EVERYONE’S INVITED INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

With Laura Grunfeld

YES, PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND ATTEND EVENTS ON THEIR OWN

Do you have the same misguided belief that I did at one time, to think that a person who is blind could never attend a large event in an unfamiliar location without bringing along a companion? Some years ago I learned a lesson about independence that has stuck with me ever since.

George

When I was working the Jazz Fest in New Orleans a man, who I will call George and who was blind, attended the festival on his own. How could he possibly navigate the grounds of such a large festival without assistance? George had not written in advance to ask about our accommodations, he had not asked for any help, and I did not have someone lined up to spend the day with him. I was alerted to his presence by security when they noticed him with his white cane, first in line at the entrance. In the time it took me to get to him, the gates had opened and he had asked someone standing next to him to take him to the box office. When he was done with that transaction, he asked another person who happened to be near him to bring him through the turn styles. That is when I arrived and approached him. We introduced ourselves and I asked if there was anything I could do to assist.

George explained that he was at the festival to see one particular performer. She was the closing act on the Congo Square Stage. He said, “I came early to get a front row spot and I plan to stay there all day. I just need to get some food and drink first. Can you direct me?” I guided George to the food vendor area and as we walked down the line of food booths, I read the signs giving him the menus and prices at each booth. I also described our surroundings and gave him a sense of the size and layout of the festival. George made his selections, handling all of the interactions with the vendors without my assistance. I noticed that he kept track of the various denominations of bills with a special system of folding and particular placement in his wallet. We then walked together to the Congo Square Stage where he laid down his blanket to claim his spot. Lastly, I guided him to the nearest restroom and he memorized the route. When I left him, he seemed quite content. I returned a few times during the day but he never needed anything else and had befriended all those around him. At the end of the day I stopped by one more time, but George had already left and I trust he made it safely home.

Accommodations

I am grateful to George for gifting me with such a valuable lesson. Let me ask you, would you want to always have to ask for assistance or cajole a friend to come along with you everywhere you went? The answer is no. We all want to be independent. What do you, as a producer, need to do to make it possible for people who are blind to attend and enjoy your event? Let’s get into the details.

1. WEBSITE: Website and mobile application accessibility are very important. People use your website to see what the event is all about and decide if they want to attend, to plan their trip, and to purchase tickets. If your website is not accessible to people with disabilities, especially those who are blind, they will have much more difficulty doing any of that and may very well elect not to attend. They may even bring a complaint against the festival as many other businesses have learned and who have had to pay legal fees as well as upgrading their websites. Avoid the legal fees by making your website and mobile app accessible now. Make sure that the accessibility information is easy to find from the main page.

2. EMAIL: Make sure you can be reached easily and that you reply to questions promptly.

3. PRIVACY: There are various types and degrees of vision loss making accommodations unique to each person. Ask what the person needs before assuming. Do not ask about a person’s private medical information or about their particular vision loss. Instead ask how you may accommodate them.

4. SERVICE ANIMALS: Some people who are blind will have a service animal to help guide them. If so, be sure to show the handler where the service animal relief area is. Do not interact with the animal; it is on duty and should not be distracted. Make sure festival workers are trained regarding your service animal policy.

5. LIGHTING: No one can see in the dark. For the safety of all, including those with low vision, look for ways to improve lighting on your pathways and throughout your event.

6. PROGRAMMING INFORMATION: Ask if it would be helpful to have a copy of the program guide in braille, in large-print, or if they would like their own electronic copy that they can use with their screen reader. I create my own large print version of the program guide that is simply a list of what is happening, where, and when. No grids, no illustrations or graphics, no fancy fonts. Use a sans serif, 18-point or larger font, in black text on white paper. (See illustration.) Braille is usually quite inexpensive to produce and you will likely find a local braille producer near you. If not, you can email the file to a braille producer and they can ship the final product back to you. Make the connection a few months in advance and ask how much lead-time you will need. You will want to do it almost last minute so that the schedule is as accurate as possible. I use the same simple document I have produced for the large print, but with a standard sized font, to send to the braille company. For ease of reading in braille, make sure the document is standardized with the exact same punctuation and format throughout. It is best to align all copy flush left and not use all caps. Enter “prepare document for braille translation” into your search engine to find more information. In addition to any reserved braille or large print copies, make two or three extra copies for those who didn’t think to reserve in advance.

An example of how you may format for large print or braille.

7. GUIDED TOUR: I know of one event that offers full time volunteer guides if arrangements are made in advance. I have typically offered a one time guided tour to give an overview of the venue. I ask for reservations so I can book a volunteer at the proper time and make sure the volunteer is well trained in guiding technique. You will find many helpful videos on the topic online. Be sure to ask the patron what guiding style works best for them.

8. BRAILLE MAP: These tend to be on the pricey side and I have never received a request for a braille map. However, I have seen and felt a braille map and I can see how beneficial they would be. If you receive a request for one, look into the possibility in your area or contact the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco.

9. NAVIGATION SERVICE: Aira.io provides a “vision on demand” navigation service. The user wears glasses that have a camera built into them or uses their smart phone’s camera. They connect to an Aira agent who describes what they see through the camera to the user. To provide the best connection, the event would have the site set up for the service, so pre-planning and budget are required. Or the patron may use a free app for a less robust connection. Conferences, stores, airports, and other businesses are signing up.

10. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Some films will have audio description as an option. The patron wears a headset or uses an app on their phone, and during the quiet parts of the action, a narrator describes the scenes.

11. CLOSER PARKING & CAMPING: Reducing the amount of distance necessary to travel helps immensely. I always offer accessible parking/camping and if the person does not have an accessible parking tag, I either put them on a list that gives them the necessary permission or suggest that they get an accessible parking tag. Many people do not realize that the accessible parking tag is not issued to the driver but to the person with the disability. In this way, a person with a disability may be the rider in a car that has permission to park closely.

