So last month a bunch of my gal pals and I all attended the Keystone Conference in Harrisburg PA . For 5 days ( really 4...one is with a major hangover ) ...crossdressers & transgender people from all over the United States & the WORLD gathered together in a celebration of gender diversity . I am told this was the LARGEST Keystone Conference to date and I would have to agree...
Keystone featured over 65 workshops on a wide range of topics from the curious closet queen crossdresser to those wishing to transition into full womanhood. Coming out, surgical issues, transgender rights, self image, presentation and the future of our community were all issues on the table at Keystone. Besides the daily seminars & luncheon speakers , it also featured a few nightly social activities which you can choose to attend. You basically can pick your own nightly agenda...or fall off the grid if you wanted....everyone I know wound up with a completely different agenda, but somehow we all connected in one way or another sometime during the week....every ones Keystone experience was different....
My Keystone experience started on Wednesday in typical Adriana Moretti fashion...after a 4 hour drive from New York , I was fashionably late to the kickoff dinner and missed the bus.......that's was ok with me though...because I prefer an off campus adventure anyway , and me and my friends all decided to go off on our own into the vanilla world and have dinner. All the gals I hang with are huge inspirations and filled with all the confidence in the world . I learn from them all everyday.
Being the kickoff night...we were not expecting miracles, so after a nice meal ( I never actually ate, just drank as usual ) we just headed back to the hotel, and found ourselves having drinks in the Dog & Pony Lounge within the Sheraton Hotel where the entertainment for the night was acoustic & mellow to say the least....but that's ok..it is Wednesday.... HUMP day & early in the week...and fit perfect for what it was.
Thursday brought me to the first conference luncheon and it started of with a bang it a big way with a front row seat to see the featured Keynote speaker Kristin Beck, a transgender and a formal U.S Navy Seal. Her story had a wonderful positive message ( Spread the positive & teach & educate the youth). After spending 20 years in the military Kristen began her transformation into womanhood. And described how she used her military experience along her journey.Kristin even has a documentary of her journey titled 'Lady Valor you can see on Netflix. She is also currently running for congress in the state of Maryland. Kristin left the podium to a well deserved standing ovation.
Thursday evening we decided to participate in one of the many conference outings and hopped on the bus and headed over to the Hollywood Casino for a night of dinner , drinks, and gambling. Being out in public is always fun, especially with the right company, and we had a blast. The staff adored our group and took wonderful care of us, we headed straight to the bar for a few drinks to get loose.
We followed that up with a late dinner @ the racetrack where we tried to figure out how to bet on the horses and decided to just bet on the pink one. Always bet on Pink. Then headed back to the hotel for a late night last drink before calling it a night. Stay tuned for part 2 of this Adventure In Crossdressing. I will re-cap the rest of the weekend in a future post. xoxo
For more information on Kristen Beck check out her website http://www.beck4congress.us/
You can get more information on her film Lady Valor http://www.ladyvalorfilm.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theladyvalor
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For more information on the Keystone Conference CLICK HERE