Everyone's Invited

INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

WITH LAURA GRUNFELD

ACCESSIBILITY IS ESSENTIAL: REMEMBERING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE TIME OF COVID A CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL & KAYLA

Some years ago, I met Daniel Nasca and his then fiancé Kayla Harvey at a festival I was working. They have since married and have a family with three lovely children. Daniel and Kayla are avid festival fans and, pre-covid, usually attended at least 6 events a year. Daniel has a mobility disability and, when he knows he will need to travel some distance to get around an event, he uses mobility devices such as his forearm crutches or he might need to rent a scooter to assist in getting around. He is an award-winning athlete and practices Mixed Martial Arts.

Daniel works for a non-profit organization as a Supported Employment Manager, supporting people with disabilities who need extra assistance finding employment. A few years ago, we were pleased that Daniel was able to serve as a member of the Everyone’s Invited Access Team at one of our festivals. Kayla owns a boutique public relations and digital marketing agency called Lunar Desk Management. I am grateful to Daniel and Kayla for graciously sharing their experiences and advice with the IFEA audience. It is important to get the perspective of people who are using the services, not just those who are providing them.

Laura: What is it that you enjoy about festivals and has it been hard on you to miss festivals since the pandemic started?

Daniel: For me festivals are a place where anybody can be there and enjoy it, people from all walks of life. It is the opportunity to be one in that experience and we are each contributing to that environment. For Kayla and me, we know that’s our time to have those experiences together. It’s a time we can get together with friends from around the country and sometimes from around the world. Not being able to go to festivals has been hard. At least once a week we say, “We really need a live show!”

Laura: When you are getting ready to go to an event, what kind of research do you do beforehand?

Daniel: I look at the map of the festival layout. I need to find out where the resources are that I will need. The viewing platforms, accessible bathrooms and things like that.

Kayla: I do a lot of the research. I look at the website, social media, and I talk to people that have been to that event before. I find Facebook and Reddit to be great resources. I’ll say “I’m going to be traveling with someone who needs accessibility services. What has your experience been?” I’ll look at the venue’s website to see their accessibility policies and services. For Daniel the accessibility situation is different than it might be for other people with mobility disabilities. He has less to worry about than someone who uses a wheelchair all the time or someone who needs interpreter services and things like that.

Laura: Have you seen festival websites that say “We are 100% ADA compliant. Write us if you have a question.”

Kayla: That’s the worst thing. When festivals are putting their websites together and they say “Email us if you have a question,” they don’t realize that it is more than one or two people attending an event that are looking for accessibility information. It seems like an afterthought that they do this to be compliant and to look like they care. There are some event producers in the industry who will hopefully read this and take something from it. They should include more information.

I’m a marketer and have thought about this in terms of my personal experience. If I am looking for something and can’t find it and have to go through extra steps to get the information I need, I’m not going to make the purchase. I’m going to look for something else. If the information is not right there and you’re not considering the needs of your patrons, then you are already setting it up to be a struggle once you get there. I love the Bonnaroo Access Program because the information is on the website and is updated every year. As other producers go into a new festival season, I hope they will start providing that information without having to pull teeth to get it.

Daniel: In most situations I can figure out how to get around once I get there. I’m very fortunate in that way. I have friends who miss out on stuff because they don’t feel like they can have the accessibility that they need.

There was one festival that we attended with a friend who uses a wheelchair. The event did not have the accessibility that she needed and that is part of the reason that we decided not to go back. I didn’t have to make sure that my crutches would fit through the doorjambs but she did have to consider whether her wheelchair would fit.

Kayla: It was awful for her and that left a bad taste in our mouths. We decided that there are plenty of other experiences that are perfectly accessible and they make the effort, so why spend our money here. None of us have gone back to that festival. Instead we went to another festival that happens to be in an extremely inaccessible environment. It’s in the woods, there are roots everywhere, dirt, yet it feels more accessible because they thought about it ahead of time. They have a shuttle system set up and a viewing area, etcetera.

By contrast, the inaccessible festival was on perfectly flat ground but they didn’t have the accessibility program set up in a way that was helpful. They seemed to think “It’s flat, we’re good.” For example, they had an Access Line for entry into the festival, but the people working it didn’t want to let anyone through who wasn’t in a wheelchair. They hadn’t been trained that not all disabilities are visible, not everyone with a disability is going to be using a wheelchair. When we went through with our friend who uses a chair, they let her through the Access Line and redirected Daniel, with his forearm crutches, through the general entrance. It was disappointing. Education is the most important thing.

Daniel: It was a rough experience. We went to another festival where they didn’t have any viewing platforms, they didn’t have accessible restrooms, we had to stand in the regular line to get in. It was a dirty, rainy, not accessible day.

Kayla: Simple things like having another lane for entry, it’s one of those simple fixes, yet it often becomes an afterthought. The industry needs to take a look at this. While you are thinking about how to create safe entry post-COVID so people aren’t getting sick, at the same time let’s also be thinking about how can we make this more accessible. I think we are going to start seeing the aftereffects of COVID.