12. RESERVED VIEWING: I like to give people who are blind or have low vision permission to use the reserved viewing areas for patrons with disabilities. These areas are less crowded, make it easier for someone who may have difficulty navigating in the crowd, and it is better for a service animal as well. Reserved areas that are close to the stage are especially helpful to those with low vision.

13. PROTRUDING OBJECTS: Americans with Disabilities Act regulations require that objects not protrude dangerously into a circulation path, either inside or outside. People who are using a white cane to navigate only detect protrusions up to 27” off the ground. Above that, a person using a cane may bump into a protrusion if it extends more than 4” from a wall. (See illustration). You will find more about this in the US Access Board’s “Guide to the ADA Standards.” The Access Board has a very clear animation illustrating the requirements available on the board’s website. Enter “access board protruding objects” into your search engine.

14. STAFF TRAINING: Make sure your Access Team has proper training for accommodating and interacting with people who are blind and have low vision. Other festival workers will also need basic accessibility awareness training.

15. SURVEY: Always ask your patrons how you are doing and what you could do better or differently.

SHAF

Shaf, a young man in his 20s who is blind, traveled solo from Canada to attend a 4-day camping music festival. I manage the Access Program and Shaf and I worked out some of the logistics in advance, including arranging his transportation from the airport to the festival site and sending an electronic copy of the programming schedule in advance so he had time to plan out his schedule. In a recent conversation, he talked about what accommodations were most necessary to make it possible to best experience the festival. “The most important accommodations to me were assistance with guidance into the venue, as well as accessible camping that was close to the Access Center, the port-o-potties, and the venue entrance. That was really, really useful. Most of the time when I was inside the venue, I was in the crowd, although I used the viewing platforms on the last day so I could sit and have a little more space.

As to navigating around the festival, I just asked people for help. I listened for people, bumped into people. That’s how I found them. Hardly anyone said ‘no.’ New friends would guide me to various stages or wherever I needed to go. When I was ready to go back to my campsite, I would find someone to get staff who would call the Access Program and I would get a golf cart ride back to the Access Center. From there I could make it to my tent on my own.”

Shaf also volunteered with the Access Program. He and another volunteer teamed together to enter responses to the Access Program surveys that patrons filled out. Shaf’s partner read the surveys aloud and Shaf did the data entry. He works in software development, so it was an ideal position for him. Shaf speaks very excitedly about his visit to this festival and is planning to return.

Interacting With Persons Who Are Blind:

1. Communicate with the person directly, not with their companion.

2. Don’t shout, use a child-like voice, or speak any differently than you would to anyone else.

3. Announce your arrival and introduce yourself and anyone who is with you.

4. Say when you are leaving so the person to whom you are talking does not think you are still there.

5. In a group conversation use the person’s name or touch the person on the arm when you are addressing them.

6. Don’t have pity for or talk about how much the person “inspires” you. This gets old fast and can be offensive to many people.

7. People first language, “person who is blind” or “person who has low vision,” is usually best in the United States. This reflects the viewpoint that this person is like anyone else but also happens to be blind.

8. If it appears that assistance is needed, ask how you may help and follow instructions. Do not assume you know what is needed.

9. Give specific directions like “The entrance is 50 feet straight ahead,” rather than “The entrance is over there.”

Kimberly after setting up her minimalist digs.

Photo by Laura Grunfeld 2019

Kimberly

Kimberly, a young woman of 23 years who flew cross-country to a camping festival where we manage the Access Program, seemed totally at ease when she arrived. Being a minimalist, she brought two smallish bags with all of her belongings. One bag held her one-person tent and sleeping bag, and the other had her clothing and everything else she might need. Kimberly is also a vegan and she has just completed an extensive training culminating in her receiving her certification to teach yoga. Kimberly’s blindness does not hold her back from living a full and enriched life.

Kimberly had not written in advance so we were not expecting her but the Access Team is always ready to help as needed. We showed Kimberly around the camping area a bit and she selected a campsite that was very close to the toilets and to the Access Center. We helped set up her tent but she declined our offer to give her a one-time guided tour of the venue. She said she could manage on her own. And so she did.

Kimberly said, “The biggest aid in attending a festival is the braille program. Websites are often largely reliant on pictures of text, and in the event of an accessible website, the screen reader is hard to hear over the noise of the crowd. It is extremely helpful to have a quick reference on hand that does not require assistance or audio. The accessible entrance by a known landmark makes it easier to clarify what directions I need when asking other festival patrons for assistance. Its convenient placement near the accessible campground makes getting from tent to festival effortless and especially satisfying after a long day of negotiating crowds. I was not aware that organizations such as this exist, but discovering that people are dedicated to extending the culture of music festivals to as many people as possible is a very welcome surprise.” She is looking forward to returning to the festival.

George, Kimberly, and Shaf are all examples of people who are blind who, with just a little assistance, are able to attend and participate in the events we produce. All we need to do is think ahead to be able to offer a few services, be prepared to help in other ways if needed, and train our staff to be alert and ready to assist all people with disabilities. Just remind the staff to ask first and then follow instructions.

Everyone’s Invited, LLC, founded by Laura Grunfeld, is winner of the gold level “Best Accessibility Program,” for the 2018 and 2019 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards. Laura writes a regular column helping producers make their events accessible to people with disabilities. She has worked many festivals across the nation and readers can learn more about her event accessibility consulting, training, and production company at www.EveryonesInvited.com and www.linkedin. com/in/lauragrunfeld. Suggest topics or ask questions by writing to Laura@EveryonesInvited.com. © Laura Grunfeld, Everyone’s Invited, LLC, October 2019

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