Fantasia Fair 2016
A view of the Provincetown monument from the wharf area.
(Click on photos for a larger view.)
I was fortunate to attend the 42nd annual Fantasia Fair in Provincetown, Massachusetts, which took place last month. (way out on the tip of Cape Cod). The weather was pleasant for most of the week and we had a great time. Provincetown is a very transgender friendly town, quaint and kind of old-worldly. There are modern conveniences in stores for sale but there are no high-rise hotels. You stay in hotels, motels, guest houses or condos but they are all 1 or 2 story types. The Fair has been running consecutively in Provincetown (or PTown for short) for 42 years so it’s the longest running transgender event going and is very much supported by the town.
Sergeant Lopes from the Provincetown police shows up at the welcoming brunch on Monday morning to show the support of local law enforcement and even has a presentation later Monday afternoon.
A couple of other neat things about the Fair is it runs an entire weekend from Sunday to Sunday and couples are welcomed with open arms in addition to the transgender community. There are lots of things taking place during the week but there are “veg out” times as well (it’s called bedtime by some).
I have been coming to the Fair for 10 years or so and have enjoyed friendships with others spanning those years. For a few years, I helped on the organizing committee doing programming and advertising so I know much of what’s happening, when it’s supposed to happen, and how. Sometimes the best laid plans don’t always work out but the Fair seems to hum along quite well. This year a few people were not able to attend so others were thrust into key roles (talent show producer, help with registration, music, etc.) and the Fair still hummed along.
Jennifer Finney Boylan.
What goes on at Fan Fair? There are many meals provided (lunches on all days and several meal-type events); morning and afternoon sessions/workshops including daily meetings for 1st time transgender attendees as well as 1st time non-transgender (spouse) attendees; a daily keynote by a notable person from the community; two awards banquets, a fashion show and a talent show (called The Follies). And speaking of keynoters, here’s a picture of Jennifer Finney Boylan giving her Tuesday keynote address which was comprised of stories of her life woven together from her books. She is an author, college professor, consultant and was a cast member on the I Am Cait show about Caitlyn Jenner. She also serves on several boards including GLADD. She received the Transgender Pioneer Award on Monday evening.
Dawn Innis
Other keynoters were Diego Miguel Sanchez (former policy advisor to Rep. Barney Frank and presently Director of Policy for PFLAG National), Lorelei Erisis (writer, activist and entertainer from Mass.) who is in your face, bold and brassy (or is that sassy?), Trace Peterson (trans woman, poet, teacher and critic from NYC), Nick Teich who founded and leads overnight summer camps for transgender kids, and Dawn Ennis who’s was a broadcast journalist who transitioned very publicly and now contributes articles for various publications include The Advocate. They were all great!
And that’s not all of the Fair’s activities. At Tuesday’s dinner at the Provincetown Theater members of the Butterfly Transgender Chorus from Cambridge, Mass. performed, as well as two trans women comedians, and the show’s MC was Lorelei. (As in Mistress of Comedy.)
Lorelei warming up the audience.
Butterfly Transgender Chorus
Comedian Jaye McBride
I went to several workshops and presented one myself on “Getting Out and About” which was well received by the dozen attendees. I attended several spouse sessions oriented toward couples which were led by Dr. Maureen Osborne; a session entitled “Speaking and Expressing your Gender” led by Sandi Hammond who leads the Butterfly Chorus and is trained in music and voice; a session about community; Dallas Denny’s talk about (trans)gender in the Victorian and Edwardian times; and a talk by Prof. K. J. Rawson and three students from Holy Cross U. who spoke about the Digital Transgender Archive which is an online library of transgender material (which my local support group made our library available to for analysis and transcribing into digital /online reference material). These are the workshops I went to but there were others on makeup, movement, hair, improv, knitting and other topics, plus a few doctors visited to discuss transition options.
Jan out and about on Commercial St.
Jan in her guesthouse.
At the Saturday Nite banquet.
Three other things need to be mentioned. The Fashion Show was glitzy and fun. The Follies (talent show) was well done and more fun. The Saturday Nite Gala was impressive and lots more fun. That was Fantasia Fair 2016.
Interested to learn more and maybe attend the Fair, October 15-22, 2017 in Provincetown, Massachusetts? Check out FantasiaFair.org. View a complete slideshow of Jan’s visit to Fantasia Fair.
Category: Transgender Community News
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jan is actively involved in the transgender community in NYS and Florida where she snowbirds. Jan co-founded her local TG support group, Mid-Hudson Valley Transgender Association (MHVTA) in 2000 and gets out in her various communities (including retail therapy, dining out, and visiting places of interest). She has presented at various TG events including Fantasia Fair, IFGE, Southern Comfort, Be-All, First Event, Liberty and Empire) and was part of the Fantasia Fair organizing committee for several years focusing on programming and advertising.Subscribe
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