Vendor tables, refreshments, raffle baskets, information tables, and lots of friendly Adoption STAR staff on-site for the whole of the event. This FREE, family-friendly event will be well-worth the trip!
1. Ted’s Hot Dogs will have their food truck in our parking lot from 11am to 1pm. Come peruse their menu – vegetarian and gluten free options will be available – and buy some lunch!
2. As door prizes, we’re offering a FREE one-year family membership to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo and a FREE one-year membership to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester! Their fitness equipment, swimming pools, and children’s programming are top-notch. Want to enter the drawing? All you have to do is attend the event! Anyone that stops into our main office between 11am and 6pm on 11/15/16 is entered!
3. We have a wonderful keepsake art project planned for any families that attend the event. Here’s what it’s going to look like: INSERT GRAPHIC HERE. We’ll have all the supplies you need to create a piece that’s sure to become a permanent fixture on a wall in your home.
4. We’re featuring a special presentation by Joe Vitatle and Rob Talmas, co-plaintiffs in the Obergefell v. Hodges court case that brought marriage equality to the USA! As New York State residents, Joe and Rob were able to get legally married in 2011. They utilized Adoption STAR to adopt and became parents to their son Cooper, who was born in Ohio. Because their marriage was not respected or recognized by the State of Ohio, Joe and Rob were told that they would be unable to get a birth certificate for Cooper that listed both of their names on it. Finding this to be totally unacceptable, Joe and Rob signed on to be co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit that, after being heard by a few lower courts, was ultimately heard by the highest court in the land. The rest is LGBTQ history! Please join us at 1pm on Thursday, November 15th for a FREE lecture and Q and A session with Joe and Rob. Seating is limited, so RSVP for the event by clicking on the following link: https://astar.mysamdb.com/SAM/Evt/Evt_Vw.aspx

Adoption STAR's Open House It's going to be a BUSY event full of activity and fun. Activities include:

Vendor tables from a wide variety of Western New York-based businesses and organizations

Information on Adoption STAR, Family STAR and Tapestry Books (and direct access to staff that work within these organizations)

Activities for school-aged children

A keepsake art project specifically geared towards adoptive families.

A 1pm presentation by Joe Vitale and Rob Talmas (Adoption STAR Adoptive Dads and co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit that legalized gay marriage throughout the United States), who will talk about how the adoption of their son Cooper unexpectedly led them all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Raffle baskets, door prizes and other giveaways.

Refreshments for adults and kids.