Out of Town

by Victor Zorn

THE FAMILY WAY

Olivia plans a resort vacation for parents and kids

Prepare to pack up both the bags and the kids. Olivia, the 30-year-old provider of travel services for lesbians and friends, will welcome entire broods this fall at a new week-long getaway at the Club Med resort in Florida.

During the Olivia Kids and Family trip, October 25–November 1, grownups and young ones can sprawl out on the 331-room, 400-acre Sandpiper Club, located north of West Palm Beach. Kids activities—all part of the package—include swimming, water-skiing, and roller-blading lessons, and circus school. Their parents, whether sans kids or en famille, can enjoy swimming, wind surfing, weight training, and a variety of other sports. Of course, many moms and dads may want to decompress while their offspring keep busy.

Despite the singles-in-sun bent of much queer-targeted travel promotion, there is a ready market for this kind of family-friendly excursion. The Olivia folks point out the more than 20 percent of households headed by lesbian couples have a child under the age of 18, according to the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit census-analyzing group. About six percent of households headed by gay men include children under 18.

Rates begin at $999 per adult, based on double occupancy. The tab for tweens/teens 11–15 is $699. Kids age 10 and under stay free (up to 2 children). Details: www.olivia.com, 800/631-6277.

SAIL AWAY

Can’t bear the prospect of another Thanksgiving with the bio family or the family of choice? Gals at the end of their holiday rope might consider the November 22–29 Caribbean voyage aboard the billowing-sail Royal Clipper. The trip begins at St. Bart’s and cruises through the Leeward Islands. The ship accommodates 200 women. Prices begin at $1,699 for an inside cabin, $1,999 for an exterior cabin (double occupancy.)

WOMYN’S FEST TO TRANS WOMEN: STILL NO

Since the ’70s, the August Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has served as a yearly icon of feminism through intense workshops and amazing music. The event has welcomed thousands of women over the years—but only biological ones (WBW, or “women born women”). Post-op MTF (male-to-female) transgender individuals are not allowed, though trans sources assert trans women who dissembled about their status and can pass have been able to enter.

The policy has remained a point of controversy, and not just for the trans community. Many lesbian allies protest.

Women who object to trans women most often cite the value of a completely women-only space. Others are more blunt. “I don’t want to see penises on the land,” a poster stated on the festival discussion board (at www.michfest.com).

A counter festival, Camp Trans, will take place at the same time, August 12–17. Details: www.transgendermichigan.org.

Victor Zorn reported on Galveston lodging in our July issue.

If you have any comments about this article, please email them to letters@outsmartmagazine.com.