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UK Keystone?

27 Posts
14 Users
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Posts: 163
Lady
Topic starter
(@hvdt)
Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Joined: 7 years ago

I personally live in the Netherlands but wouldn’t it be fabulous to organise a small Keystone type event in the UK? I see more and more British girls joining CDH. I don’t know if the Beaumont Society do this? But a franchised CDH event would be really good.  I would definitely fly over for an event like this. Brighton conference centre would be a fantastic venue. 
I have no idea what the attendance stateside is or if there would be enough attendees in the UK to make it float but the idea is great. 

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26 Replies
11 Replies
Managing Ambassador
(@ellyd22)
Joined: 2 years ago

Majestic Member     Norfolk, United Kingdom
Posts: 5220

@hvdt Hi Helene

I would LOVE for there to be a 'Keystone-like' event in the UK, and have previously enquired about whether such a thing already exists (spoiler alert: it doesn't):

Crossdressing events in the UK – General Chat “Life as it Goes On” – Crossdresser Heaven Forums

My personal take is that it would be easiest to organise something like this on the back of an existing event, such as Sparkle (Manchester)  ... or to build it around one of the 'Leeds First Friday' events (the first Friday of every month). These would provide an existing (and very vibrant) social aspect to proceedings.

According to their website, Sparkle attracted 22,000 visitors in 2023.

Leeds and Manchester both have the advantage of being relatively central in the UK (Leeds is better in this respect) with abundant accommodation opportunities. All that would be needed would be to book a venue in which various talks / makeovers / workshops could be provided over a two or three day period.

This would reduce the risk of someone investing a significant amount of money in such an event only to find that it never got off the ground.

If that model proved to be successful, there would be the possibility of growing it into a larger event over time.

An initial, relatively small, trial would at least show whether the concept was viable.

Thoughts?

Ellie x

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Guest
(@Anonymous 94505)
Joined: 1 year ago

Estimable Member
Posts: 225

@ellyd22 I suppose it would be possible to arrange for a group to arrange to meet for Leeds First Friday in suitably agreeable future date. If this date was of sensible date going forward that group could all book in the same hotel, safety in numbers for the nervous. Also any makeover services would be able to work for multiple girls or the confident could help those who need help. Just a thought and any comments welcome.

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Managing Ambassador
(@ellyd22)
Joined: 2 years ago

Majestic Member     Norfolk, United Kingdom
Posts: 5220

@melaniejames LFF is already a highly, and wonderfully, organised thing which is gaining an international reputation. They have nine makeover services in attendance, all of which are usually fully booked; they organise evening events such as Cocktails at 9; they have an infrastructure to cope with nervous newbies; they have a comprehensive list of recommended CD/TG friendly hotels; they have a list of regularly-used venues which are all crammed on the first Friday of every month.

It's big, it's successful, and it's growing.

So ... the whole accommodation and social aspect thing is already in place, and there isn't anything at all stopping a group of us coordinating a CDH social on one of the those 'First Fridays' and meeting up for a memorable evening. That would be a very easy thing to achieve.

To turn it into a more of an embryonic 'Keystone' you'd want to tap into that existing infrastructure (without treading on anyone's toes), and build something that STARTED on the Friday and then extended over the Saturday - with some talks and workshops on the Saturday afternoon, a social event on the Saturday evening (plus the opportunity for further bar-based socialising) and then something for late on Sunday morning before everyone departed.

It would all be do-able with a little bit of thought and effort ...

Ellie x

 

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Duchess Annual
(@janetw)
Joined: 4 years ago

Reputable Member     Caterham, Surrey, United Kingdom
Posts: 297

@ellyd22 That sounds very practical Ellie and socials could be arranged with minimal expense and kept informal at first. I know some quite influential professional groups that started that way.

Janet x

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Guest
(@Anonymous 94505)
Joined: 1 year ago

Estimable Member
Posts: 225

@janetw would seem to be a good way for those interested to meet and form a sisterhood.

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Managing Ambassador
(@lizk)
Joined: 5 years ago

Illustrious Member     North County San Diego, California, United States of America
Posts: 3858

@ellyd22 

I knew about Leeds.  I guess I never connected the dots.  LFF...12x/year.  I MUST attend this!

