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 over 30 years, Family Week has supported and inspired, fostered community and friendships, and addressed the unique joys and challenges that arise for queer 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.
All COLAGE workshops are created by people in LGBTQ+ families for youth in LGBTQ+ families. COLAGE programs are thoughtfully developed for each age group and balance creativity with recreation, provide a safe environment to talk with other youth about challenges they face and ways to become empowered, and focus on connecting them with a network of peers that will be lifelong friends and their support system. 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 and virtually. 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 2hr morning workshops, including end-of-week "do-something" creativity workshops which youth will have the option of presenting at our annual Variety Show. Entrance to youth-only lunch chats based on family formation (ie: adoption, donor conception and assisted reproduction, people with trans parents, or parent coming out) and identity (people of color, people with disabilities, 2nd generation COLAGErs, white allies, non-disabled allies, or straight/culturally queer). Entrance to an exclusive youth-only scavenger hunt around Ptown and other fun activities! All family members of registered youth will also be given access to several events for the whole family throughout the course of the week, such as the COLAGE Kickoff, Snacks at Canteen, the 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 gain access to the largest network of youth with LGBTQ+ parents/caregivers in the world.
In keeping with our economic justice ethos, our starting price point for Waffles, Crew, and High School tickets is intentionally $0 to make COLAGE programming at Family Week accessible to all families, regardless of resources. The suggested price per youth is $300. You are welcome and encouraged to pay more or less according to your needs. Our Sprouts programming is returning at a set price of $200 in order for us to accommodate as many younger COLAGErs as possible. Sprouts programming is being run by a small team of early childhood professionals with a great amount of experience working with young children.
If you are in a financial position to pay more than $300, it would help us offset the increased cost of running Family Week. The Ptown Inn is under new management and the price of our programming space there has significantly increased. 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 with COLAGE, please email us at familyweek@colage.org .
HEALTH AND SAFETY
As we are still navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, COLAGE is working hard to ensure that we can all engage in-person together as safely as possible. All of our staff are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and regularly test throughout the week. While most of our indoor events will be held in rooms with open windows and HEPA filters, mask usage is strongly encouraged.
Given the current political environment, COLAGE is taking extra care to keep Family Week safe. In addition to working with the Town of Provincetown, our staff have developed a safety plan and will be ready to implement it in the unlikely event that we need to do so.
ACCESSIBILITY
We are doing everything we can to make Family Week inclusive in celebration of our different perspectives, experiences, and accessibility needs! You will be prompted to indicate any access needs your youth may have while registering . Although all of our programming is hosted in ADA accessible spaces, it is important to note that Ptown was largely built before the ADA was signed into law. There are few to no elevators in many buildings that have multiple floors, there are usually steps to enter establishments, most venues have little-to-no parking, and the sidewalks are narrow, crowded, and uneven.
We have gathered measurements and pictures from in-person trips for anyone who wants to know more about the spaces we use in Ptown and if their access requests can be met at specific events. ASL interpreters will be available at our family events, such as the COLAGE Kickoff, 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's Family Week programming sells out every year (and we expect to sell out again), so make sure you register your family with COLAGE for Family Week before it's too late!
We are a very small organization with limited resources. With the resources we do have, we want to ensure that we are abundantly supporting our volunteer facilitators and not burning them out. We have youth to facilitator ratios to best respect and support our youth and volunteers, and therefore have a max capacity per age group. The age group breakdowns for COLAGE Family Week programming are as follows:
20 slots for Sprouts: ages 5-7 60 slots for Waffles: ages 8-10 40 slots for Crew: ages 11-13 30 slots for High School: ages 14-18
We are always looking for ways to support more facilitators in order to open more registration slots for youth. If you are interested in helping us raise money to provide more registration slots in the future, please email us at familyweek@colage.org or consider making an additional donation to support our work.
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. If there are no longer spots in your desired age group(s), please use this form to reserve a spot on the waitlist! We are usually able to accommodate about half of our waitlist each year and will contact you if and when a spot becomes available.
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 5-7 year olds (Sprouts), 8-10 year olds (Waffles), 11-13 year olds (Crew), or 14-18 year olds (High School). COLAGE tickets are only for youth ages 5-18 with one or more LGBTQ+ parent or caregiver. 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 Kickoff, 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 events and workshops including the COLAGEr-only drop-off programs.
This year's Family Equality programming registration will launch on Wednesday, March 5th and will be linked here when it becoes available. Here is more information about Family Equality's programming:
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 beloves 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 programming here!
Do I need to register for each family member or is one ticket sufficient? You will need to register one ticket for each youth who will be attending COLAGE programming. 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, as outlined in the answer above.
Do I need to check-in/register in-person on the Sunday of Family Week? 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 COLAGE at the registration event.
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? While you are not required to attend anything, registration covers the full week of programming and we encourage all registered participants to attend COLAGE events for all seven days. The full week of 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 one another to create a week-long curriculum that is developed by and for people in LGBTQ+ families.
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 website’s homepage and follow us on Instagram , Bluesky , and LinkedIn to stay connected!
