When she was a little girl, graduate student Jenny Stewart didn't want to be a nurse or a movie star. Instead, she listened to bands like Depeche Mode and dreamed of playing the drums.

"My parents said drums are only for boys. I was heartbroken," Stewart said.

Stewart is now volunteering at this weekend's GrrrlFest, three days of "girl band" concerts and workshops led by women, and hopes to teach girls of all ages that they can do anything they want, including playing drums in a band.

GrrrlFest, part of the Champaign-based GirlZone volunteer project, takes its name from the RiotGrrrl movement that tried to keep women safe in the testosterone-filled mosh pits at punk concerts in the early 1990s. Aimee Rickman, the organization's director, started the program seven years ago and has held three GrrrlFests in the last few years.

"We want to get girls and women in touch with the joy involved in realizing their interests," Rickman said. "It's about letting yourself be fascinated and interested in something, reconnecting with the excitement of being involved in something that interests you personally."

GrrrlFest is offering more than 40 workshops this weekend to teach girls skills such as bicycle repair, veterinary medicine, spinning records, skateboarding and Web design.

"We want to challenge the notion that females aren't interested in all of these areas," Rickman said.

Gold's Gym instructor Margaret Buehler is volunteering her time to teach girls the basics of boxing at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"I started boxing six years ago to cross-train and improve my confidence," Buehler said. "Women can push themselves outside of the box people put them in. It's not about being a boy or a girl — it's about being an athlete."

Some workshops are directed toward girls ages 7 to 16, while others are only offered to women who are at least 17 years old. Rickman said girls ages 13 to 17 can choose whether they want to attend the womens' or girls' workshops.

"I was always told I could do anything, but I only believed it in the abstract," said GrrrlFest volunteer Rebecca Crist. "I never believed it myself. But I come out of these workshops saying I can do anything, even be a rocket scientist if I wanted to. It's really inspiring."

About 36 all-female bands volunteered to play at eight different concerts over the span of four days, traveling from as far as Denver and New York to join in GrrrlFest. The concerts kicked off with a "boy bands" show on Thursday night, offering bands with male members the opportunity to show their support for GrrrlFest, under the condition that they cover one local "girl band" song.

All of the weekend's concerts and workshops will be held at locations near campus. While the concerts are open to the public, girls must pay and register for festival passes at one of this weekend's concerts to attend the workshops. Those without passes, including men, are still welcome to attend the final workshop, "What a Girl Wants," at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday to discuss how to make the community a welcoming place for girls.

Tonight's concerts are at Mike N' Molly's, 105 N. Market St., Champaign, featuring Gina Young and The Buzzards from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and What the Kids Want, The Trembling, Second Story Man and Arcade from 9:30 p.m. until 1 a.m.

For a schedule of all of the festival's concerts and workshops, visit the organization's Web site at www.grrrlfest.com.