{"id":502,"date":"2025-12-20T16:29:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T00:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/?p=502"},"modified":"2025-12-20T16:29:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T00:29:54","slug":"esprit-2026-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/20\/esprit-2026-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Esprit 2026 Update!!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Greetings and Happy Holidays!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems like only yesterday that we gathered for Esprit 2025, and yet we are now just 141 days away from the 2026 Esprit Gala and Conference, May 10-17 2026 in Port Angeles, WA, and I wanted to provide you with an update from the Esprit Committee as we plan an incredible week for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esprit offers a week to be your true self- with activities and events tailored to the Transgender experience in a safe town off the beaten path where you can be yourself for a whole week!\u00a0\u00a0Learn from your sisters, excursions, wine tastings, dancing and dining all leading up to the traditions of Esprit Weekend- Friday with the Esprit Fashion Show and Charity Talent Show, both starring your fellow Esprit Attendees- and Saturday with our Keynote Luncheon and the glamour of the Esprit Gala!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming Important Dates<\/u><\/strong>
Attendee Registration opens February 1st<\/sup>\u00a02026
Scholarship Application opens February 1st<\/sup>\u00a02026
Esprit Gala and Conference 2026 May 10-17, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentations\/Seminar\/Vendor Registration starts January 1st!!<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications for Presentations at Esprit Gala and Conference 2026 will be starting on January 1st 2026 and are always open to new topics of interest to the transgender community in addition to our returning presenters!\u00a0\u00a0If you have a topic you would like present at Esprit 2026, we welcome you to submit a presentation proposal through the registration system<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Presentation submissions will be accepted through April 11th<\/sup>, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendee Registration starts February 1st<\/sup><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendee and Significant Other registrations open on Feburary 1st<\/sup>, 2026.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Register early at https:\/\/reg.espritgala.org<\/a>\u00a0to lock in the best pricing!!!\u00a0We hold all registration information in confidence, and we only use that data for Esprit business.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Esprit Committee has set the base rates for the 2026 Esprit Gala and Conference as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Full Week (Sunday-Sunday)    <\/em>            $495.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Half Week (Wednesday-Sunday) <\/em>      $445.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Gala Weekend (Friday-Sunday) <\/em>          $355.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significant Others are welcome to join too!  Rates for our Significant Other program are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Full Week (Sunday-Sunday)   <\/em>                 $300.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Half Week (Wednesday-Sunday) <\/em>      $265.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Gala Weekend (Friday-Sunday)  <\/em>         $230.00 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT<\/u><\/strong>!- Book early and save Up to $40 USD on your registration!.\u00a0\u00a0Paid-in-full registrations by Feburary 31st<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0get a $40 USD discount off of the base rate for your Esprit package.\u00a0\u00a0The discount drops by $10 USD every month, so register and pay early<\/a> to get the best discount!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLong Time No See\u201d Rate<\/u><\/strong>–  If you\u2019ve previously attended Esprit, but haven\u2019t been in the past five years, we would love for you to come back out to Port Angeles and join us for Gala Weekend!  If you qualify, the registration system<\/a> will offer you a special \u201cLong Time No See\u201d rate of $325.00 USD!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential Sales Tax<\/span><\/strong>– On October 1st 2025 Washington’s new Sales Tax expansion (ESSB 5814) went into effect. The Esprit Committee has been working to get clarity from the Washington Department of Revenue if Esprit 2026 registration fees will be subject to these new taxes, and have decided to push registration back one month to allow the DOR additional time to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scholarship Application starts Feburary 1st<\/sup><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attending Esprit can be a life changing experience for transgender individuals regardless of financial situation, and the Esprit Committee through the Esprit Scholarship provides qualified individuals with a scholarship up to the full conference fee.  You can learn more on our scholarships page.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First-Time Attendees<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attending a conference for the first time may seem daunting.  Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve all been in that moment before too.  We have a daily Koffee Klatch for first-time attendees to make sure you can make the most of your time at Esprit!  Also- the Esprit Big Sister\/Little Sister program can give you a connection with a returning attendee that can help you with anything from event information, places to go eat, someone to hang out with, or simply help zipping up a dress!  You can find more information on our Big Sister\/Little Sister page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Questions or Thoughts?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can reach out to the Esprit Committee via our Contact page https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/contact-us\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We look forward to seeing you all in Port Angeles this upcoming May!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caela Hopkins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esprit 2026 Chairwoman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings and Happy Holidays!! It seems like only yesterday that we gathered for Esprit 2025, and yet we are now just 141 days away from the 2026 Esprit Gala and Conference, May 10-17 2026 in Port Angeles, WA, and I wanted to provide you with an update from the Esprit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-committee-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions\/503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espritgala.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}