/EA

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Lady
(@margprodue)
Joined: 3 years ago

Noble Member     Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
Posts: 1119

@ellyd22   I always knew that you had the magic.  Make it so sister.   Hugs,  Marg

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Managing Ambassador
(@lizk)
Joined: 5 years ago

Illustrious Member     North County San Diego, California, United States of America
Posts: 3858

@ellyd22 

Posted by: @ellyd22

All that would be needed would be to book a venue in which various talks / makeovers / workshops could be provided over a two or three day period.

Be forewarned.  This is a LOT of work.  But totally worth it.

/EA

 

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(@hvdt)
Joined: 7 years ago

Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Posts: 163

@emilyalt I started volunteering at our local support group with organising meetings and events. It has proved to be quite frustrating. Crossdresser’s tend to be flaky in being very enthusiastic but then when the day gets close cancelling, through fear I think or just not turning up.

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Managing Ambassador
(@lizk)
Joined: 5 years ago

Illustrious Member     North County San Diego, California, United States of America
Posts: 3858

@hvdt 

I agree.  At the most recent gathering I attended, about 1/3 of the attendees bailed within 2 days of the start date.  They all gave notice but it's still very frustrating. 

I think that for anyone organizing such an event, there has to be an assumption and acceptance that some people won't show up.  Plans and commitments should be made with that in mind.

After a few events have taken place, a core group of attendees tends to be defined.  Building on that foundation is one of the ways to grow an event.  It takes time. 

/EA

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Lady
(@butteryeffect)
Joined: 2 years ago

Reputable Member     Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Posts: 173

@hvdt I don't really know the format of Keystone but there is Sparkle - https://www.sparkle.org.uk/ - in the UK

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Posts: 1460
(@finallyfiona)
    Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Joined: 1 year ago

I love the idea too 🙂  I don't see anything like it on the Beaumont Society website though, so there's probably a reason we don't have such an event over here. 

Keystone is for the whole trans community, and one of this year's event descriptions mentions this being about 0.5% of the population as a whole.  Assuming the same percentage in the UK, where we only have about 1/5th of the population size of the US, that might be just 335,000 people in total.  Then, only a certain proportion of the community are going to be out and/or able to travel, afford to stay in hotels etc. 

I'd love to be proved wrong, but the chances are that the numbers are just not there that would allow such an event to float in the UK.

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2 Replies
(@hvdt)
Joined: 7 years ago

Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Posts: 163

@finallyfiona We dont have anything of that proportional percentage here in the Netherlands either. I think we have a lot more freedom so we maybe don’t feel the need to congregate. I just think it would be good for visibility and a lot of fun. I think symposia are helpful in sharing and educating. Maybe time to dip the toe of curiosity in the Beaumont Society’s pond.

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Managing Ambassador
(@lizk)
Joined: 5 years ago

Illustrious Member     North County San Diego, California, United States of America
Posts: 3858

@finallyfiona 

These types of events start small.  A few dozen girls gathering for a loosely formatted program.  One that encourages socializing over a structured agenda.  Over time they might grow into something with a much larger attendance, various educational sessions, etc.  Or they might stay small.

The event I attend every year, Desert Crossroads in Palm Springs CA, started very small and never got very big.  It's relatively easy to plan because its driving theme is socializing.  The only important head counts are the dinners.  It could go like that indefinitely.  Most of the girls that attend live within 2 hours driving distance.

I don't see why you couldn't do something similar in the UK.  Little grassroots events could pop up all over!

/EA

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Posts: 1073
Managing Ambassador
(@melodeescarlet)
Famed Member     DC/Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Joined: 2 years ago

I'd also note that Keystone isn't some ComiCon sized event. The total attendance is somewhere between 700-800 - a very modest sized event. So you don't need a US-sized population to get that level.

Everything of this nature needs a few people to start the ball rolling! 😉

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Posts: 1797
Baroness Annual
(@d44)
Famed Member     New York, United States of America
Joined: 5 years ago

The 2023 Keystone Conference had about 750 attendees. For your reference, the First Event Conference in Boston has about 500-550 attendees.

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1 Reply
(@hvdt)
Joined: 7 years ago

Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Posts: 163

@lexicd44  It seems do-able if someone with the experience in organising events dares.

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Posts: 1335
(@rebeccabaxter)
    Cornwall, United Kingdom
Joined: 1 year ago

I know little about the Beaumont Society but a quick look at the website seems to imply that it is almost exclusively for transgender or transitioning ladies and gentlemen. How much time the society has for 'simple' cross-dressers I don't know, but I suspect it's not much. I expect someone will enlighten me if I have got this completely wrong.

