Since 1999, IFGE (International Federation for Gender Education) and TransEvents

USA have produced the IFGE Transgender Conference, a convention that has been held in different cities, most recently in Austin and Philadelphia. Over 300 T-girls attend the event each year. 
 

     There are events for everyone. There was a Tuesday evening pool party and the Wednesday city tours. Friday night actor/singer Jade Esteban Estrada (2005 Performance Artist of the Year) received a standing ovation after a performance of his solo musical "TransWorld! The Transgender History of the World." There was  a comedy drag show and a Saturday Gala Banquet. However, most would agree that the main attraction of the conference is the full schedule of workshops from Thursday to Saturday.

     Never having been a transgender conference attendee, I found my golden opportunity representing Gina Lance's and Brianna Austin's TGlife.com online magazine. I followed the crowds and found myself walking into a number of very informative workshops, including Lady Ellen's "Walk and Sit Like a Lady," Dr. Sherman Leis' "Male and Female Top and Bottom Surgery," Dr. Reinhardt Heuer's "Communication, Speech, and Voice Skill Acquisition," and Rina Shroeder's "Let Your Feminine Radiance Shine Through" (a skin care class).

     Each of the presenters was very knowledgeable in his or her field and at no point did I feel as if a workshop was really a disguised sales pitch. In fact, three of the four workshops included audience participation, a very important part of any learning experience. I came away from the conference knowing a little more about deportment from Lady Ellen, a little more about speech therapy from Dr. Heuer, and a little more about skin care from Rina Shroeder.

     The vendor area is a fun place to hang out in between workshop sessions. Sixteen different vendors were represented, including Classic Design Jewelers, Eldorado Hair Replacement Center, Wild Promises, Zukowski Center for Cosmetic Surgery, Le Femme Finishing School, and Renaissance Delaware. Denise Leclair of IFGE's Bookstore is a fun person to talk to, so be sure to pay her bookstore a visit and check out the vast collection of TG books that IFGE sells. Also take note of special book signings, a chance for you to discuss featured books written by the authors themselves.

     For the "early birds," Tuesday evening's pool party and buffet was the start of the conference's festivities. All 28 seats surrounding the indoor heated pool were filled. A handful of girls showed up in bathing suits, but, on the whole, everyone seemed more interested in the buffet, which consisted of Philly cheese steak sandwiches, hoagies, soft pretzels, curly fries, and cheesecake.

     On Friday night, a number of girls congregated at the hotel's Player's Sports Bar after the dinner buffet and drag show featuring Jade Esteban Estrada. One of the convention staff members set up a bus service for conference attendees to visit the downtown Center City area on a five-bar "bar crawl." The group consisted of a lot of first-timers who stuck close together. My friends and I sought a different route, so the small group who went with me received free passes to Jaded Lounge, an Asian T-girl party. My friend and co-host of Monday Night T-girls, Chris, met up with us and everyone had fun watching the transgender drag and variety show at Jaded Lounge.

     The Saturday Gala Banquet is everyone's chance to shine in their evening gowns or party dresses. Guests enjoyed a sumptuous Beef Wellington dinner complete with assorted vegetables, baked potato, beef vegetable stew, and Banana's Foster sundae. After dinner, a talent show called the "Philadelphia Follies" was the entertainment for the evening. Singers, dancers, and comedians, all guest participants, all took turns to amaze the audience.

     After the Follies, the room turned into something of a dance club and was open until midnight for freestyle dancing. Many of the guests filtered into Player's Sports Bar afterwards. I shot pool and, believe it or not, arm wrestled with one of my friends.

     There's something for everyone at a transgender convention and while you won't find everything equally entertaining, a convention such as this is what you make of it; a focused event where you can meet new and old friends and acquaintances, learn about the latest happenings in our community, and buy some cool stuff at discounted prices. While the IFGE Transgender Conference might not be as large as Southern Comfort or Be-All, the smaller group allows for a better chance for communication between folks, a more intimate setting, if you will. You owe it to yourself as a T-girl to check out at least one conference and the IFGE Transgender Conference is a great one to start with. d

©2007 TG Life