The Family Cafe: Going Virtual

Normally, this would be the third and final day of the Family Café, which is typically held at an Orlando hotel during the first weekend of June. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 22nd Annual Family Café is taking place on its Facebook page over a two-week period. I hadn't attended the cross-disability conference in five years (refer to my first blog post dated June 13, 2015, for a summary of my experience). I decided last month to register for this event since I could easily access it online. A few days ago, I received in the mail a package containing the Family Café program, exhibitor catalog, and other materials along with a tote bag.

The Family Café began at 11:00 A.M. last Friday with the Governor's Summit on Disabilities, which included remarks from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senate President Bill Galvano. A couple of hours later, there was a Q&A session with Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome who starred in the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon (refer to my blog post dated October 6, 2019, for more information). You can watch these and yesterday's two sessions in the Live section of the Family Cafe's Facebook page. Future sessions on various disability-related topics will be broadcast live at 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. every day except Sunday until Friday, June 19. Attorney Robert "Bobby" Silverstein, the behind-the-scenes developer of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 30 years ago, will be the keynote speaker at 11:00 A.M. this Friday, June 12. Below are links to Family Café materials:

22nd Annual Family Café Program:
https://www.familycafe.net/images/stories/pdffiles/2020-tracking-program-lowres.pdf
22nd Annual Family Café Exhibitor Catalog:
https://www.familycafe.net/images/stories/pdffiles/2020-exhibitor-catalog-lowres.pdf
Updated Facebook Live Sessions Schedule:
https://www.familycafe.net/images/stories/pdffiles/22nd-AFC-agenda.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1yIQRU_pq4065zfWzI3Wje-fnCT2nIDenoHsW6nQvkvUtCwYXh8UHAmx8

The Family Cafe logo

(image via familycafe.net)