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1 Reply
(@hvdt)
Joined: 7 years ago

Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Posts: 163

@rebeccabaxter When I lived in the UK some 35 years ago the Beaumont was pretty much exclusively CDs. Maybe their demographic has changed. I know the do hold open evenings.

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Posts: 297
Duchess Annual
(@janetw)
Reputable Member     Caterham, Surrey, United Kingdom
Joined: 4 years ago

Hi Helene,

I would certainly support the idea although I suspect if we UK girls want it to happen we would have to organise it ourselves. I know there are events and there have been some useful posts outlinining these.

 

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Posts: 163
Lady
Topic starter
(@hvdt)
Estimable Member     Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Joined: 7 years ago

Same here, I like the idea, but living in The Netherlands wouldn't be conducive to a well organised convention in the UK. I think I could organise a Dutch contingent for a visit.

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Posts: 135
Lady
(@samanthaj)
Estimable Member     Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Joined: 4 years ago

Thank you Helene for starting this conversation and thank you for everyone’s thoughts on the subject, this is definitely something that I would seriously consider attending in the near future.

Samantha xx

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1 Reply
Ambassador
(@alexina)
Joined: 1 year ago

Illustrious Member     Fife, United Kingdom
Posts: 2204

@samanthaj It's something I think I'd like too, it would have to be with "sisters" for my first outing though 👠

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Posts: 225
Guest
(@Anonymous 94505)
Estimable Member
Joined: 1 year ago

Hi every one , this is a good idea , we could meet people that we only chat to on the CDH site , it would also help with the shy c/ dresser who could dress as much as they felt comfortable with , it should be somewhere central , Birmingham ,Leeds ,Manchester .Also some of the suppliers might set up a market stall offering outfits etc, the list is endless but might be best to start small and work up to bigger better events .

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Posts: 804
Lady
(@sashabennett)
Noble Member     Wick, Caithness, United Kingdom
Joined: 1 year ago

I'm a bit confused as to what Keystone actually is? I've looked on the website & other than saying there are a number of speakers I  can't actually figure out what goes on there. It's obviously popular so I'm intrigued as to what it is.

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Posts: 1119
Lady
(@margprodue)
Noble Member     Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
Joined: 3 years ago

Hi Sasha, Sorry about my late reply to this thread but I've been moving households and my life is currently disjointed.  Anyway, if you go to www.keystone-conference.org you will get to the main conference screen and then if you choose Schedule in the drop down menu and select 2024 Workshops & Seminars you will get a listing of all the speakers that presented during the 2024 Conference.  I am listed alphabetically under my presentation title Intersex People, The "I" in The LGBTIQ+ Community. The Keystone Conference usually takes up a whole hotel for 4 days and each day several people give presentations in various rooms to those conference members that wish to observe.  So, think 20 presentations an hour for 8 hours for 4 days and you begin to get and idea about what Keystone is.  Along with that there are various lunch and evening dinners and dances.  So, I hope that this helps you to get the idea.  It is very well run and it's a great place to get lots of information and make connections and friends.  Of all the conferences that I attend, I find it the most beneficial.  I think that Emily Alt has given excellent advice on how events are started and evolve.  Good luck on your side of the pond.  I think that you have a good core of folks to get things started with Ellie Davis, Melanie James, Janet Woodham, Fiona Findlay, Fiona Black, Rebecca Baxter, Samantha Jo, Sarah Car, Allie and Helene van der Tee who along with you have all been involved in this topic.  Perhaps it will be as simple as The CDH and TGH Folks will meet for friendship and camaraderie on the first floor of the Leeds Corn Exchange at ??? (time here) on ??? (date here...suggest perhaps a Friday night, a Saturday day and/or a Sunday morning  ) wear something red is the theme. And then go shopping, have a pint, take a pic, exchange info as desired and and see where it all goes.  It might work best to be scheduled initially as 4 times a year and then people who learn about it can somewhat plan ahead if they wish to attend but miss one.  Since this would all be loosely arranged, everybody could just make their own plans for arrival and lodgings etc.  Sort of a surprise come as you are or can party.  Just a thought here based on my experiences in organizations in the States.  I hope this all is helpful,  Marg

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