Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will hold its
first national conference in more than two years during the Millennium
March on Washington weekend, April 28-30, 2000. "PFLAG: Family Voices
for Equality," the 2000 PFLAG National Conference, will be held at the
Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.
Plans are afoot for a conference weekend packed with unique and useful
events for the entire PFLAG family?from chapter leaders to new members
and from parents to GLBT people. Come network, hear nationally
recognized speakers, and/or attend hands-on trainings and workshops.
The conference, which immediately precedes the historic March,
officially kicks off Friday evening, April 28, with a plenary session on
the GLBT movement and PFLAG’s role in it. Workshops will run all day
Saturday, April 29, with an Awards Banquet and Dance Saturday night.
Sunday morning will include an interfaith service and a special
membership meeting. Later in the morning, conference attendees will join
each other to attend the Millennium March on Washington, the fourth
national march for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights.
There are also several fun and exciting pre-conference events planned,
including Wednesday evening's apple pie baking (with an apple pie recipe
contest) and Thursday's lobby day, when the apple pies will be delivered
to members of Congress. On Friday afternoon, PFLAG members will join
youth and experts on school issues for a Youth and Education Institute.
From April 28-30, attendees will have access to the conference's
Exhibits Hall and Cyber CafŽ, where people can check their e-mail and
receive on-the-spot computer training.
More than 45 workshops are scheduled for Saturday. Workshop topics will
cover a range of support, education, and advocacy issues for PFLAG
conference attendees, including support group facilitation, organizing
families in communities of color, violence prevention, grandparent's
issues, public speaking, dealing with difficult family issues, and
fighting the radical right effectively. Workshop presenters will include
nationally recognized experts, leaders of PFLAG chapters with successful
programs, and representatives of leading national GLBT and mainstream
groups.
Due to the large number of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender-related activities scheduled for the weekend of the
conference and the March, people are encouraged to register for the
conference and reserve hotel rooms early. The Crystal Gateway Marriott
hotel is located three minutes from Washington, DC, and five minutes
from National Airport.
For more information and to register for the conference, please visit
the PFLAG web site at http://pflag.org/pflag.html.
