Annual Conference

13th Annual Rainbow Families Conference
Saturday, April 12, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Bryn Mawr/Anwatin Schools, 256 Upton Ave S., Minneapolis

The largest event of its kind in the country, with more than 1,200 adults and children attending last year. It's an exciting day for the whole community: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) parents and their children, prospective parents, extended family, friends, educators, and those serving our community.

Online conference registration is closed.  Walk-in registration is available for adults at the conference.  Registration for children and youth is full.

• Conference Brochure and registration form (PDF)
• Workshop List (PDF)
• Conference Resource Fair Table & Program Advertisement Registration (PDF)
  Is your organization interested in advertising in the conference program or exhibiting at the resource fair?  Download the Resource Fair and Advertising Form and return it to Rainbow Families no later than February 25, 2008.
• Educator Track and the Rainbow Families Conference (PDF)
  Also includes educator track registration form.
  

On this page:
Keynote: Urvashi Vaid
Conference Schedule
All-Day Children’s and Youth Programs
A Day for the Whole Community
Workshops
Resource Fair
The site, costs, access, and more information

Keynote: Urvashi Vaid

Photo credit: Don Hamerman

Urvashi Vaid will talk about the intersection of racial justice, sexual orientation, and gender identity. She is the Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, a private foundation which funds to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) human rights and conservation of the world's great apes.

Vaid was Deputy Director of the Governance and Civil Society Unit at the Ford Foundation. For more than 10 years prior to that, she worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the oldest national GLBT civil rights organization, first as its Media Director (7/86-7-89), then as Executive Director (8/89-12/92), and finally as Policy Institute think-tank Director (1/97-12/00). From 1983-1986, Vaid was staff attorney at the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she initiated the organization's work on HIV/AIDS in prisons.

Vaid is author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian Liberation (Anchor, 1996), a political analysis of the US GLBT movement. She is co-editor, with Dr. John D’Emilio and Dr. William Turner, of an anthology on public policy history titled Creating Change: Public Policy, Sexuality and Civil Rights (St. Martin’s Press, 2000). She is a former columnist for The Advocate, the U.S. national gay and lesbian news magazine, and has contributed chapters to a number of books. She has lectured extensively on college campuses on the issues of social justice, civil and human rights, and GLBT equality.

Conference Schedule

Photo credit: Sarah Riskin

8:30 – 9:00 am Registration
8:30 - 9:15 am Resource Fair & Coffee
9:15 – 10:15 am Session I
10:15-10:45 am Resource Fair/Networking
10:45 am – 12:00 pm Community Gathering, Keynote & Parade
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch
1:15 – 2:15 pm Workshop Session II
2:15 - 2:45 pm Resource Fair/Networking
2:45 – 4:00 pm Workshop Session III
4:00 - Ice Cream Social

Resource Fair opens 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

All-Day Children’s and Youth Programs

Photo credit: Sarah Riskin

Registration for children and youth is now open.

Infants younger than 6 months - No care provided, but infants may accompany adults.

6 months to 5 years - Play time, music, art activities and more!

K to 5th grades - Creative fun, activities provided by regional child and youth focused organizations. Gym time included.

6th to 12th grades - Age appropriate workshops and activities designed and presented by COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere)—facilitated by national staff of COLAGE and local adults who grew up with LGBT parents.

A Day for the Whole Community

Extend an invitation to your friends, grandparents, neighbors, coworkers, teacher, childcare workers, and other nurturing professionals.

Workshops

• Workshop List (PDF)

Participants can attend up to three workshops, selecting across a wide range of topics.

Creating Families
Designed for prospective parents, workshops cover the many ways LGBT persons can create a family.

Parenting
Workshops that address a broad range of topics relevant to LGBT parents.

Social Justice
Workshop participants will be encouraged to examine the systems of privilege which affect social justice, learn strategies for living with the current political climate, and gain a better understanding of how these issues intersect with LGBT families.

Legal and Financial
Workshops address the many complex legal and financial considerations surrounding the creation, security, and safety of LGBT families.

Educators in Action
Workshops providing E-12 educators the knowledge and skills to create safe and inclusive school environments for LGBT students and families. Topics will include addressing heterosexism and homophobia, LGBT-inclusive curriculum, transgender issues in schools, and working with Gay-Straight Alliances.  CEUs available.

Parents Engaging Schools
Workshops for parents addressing school issues for families. Learn about LGBT resources available to schools, how to choose a school for your family, and strategies for advocating for LGBT-inclusive school environments.

More Than an Ally
Workshops in this track will focus on specific ways that supporters of LGBT families can find and use their voice as change agents.

Workshops are subject to change.

Resource Fair

Extensive resource fair representing nearly 100 organizations, including nonprofits, service providers, financial, legal, and real estate, schools, faith communities, and more. Coffee is available in the Resource Fair throughout the day.

Site, costs, access, and more information

Conference Costs

Rainbow Families keeps the conference cost low for both adults and children, while still providing quality programming, food, and entertainment. The actual cost of the conference is over $100 per person. Our dedicated volunteers, generous contributions, volunteer presenters, and the support of sponsors, all keep the conference affordable.

Photo credit: Sophia Hantzes, all rights reserved

Refunds and Weather - Watch this site for registration information

$20 processing fee for cancellation prior to March 28. No refunds will be issued after March 28. The conference will be held regardless of weather conditions.

Access/Special Needs

The conference is wheelchair accessible. ASL at Community Gathering and Keynote. Call early to arrange other ASL services.

Directions

Anwatin/Bryn Mawr School, 256 Upton Avenue S., Minneapolis (Yahoo Map showing Anwatin)

Take Penn Avenue exit off of Highway 394 west of downtown Minneapolis. Go north to first stoplight and turn left onto Cedar Lake Road. Road forks immediately; stay right on West Laurel Avenue. Continue on Laurel about 4 blocks west to Anwatin School. Anwatin School is on MTC bus routs #9.

Questions?

612-827-7731 | connect@rainbowfamilies.org

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Rainbow Families^TM, 711 West Lake Street, Suite 210, Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-827-7731, connect@rainbowfamilies.org