students. However, Preferred and VIP tickets cost $75 dollars and $149 dollars, respectively.

“Well I haven’t heard anything about the Women’s Festival,” said biology major, Tanya Tsareva. “But it seems like it would be fun.”