The third and final Grrrlfest came to a close Sunday night after Grrrlfest organizer Aimee Rickman left trying to hold back tears.

Grrrlfest was a local program that encouraged girls and women to get involved and challenge the boundaries they impose on themselves. Due to a lack of funding, Sunday was Rickman's final event.

Women of all ages and backgrounds gathered in the back room of the Independent Media Center at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Urbana. They focused on the positive experiences and confidence generated from Grrrlfest, as well as how to maintain the spirit of Grrrlfest with new programs in the community.

During a Grrrlfest workshop on entomology, girls were face to face with giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and the girls didn't want to go near them, said Grrrlfest volunteer Rebecca Crist. By the end of the workshop, the girls were excited and began holding the roaches in their hands asking their parents if they could take them home as pets.

That same exploring spirit of Grrrlfest was evident when an 8-year-old took part in learning how to play the drums. At first she was upset and didn't want to be there, Rickman said. But the second she got a drumstick and heard the "thwack" of the snare drum, her curiosity and excitement grew.

"The hope is that by bringing this to a close, other organizations will work to provide new programs for girls," Crist said. "Our culture lets girls play it safe, and we encourage them to take risks. Girls have amazing abilities too, and are capable and competent."

Young girls weren't the only ones who learned valuable skills at Grrrlfest. Danielle Chynoweth, a member of Urbana City Council, said she learned how to knit and fix her own bicycle.

Chynoweth said she has looked into getting the youth of Urbana into the democratic process by possibly creating a youth advisory committee to get a feel for what teens in Urbana want from their government.

GirlZone, the organization that founded Grrrlfest, was supported by small grants. But after eight years, local funding for GirlZone dried up.

Once local funding dropped off, the hopes of funding from larger organizations stopped as well. "To be eligible large foundations want to see local funding first," Crist said. "It's a big cycle."

Rickman said Grrrlfest workshops encourage girls to cross gender lines by teaching Aikido or how to skateboard and that's one reason for the lack of local funds. In downstate Illinois, girls who are tomboys or a group that facilitates girls to do what are typically considered "guy" things raises eyebrows in the community, Rickman said.

"It's scary to some conservative groups that some of the people on our staff are lesbians or gays. We are not seen as a benign group," Rickman said.

Rickman added that not getting enough inside connections and knowing the right people also made getting funding difficult.

The meeting came to a close with an exchange of phone numbers and e-mail addresses with hopes that other programs and activities will spring from Grrrlfest.

Rickman stood with tears welling up in her eyes, and just before walking out the door on a program that has touched the lives of many girls said: "I have so much faith that the people in this community will continue what was started here. Things don't start on their own, they are built. Please, please build stuff."