The 2023 Play Date Tour
This year we are hosting a series of day-long “mini conferences” across the country with content that draws inspiration from the location and the play experts and practitioners in that area. Each “Play Date” is unique, and participants are welcome to register for one or all of them!
Our 2023 Play Date Tour will bring PLAY to new places and provide opportunities to engage with the broader play community, connect play advocates, educate our national and global community and truly fulfill our mission to promote the VALUE of play throughout life.
Here is our 2023 Play Date Tour schedule
Friday, July 14 – Philadelphia, PA
“Preserving and Promoting the Right to PLAY”
Hosted by Studio Ludo & Smith Memorial Playground
usplaycoalition.org/2023philly-playdate
Friday, August 11 – Louisville, KY
“The Wild Side of PLAY”
Hosted by Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest
usplaycoalition.org/2023lville-playdate
Monday, October 9 – Fort Worth, TX
“The PLAY People in Your Neighborhood”
Hosted by the TCU LiiNK Center for Healthy Play & Fort Worth Botanic Garden
usplaycoalition.org/2023fortworth-playdate
Thursday, November 9
Virtual PLAY Date: “Playing in PLAYce”
Hosted online by the US Play Coalition Team
Our speaker lineup for the tour will become CLEARER in the coming weeks!
Our Philly Play Date theme is “Preserving and Promoting the Right to Play,” tackling topics that lay the foundation for the 2023 Play Date Tour.
In Louisville, we will explore “The Wild Side of PLAY” with nature-based and adventure play at the heart of a day spent surrounded by and exploring the 16,000+ acres of the Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest.
The theme for the Fort Worth Play Date is “The PLAY People in Your Neighborhood,” focusing on community-based play resources – knowing what is happening in your neighborhoods, schools, parks, public libraries, museums, and even at City Hall! Attendees will gain a sense of what they can actually DO in their own communities and where they might find advocates, allies and resources to help develop and/or strengthen PLAY opportunities for everyone!
And then we will round out our 2023 Play Date Tour by taking over the interwebs for a Virtual Play Date: “Playing in PLAYce” – a showcase of play practitioners and researchers from all over!
Registration is NOW OPEN!!
$75/Person for Philly, Louisville or Fort Worth
$40/person for the Virtual Play Date
Register for as many Play Dates as you want to attend – they are all unique!
A special group discount rate is available to nonprofits, educational organizations and government agencies who bring at least 5 employees from their organization to a single Play Date. $15 off per person for each of the in-person Play Dates and $5 off per person for the Virtual Play Date. Please email usplaycoalition@clemson.edu for further details.
CEUs are available for each Play Date (0.5 CEUs/play date). The CEUs are issued by the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands on behalf of Indiana University at 0.1 per hour of learning.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please email usplaycoalition@clemson.edu for information.
