Mazzoni Center’s upcoming annual Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference is expected to break its attendance record, as close to 10,000 attendees are expected for its 17th year.
“It’s a good time for people from all over the world to be with other trans-identifying people and celebrate each other and themselves,” said Oliver de Luz, Mazzoni Center’s events and volunteer coordinator. “This is an opportunity for allies to better educate themselves and meet with members of the community in an effort to continue to support and uplift them.”
The three-day conference will take place Aug. 2-4 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Its mission, de Luz said, is to educate and empower trans people while educating and informing allies and health providers on trans rights and issues.
The conference offers a wide range of workshops for the trans community and allies, including “Family Through a Gender Transition,” “Being a Millennial Queer with Culturally Conservative Parents,” “Post Top Surgery Scar Care,” “Maybe Baby! Baby-Making Options for Trans Prospective Parents” and “Surgical Options for Transgender Women: Vaginoplasty, Facial Feminization.”
The first two days of the PTWC will feature professional-track workshops with training courses for behavioral-health and medical professionals, legal professionals, educators and anyone looking for continuing-education credits.
With some 250 workshops that are free and open to the general public, the PTWC is the largest trans-specific conference in the world, de Luz said.
“There are other gender, sexuality and trans conferences, but this is the only one that is free to attend. Since its inception, the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference has always had the intention to remain free and accessible to the public. We don’t want to turn anyone away from this opportunity.”
Participants from every continent except Antarctica are expected to attend. The conference opens with a reception 7-9 p.m. Aug. 2 at the National American Jewish History Museum. The conference also will feature the Resistance Ball, a ballroom competition, 8:30-11:30 p.m. Aug. 3. The ball will be held in collaboration with Chi Chi Mizrahi from the documentary “Kiki,” which chronicles the Kiki scene — a social gathering of LGBTQ youth of color — in New York.
Participants will “walk,” or compete, in various categories at the Resistance Ball for trophies. De Luz said the conference is reintroducing the ball after a five-year absence as “something for the community, created by the community.”