Family Week 2024

WHAT IS FAMILY WEEK?

Family Week is a week-long event co-hosted by COLAGE and Family Equality where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and/or asexual (LGBTQIA+) families gather in Provincetown, MA.

For 30 years, Family Week has supported and inspired, fostered community and friendships, and addressed the unique joys and challenges that arise for LGBTQ+ families through a week of programs, events, and celebrations. Generations of Family Week alumni are now active allies, change agents, social justice leaders, and compassionate individuals who are making a difference.

COLAGE programs are thoughtfully developed for each age group balancing creativity with recreation, providing a safe environment to talk with other youth about challenges they face and ways to become empowered, while focusing on connecting them with a network of peers that will be lifelong friends and their support system. All COLAGE workshops are created by people in LGBTQ+ families for youth in LGBTQ+ families. Volunteers travel from all over the world to support COLAGE and the youth at Family Week.

REGISTRATION WITH COLAGE

COLAGE Family Week registration includes access to all COLAGE events in Provincetown, MA. If you also want to register with Family Equality for Family Week, please click here. COLAGE programming this year includes:

• Entrance to exclusive youth-only 2 hour morning workshops, including end-of-week "do-something" creativity workshops which youth will have the option of presenting at the Variety Show. 
• Entrance to youth-only lunch chats based on family creation (adoption, people with trans parents, assisted reproduction, parent coming out) and identity (people of color, people with disabilities, 2nd generation, white allies, non-disabled allies, straight/culturally queer).
• Entrance to exclusive youth-only scavenger hunt around Ptown!
• All family members of registered youth will also be given access to whole-family events throughout the course of the week such as the COLAGE Kick Off, COLAGE Benefit Auction, Beach Bash at Herring Cove Beach, the Teen Panel, the Variety Show, and the Pride Parade.
• By joining COLAGE at Family Week, youth and families will gain access to the largest network of youth in LGBTQ+ families across the world.

Like last year, this year's registration is pay-what-you-can, in order to ensure that programming reaches as many families as possible. The starting point for registration is $1 (plus a $0.50 booking fee) for each youth, but our suggested ticket price per youth is $300. You are welcome to pay more or less according to your needs. If you're in a financial position to pay more than $300 it would offset our increased cost of running Family Week. The Ptown Inn is under new management and the price of our programming space there has doubled. As always, your financial support of COLAGE ensures that we are able to continue offering life-changing and robust programming to youth in LGBTQ+ families!

If you have a question about registration, please email familyweek@colage.org.

COVID-19 SAFETY

As we are still navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, our teams are working hard to ensure that we can all engage as safely as possible. All of our staff are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and test if they feel symptomatic. Most of our events will be held inside with open windows and HEPA filters and mask usage is encouraged. We are continuing to follow CDC guidelines, and work with the Town of Provincetown, and will continue to share safety information leading up to and during Family Week.

ACCESSIBILITY

We are doing everything we can to make Family Week inclusive in celebration of our different perspectives, lives, experiences, and accessibility needs! You will be prompted to indicate any access needs your youth may have while registering. Although all our programming is hosted in ADA accessible spaces, it is important to note that in Ptown, there are few to no elevators in many buildings that are multiple stories, there are usually steps to enter buildings, and most venues have little-to-no parking. Additionally, the sidewalks in Ptown are narrow, crowded, and uneven.

We have gathered measurements, images, and pictures from in-person trips for anyone who wants to know more about the spaces and if their access requests can be met at Family Week or specific events. ASL interpreters will be available at our family events such as the COLAGE Kick Off, Teen Panel and Variety Show. If your youth needs an ASL interpreter during programming or someone else in your family needs ASL interpretation at our family events, please indicate that on your registration when prompted about access needs. At Herring Cove, where we host the Beach Bash, there is a wooden ramp and access mat that extends halfway down the sand. However, with the tide, it does not always provide a reliable or accessible decline onto the beach. Ptown does have free beach wheelchairs available. We have chairs at all of our other events for both youth and parents to be able to sit down and COLAGE staff are always willing to work with participants in any way to make more spaces accessible.

We are very open to feedback and giving support/information as needed. Our goal is to plan this event with disability justice top of mind -- please don't hesitate to contact us if we are failing to reach this goal. If you have any questions about how we can best support you and your families access needs, please email us at familyweek@colage.org.

