Upcoming Conference Question

[AmyGaleRT]

Hello, all! I've been busy for awhile now...not just with the Meetup group I'm the organizer for, but now I'm on the host committee for the upcoming Creating Change (http://www.creatingchange.org/) conference, sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, to be held here in Denver next February. I'm part of the subcommittee that will manage the Transgender Hospitality Suite, which will be a nice, welcoming place for our TG sisters and brothers to spend some time. I have a couple of things to ask.

First, if you're in the general Denver area and would like to volunteer to help, please drop me a PM and I can put you in touch with the chair of our subcommittee and our host committee chair sponsor. I'd like to see the people responsible for the suite, insofar as possible, be transgender themselves. (That means anybody on the transgender spectrum.) But we won't turn cisgender allies down. :)

Second, if you were to be an attendee of this conference (and maybe you are), what sorts of things would you want to have a transgender hospitality suite provide? Videos? Games? Other activities? Just a friendly ear to listen and share? (Snacks and drinks are already a given.) We're looking for what we ought to plan for the five days this conference will be running.

Anything you can tell me will be of help; this is my first time working with such a major conference, and I don't mind telling you I could use the advice! Thanks in advance!

- Amy

[Katey888]

Amy,

Can I say first of all what a great thing for you to be doing and supporting... :cool: I'm afraid Denver is probably just too far for me but I feel like it would be a worthy cause to support if I were closer - I hope you'll get plenty of local talent to support you, I would think one of the important aspects of a hospitality suite is to ensure you have plenty of well-briefed volunteers to support folk on entry - to welcome them, host them and chat enough to get them introduced to others... There's nothing worse than not having enough warm bodies around to properly engage people. Informative and entertaining videos are good too and can be good icebreakers - I would have guessed that the nature of the conference is such that your attendees are largely more experienced activists and campaigners and would therefore be looking more for networking opportunities rather than raw info... (just a supposition - I might be wrong.. ;)) - so while you would want to be providing enough material or educational opportunities for folk that might not have a good understanding of TG issues and perspectives, you'd want to make the environment conducive to networking... so volunteers who could facilitate this and an environment that makes folk feel comfortable and will want to hang around... You could try scheduled activities so that there is an event or something to draw people back at different times..? The activities will depend on what your budget is like... :D

Just a few thoughts - my primary focus would be on finding enough amiable, engaging volunteers to make everyone feel like they've found a refuge...

Good luck! Plenty of time before February but it will go quickly... ;)

Katey x

[Zylia]

What a great idea Amy! I think I'd like all the things you already mentioned (especially games, games are good), as well as a bunch of mirrors to check if my makeup and 'attributes' are still in place, or even better, someone to fix my makeup :D Pretty shallow, I know.

[flatlander_48]

How about something that let's everyone see the full transgender spectrum? I'm thinking of an easel with a large sheet of paper with boxes drawn on it (like tic-tac-toe). Each one represents some point on the transgender spectrum. It could also be a line with straight crossdressers at one end and post-op transexuals at the other. Basically it would be something to illustrate that the community has many parts and pieces.

And before someone pipes up with a dislike for labels and all that BS, remember that we are NOT all the same. In the entire LGBT community, we are the only one that is multi-faceted. We need to understand this and a graphical representation really makes the point. However, randomly throwing up PostIts won't make the point. It has to be by groups.

[Annaliese]

What are the dates, is it close to the Gold Rush I think it close to February also. It would be good to hit both

[Nadya]

Where can I find out more about this? I might want to brave a trip to Denver in February for something like this. :)

[AmyGaleRT]

This is the link to the conference: Creating Change Conference (http://www.creatingchange.org/)

The conference will be February 4-8, 2015, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown (1550 Court Place, close to the Civic Center and the 16th Street Mall). Early bird registration is now open, at $300 until October 31.

Katey, I think networking will be key, especially since the transgender hospitality suite has historically been one of the best-trafficked suites at the conference, I'm told (75+ people per day!).

Zylia, I'm already planning on getting Munchkin (http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/), a really fun and funny card game that I've played before with my relatives. It even includes gender-switching! :) Yes, extra mirrors will be a good thing, I think...maybe some full-length ones and some magnifying makeup mirrors.

Flatlander, maybe you're thinking of The Genderbread Person (http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/03/the-genderbread-person-v2-0/), which illustrates all the elements that go into the overall gender picture: gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and attraction. Each of those four things are independent of the other. A large poster-sized version of that might be helpful!

- Amy

[bobbimo]

I think an artist that can do caricatures would be fun, how about makeup and fashion booths where you could get a professional to help with some make up. fortune tellers are always a hit.
Post a topic of the day and at 3:00 pm or so, everyone that has some thoughts could gather and have a round table discussion.
Sounds like a lot of fun
Bobbi

[Amy Fakley]

Get in cahoots with a Mary Kay or Avon consultant who is TG (or who is hip to the unique cosmetic cosmetic issues we have). Probably one of the most nerve wrecking things is makeup shopping. Having a person around who can help you match skin tone and give pointers etc ... as well as hook you up on orders etc might be great.

[Anna Fakley]

You are all in luck if your looking for a MK lady! Here I am and I am ready to help you all out here with makeup! Just ask Amy Fakley! The best part is that you can shop online 24/7 though my website. Just drop my a personal message and I will help you with colors and product education and matching and more!!
Anna

[flatlander_48]

Flatlander, maybe you're thinking of The Genderbread Person (http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/03/the-genderbread-person-v2-0/), which illustrates all the elements that go into the overall gender picture: gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and attraction. Each of those four things are independent of the other. A large poster-sized version of that might be helpful!

- Amy

No, I had not seen that before. It is more complicated than what I envisioned, but it might be useful for the sake of information.

[AmyGaleRT]

Get in cahoots with a Mary Kay or Avon consultant who is TG (or who is hip to the unique cosmetic cosmetic issues we have). Probably one of the most nerve wrecking things is makeup shopping. Having a person around who can help you match skin tone and give pointers etc ... as well as hook you up on orders etc might be great.

I'm trying to get Phyllis Rogers, owner of Phyllis' Fantasies (http://www.phyllisfantasies.com), a local transformation studio, in for makeup tips during the lunch hour. She is an expert at helping ladies like us look our best! And this will give her an opportunity to promote her business, too!

- Amy