Not Too Late – Register for Families in the Desert this Weekend!
Celebrate | Commit| Connect
Families in the Desert
Family Equality Council is working hard every day to change attitudes and policies across the country, to ensure that all families are respected, loved, and celebrated—including families with parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We are a community who has stood together for 30 years now, to raise our children and our voices toward fairness for all families.
Our Families in the Desert event is a unique experience that brings together LGBT-headed families from across the West Coast for a long weekend, designed to offer LGBT parents and their children the chance to celebrate their diversity, connect with other LGBT-headed families, and join in community conversations about ongoing advocacy for LGBT family equality.
The 2012 Families in the Desert is being presented as part of a series of community events that will honor the Family Equality Council’s 30th anniversary – a year-long national celebration of our commitment to create a better world for LGBT-headed families.
During the weekend of October 26th – October 28th, 2012, LGBT-headed families and their friends will gather for the 2012 Families in the Desert at the Embassy Suites Palm Desert in the glorious Palm Springs area – a beautiful and scenic location, rich with a long history of welcoming the LGBT community.
The 2012 Families in the Desert event offers a unique blend of vacation-style fun and family-style programming. In addition to the wide range of crafts and games for kids during Kidapalooza, we’ll be hosting topic-based Parent Café sessions which provide opportunities for families to discuss important issues with experts in the field.
Our LGBT Family Finance Café will address everything from socially conscious investing, to tax laws that impact LGBT-headed families in particular, to real estate planning. Our Finance panelists include Elana Pianko, Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, David Ellis with Ellis & Ellis CPAs, Inc., and Eric Lavey, real estate expert for Teles Properties Beverly Hills.
Informal gatherings during the weekend will provide opportunities for families to come together around common interests and experiences. One of our meet-ups will bring families together to discuss family creation and expansion options for the LGBT-headed family community. Experts from Growing Generations, The California Cryobank, and RaiseAChild.US will join us to answer individual questions about everything from public adoption, to IVF, to surrogacy, surrogacy – allowing families to tailor the experience to their needs and interests, discussing the most up-to-date advances in family formation.
Family Equality Council’s new Outspoken Generation program, our signature program for teens and young adults with LGBT parents, will also be spotlighted during Families in the Desert. On Friday evening, a panel of authors will join the youth and their families for a discussion about storytelling, authorship, and the importance of sharing your personal story. Throughout the weekend, these young adults will be introduced to messaging strategies that can have a powerful impact on our efforts to “change hearts and minds.” The weekend will conclude with a Youth Panel where members of the Outspoken Generation can share their stories with our families and other community members.
Finally, our Studio 30 Family Dance Party – our 30th anniversary version of a Studio 54 theme – will take place on Saturday night, featuring face-painting, balloon animals, and a glittery disco ambiance. The night is sure to be unforgettable – to double the fun, we’ll be hosting a Halloween Costume Contest at the dance with surprise prizes!
This is a getaway for LGBT-headed families like no other – see you in Palm Springs!
For more information, please contact our Programs Associate, Andra Oshinsky at andra@familyequality.org / 617.502.8706, or visit the Families in the Desert website, www.familyequality.org/desert.