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

COLAGE is very small organization with limited resources. With the resources we do have, we want to ensure that we are abundantly supporting our volunteer facilitators. We wish we could support more facilitators in order to open more registration slots for youth, but this year, we can only let in 130 youth. COLAGE's programming for Family Week sells out every year and we expect to sell out again, so make sure you register your family with COLAGE for Family Week 2024 before it's too late! We have youth to facilitator ratios to best respect and support our youth and volunteers, and therefore have a max capacity per age group. For example, the Waffles age group has a 5:1 youth to facilitator ratio, the Crew age group has 6:1, and High School has 6:1.  The age group breakdowns for COLAGE Family Week programming are as follows:

• 60 slots for Waffles: 8-10-years old

• 38 slots for Crew: 11-13-years old

• 32 slots for High School: 14-18-years old

When our registration fills up, please use this Google form to reserve a spot!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the difference between COLAGE registration and Family Equality registration for Family Week?

When you register for Family Week with COLAGE, you will have the option of choosing a ticket for 8-10 year olds, 11-13 year olds, or 14-18 year olds. COLAGE offers morning workshops for these age groups (including creative "do-something" workshops at the end of the week), affinity chats, youth hang-outs, a Facilitator in Training program for youth entering junior and senior year of high school, and teen-zones for High Schoolers at family events. All COLAGE youth programs are led for and by people with LGBTQ+ parents. COLAGE programs are thoughtfully developed for each age group, balancing creativity with recreation; providing a safe environment for participants to talk with other youth about challenges they face and ways to become empowered, all while focusing on connecting to a network of peers that will last their whole lives. All family members of COLAGE registered youth will also be given access to family events throughout the course of the week such as the COLAGE Kick Off, Snacks at The Canteen, Beach Bash at Herring Cove Beach, the Teen Panel, the Variety Show, and Pride Parade.  Registering for a COLAGE ticket for Family Week will give you access to the 30+ Family Week official events and workshops including the COLAGEr-only drop-off programs. The COLAGE ticket is only for youth ages 8-18 with one or more LGBTQ+ parent or caregiver.

This year's Family Week promises to be bigger and better than ever, featuring a wide array of enriching activities, engaging workshops, and opportunities to connect with like-minded families. Whether you're a seasoned Family Week family or a fresh-faced first-timer, we can’t WAIT to join you all at our beloved oasis on the Cape. Family Equality’s registration will be pay-what-you-can in order to ensure that this programming reaches as many families as possible. We welcome you to pay what you can for your family to attend. Our suggested amounts are: $150 per adult (18+) and $100 per youth (3-17). We ask that you and your family reflect thoughtfully about your socioeconomic means and the importance of Family Week, and pay what you are able to support Family Equality’s ability to continue to provide these opportunities for connection. Register for Family Equality events and activities here!

Do I need to register for each family member or is one ticket sufficient?

Yes, you will need to register for each youth who will be attending COLAGE programming. However, parents/caregivers do NOT need to register themselves. By registering your youth with COLAGE, parents will gain access to family events throughout the course of the week such as the COLAGE Kick Off, Snacks at The Canteen, Beach Bash at Herring Cove Beach, the Teen Panel, the Variety Show, and Pride Parade.

Do I need to register/check-in in-person on the Sunday of Family Week if I pre-register online?

Yes. Online registration in the spring is a way of reserving spots and collecting information. In-person registration on Sunday of Family Week is to verify that you are present. Every family must check-in with Family Equality or COLAGE at Registration/Check-In in person. At Registration in Ptown, you will receive notice about schedule updates, exciting giveaways, and your family’s wristbands (*please note - wristbands are only required for official Family Week programming.) This is a way to secure your spot the week of. 

What if I cannot check-in for Family Week on Sunday during the designated times?

If you are planning on arriving in Ptown later than Sunday of Family Week, please indicate that on the form or email us at familyweek@colage.org before Family Week. If you do not show up to registration on Sunday of Family Week and you have not let us know that you will be late, we will assume that you are forgoing your youth's spot and we will extend that spot to someone on the waitlist. Refunds are only issued to families who indicate on this form that they will arrive late or contact us before Family Week. If you simply do not show up without prior indication, you will not receive a refund.

What if I want to only send my child to COLAGE programming one day?

Registration covers the full week of programming and we encourage all registered participants to attend COLAGE events for all seven days. The week-long programming allows youth to make lasting friendships with people who also have LGBTQ+ parents/caregivers and foster a sense of community. Our programs build upon each other to create a week-long curriculum that is developed by and for people in LGBTQ+ families. If you have any further questions please email familyweek@colage.org.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU SELECT THE CORRECT AGE GROUP FOR YOUR YOUTH! If you select the wrong one, and try to correct it after our slots fill up, we will not be able to guarantee a slot for your youth. When tickets sell out, please use this Google form to reserve a spot on our waitlist.

How can I be informed about COLAGE's work outside of Family Week?

We welcome you to join our national mailing list at the bottom of our homepage, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram to stay connected!