Greetings!
We are a few weeks out from Esprit 2025, the Pacific Northwest’s premier conference for Transgender individuals! The Esprit Committee has been finalizing our program and schedules- and are pleased to share the following announcements about our Keynote Speakers, a Potential Esprit Documentary, and details on two events for Esprit Week!
Esprit 2025 Keynote Speaker- Zane Alvarez
The Esprit Committee is pleased to announce Zane Alvarez as our Esprit 2025 Keynote Speaker. He will share his journey being Trans in the Military and his educational support in the Community.
Zane Alvarez (he/him) was assigned female at birth, but as a child, he prayed to become a boy. At this young age, he didn’t know what to make of these feelings, and he certainly didn’t have the words to explain it since gender issues were still far from the mainstream.
Alvarez came out as a lesbian in his teens and began dressing more masculine, but this identity still didn’t feel completely right. He graduated high school, and six years ago, he went on to join the Army as a behavioral health technician.
He was stationed in Augusta, Georgia, and one day, when a Starbucks barista accidentally addressed him as a male, it just felt right. This gave him an intense epiphany. He talked to some of his transgender friends and began to realize why something never felt right: he wasn’t a lesbian. He was a transgender man.
Gala Keynote Speaker- Eve Palay
The Esprit Committee is pleased to announce that Eve Palay will be our Gala Keynote Speaker.
Eve Palay is heavily involved in Trans groups in North Kitsap as well as Jefferson County. She’s part of Rainbow Crew NW, Bainbridge Pride, Poulsbo Pride, Transfriending (a support group for families of Trans youth), the Queer Elders Group of the Senior Center, Transgender Alliance–North Kitsap, as well as the Pride representative on the local Interfaith Council. She has spoken to different churches in their services and to the city councils in Poulsbo, Port Townsend, and Bainbridge. Eve also led the TDOR event at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art since 2017.
Potential Esprit Documentary
A team of filmmakers including Luke Willis (Lady Like), and Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Boys State and Mayor Pete) have contacted the Esprit Committee and are interested in attending the conference this year and making a documentary about Esprit. These filmmakers all have a passion for and a record of making inspiring films that celebrate and demonstrate the power of communities to provide hope for its members and the world. Luke is a queer filmmaker and a Peace Studio fellow who is specifically dedicated to telling stories within the LGBTQIA+ community that offer hope, healing and build bridges to the world outside our community.
The filmmaking team is also fully dedicated to the privacy concerns of our community and protecting our members. If the Esprit Committee agrees to move forward- in addition to our normal photo policy, we will also have a process at Check-In where you will be able to opt-in your willingness (or not) to be captured by their cameras- and this status will be made visible on your Esprit badge. Additionally, there will be a back stop further down the road with an opportunity to review a fine cut of the film to call out any potential privacy or anonymity issues prior to the film’s final cut.
In order to tell the story of Esprit they are looking for a specific group of attendees to follow closely for the week and would love to meet with all of you who may be interested in participating in a bigger way. If there’s a chance you would be open to this you can sign up for a zoom meeting this coming weekend at the following link
https://calendly.com/d/cnxm-ycb-pdz/espirit-meet-the-filmmakers
This will be an opportunity to meet and ask questions about the project so if you are even remotely interested we urge you to set up a quick zoom chat. Also if you are not interested in being a primary subject or filmed at all and just have questions this is a good opportunity to meet the filmmakers and ask those questions.
One Night Only- The Nasty Habits at The Metta Room
Majority-trans 80’s dance band The Nasty Habits, an Esprit and Port Angeles legend has announced they will be returning to play a post-Gala set at a one-night-only special engagement at the Metta Room!
“After some uncertainty over where the majority-trans 80s dance band The Nasty Habits would play during Esprit, it’s finally been settled that they’ll be at The Metta Room (one of the biggest dance/music/bar nightclubs in Port Angeles). Metta had closed last year but the owner said they’d reopen if TNH was playing because of the hundreds of local PA fans who fill the bar. If you want an intense, loud, joyous dance party with supportive locals, this is the place to be.” – Ginger (keyboards and vocals)
Esprit attendees can attend without paying a cover charge with your Esprit badge!
While not strictly an Esprit event in the past, in recognition that a majority of our attendees choose to see The Nasty Habits the Esprit Committee has chosen this as our official Post-Gala event and band for 2025!
Come and Knock on Our Door! Bring your Caftan and Red Curly Wig- Studio Bob and Esprit will be throwing a party- Mrs. Roper style!
From a small group of 50 New Orleans ladies in 2013, Roper Romps have grown in popularity across the country- including events of 350 “Helens” in Edmonds, and over 500 in Snohomish! Celebrating the loopy landlady from the 1970’s hit sitcom “Three’s Company”, a Roper Romp is a party or pub crawl full of people dressed like the beloved character played by the late Audra Lindley.
Be sure to pack your caftan and a red curly wig. And join us for an evening of Music, Dancing and Drink Specials!
About Esprit
Esprit (May 11-18, 2025 in Port Angeles) is the Pacific NW’s gender conference–packed with a week of learning, social activities, shopping in a welcoming small town, scenic vistas on the Juan de Fuca strait, entertainment, parties, in-hotel service providers/vendors, two rooms of free clothing in the clothing exchange, a Big Sister program to support Little Sister first-time attendees, a Significant Others program for couples, a talent show where you can take your moment in the spotlight and fulfill a dream (attended by a full-house ballroom crowd of townfolk who donate at the door to attend year after year), and more.
On behalf of the Esprit Committee, I welcome you all to join us in Port Angeles! We’re excited to see you all starting May 11th for Esprit 2025!
Caela Hopkins
Esprit 2025 Chairwoman