Daniel: There will be health concerns such as respiratory issues and problems with having to walk long distances because people tire easily.

Kayla: There will be an increased population of patrons with disabilities. I had COVID in April and I still feel exhausted. I don’t know what it will be like next time I go to a festival. I think that producers are going to need to think about that. What is the new population that is going to need accommodation?

Laura: Regarding accessibility at festivals, what are some of the common weak points you notice or experience?

Daniel: A lot of the workers are volunteers and they aren’t educated as to what disability looks like, or sounds like, or is. It’s essential to understand what it means to provide accessibility and to know how important it is. When I talk about my disability I want that person to understand what I’m saying.

Kayla: Another area of weakness is the viewing platform situation. You are spoiled at the mega festivals that have a viewing platform at every stage. At some other festivals they haven’t even thought of it. There’s not even an area let alone a viewing platform. It seems to be an afterthought for a lot of these events.

We have a lot of community festivals here in Jacksonville and even though they are run by non-profits and have tiny budgets they do it so well. They have the reserved areas and seats ready. If a bigger festival says “We didn’t have the budget to do it right,” I feel like that is a copout. It’s just because you didn’t think of it in time to build it into the budget.

Laura: I completely agree. There always seems to be plenty of budget for things that I feel are not essential, like some complicated, expensive piece of decor.

Kayla: It’s not that ambiance or the art isn’t important, but what’s the importance of it if your patrons aren’t having a good time?

Daniel: Accessibility is the law!

Laura: What are some of the most important and helpful accessibility features at festivals?

Daniel: For me it is a distance thing usually. I really like the shuttle programs, having access to viewing platforms where I can sit safely and be able to enjoy what I came to see. I also appreciate the accessible restrooms. A lot of times the smaller festivals don’t even get the accessible port-a-potties. Most of the time it’s the regular port-a-potties that I have to use. It’s nice when I have the accessible ones that have enough room so I don’t have to be smashing around on everything.

Kayla: I think it is a budget issue.

Laura: It’s true that accessible portos are more expensive but it should be built into the budget. The law requires that if you provide toilets for the public, at least 5% of each cluster of toilets must be accessible. In fact, the law is that if you only have one toilet, it must be accessible.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know that would help make events more accessible to all?

Daniel: To me it’s more about making sure that everybody understands the need for accessibility. Maybe I’m being a little dramatic here but accessibility, to some people, means being able to live. Accessibility means being able to do something other than be in your house all day. It means being able to be around people and have social circles. Our lives depend on accessibility. Being out and going to events is some people’s all-year social circle. There are some friends that we only see when we go to festivals. If the festivals are not accessible, we don’t get to see our friends.

Laura: Some events don’t realize that if a group of friends wants to attend an event together and if a member of the group has a disability, they will all make sure to attend an accessible event, not an inaccessible event. The inaccessible event just lost the income from all of those people.

Daniel: Sadly, Laura, a lot of people think that because we’re disabled, we don’t have friends and social circles. That is something that a lot of people don’t consider.

Kayla: I think it just goes back to perception and education. The more educated people are, the more accessibility we’ll see. “You know better and you do better.” The primary issue is education.

Laura: Accessibility is essential.

Daniel: Yes!

Kayla: It is. Especially when people are thinking, “What are the essential functions of a business right now,” because everything has changed so much due to COVID. Fingers crossed, we are planning events for the latter half of this year. Accessibility is an essential function for a live event and it’s the law. Let’s talk about it so we don’t have this conversation over and over again about the same events that aren’t providing accessibility. When producers are planning how they will handle COVID considerations, they should also plan for accessibility. They are both essential.

Laura: Talking with you two reminds me of how important accessibility is and how important it is to me. I want to make sure that people who can’t get out in the world so easily, have a way to enjoy the festival experience just as others do. A chance to be a part of the scene with everyone else.

Daniel: Inclusion! Inclusion is the new cool thing.

Kayla: Every event producer, while they are sitting at home waiting for COVID to go away, should be reflecting on accessibility programs and figuring out how to make them fit into the budget. If they have to cut something out, it can’t be accessibility. Not only is it the law, but diversity and inclusion is a huge conversation that we have had over the last year. We have talked about COVID and how it has effected live events but from late May on, we were having the conversation of diversity and inclusion because of the cultural and political climate, but that bleeds into every aspect of our lives. When we are talking about diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in content and things like that, we also need to talk about it in events and experiences. We are not going to forget that everybody has to be able to be included in whatever we are doing that is for the public. It is not enough to say “Well, black lives mattered in June but we’re not going to consider the lives of people with disabilities until next year when we are back to festivals.”

Laura: Daniel and Kayla, thank you for taking the time to have this conversation with me and with our readers. I am looking forward to a more inclusive festival season!

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, January 2021.

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