Everyone's Invited

The First-Year class at the 2020 IFEA/NRPA Event Management School learning the basics of event accessibility. They brought that information back to all the many events they represent.

WITH LAURA GRUNFELD

Training & PR. 2 Oft-Forgotten Elements of Your Access Program

Why is Training Important?

Because not training can lead to significant, unwanted consequences! At one event I worked, I was providing training for the volunteers during the week before the event opened. Most of the volunteers were going to park their vehicles in the main parking lot, a bit of a distance from the tent where we were holding the training. Since it was before the event started, and in the evening when the construction crew had gone home, the venue was empty. We were allowed to set up a driving route through the venue and provide space for accessible parking right next to the tent where the training was to be held. We stationed a staff member to direct the volunteers to the proper parking areas and to the training. Somehow the person directing traffic either was never told or did not remember that we had set up the temporary accessible parking area. When a volunteer who uses a wheelchair arrived and was instructed to park in the main parking lot, he was quite upset that he had to travel so far to get to the training. He was so upset that he made a complaint to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Even though the DOJ later determined that his complaint was not valid, they still toured the event and had suggestions for improvement. This led to some years of attorneys and going into hyperdrive to develop a robust Access Program. Ultimately, the agreement between the DOJ and the event led to a much better program, but wouldn’t it have been nice to have come to that place without the legal nudge and the attorney’s fees? Imagine if the event had spent that money on accessibility rather than lawyers? My advice is to invest in accessibility now, before it becomes much more expensive.

If your event’s staff do not know about the Access Program services and they cannot properly inform your patrons, or at least direct them to the Access Center or Info Booth where they can be helped, this can cause consequences that lead to legal battles or, at the very least, your patrons will not be able to fully participate in your event. It is a sad result either way and does not fulfill the purpose of your Access Program!

Training is essential. Each person that works, volunteers, or vends for the event should know that there is an Access Program, a general sense of the services offered, and where the Access Center or Info Booth are located. “Yes, we have an Access Program and the team at the Access Center can help you with that question. Let me direct you there.” This is a much better response than shrugged shoulders and “I don’t know.” Everyone who is on the team that creates the event should know the basics. Members of the clean-up crew are out in the crowd and are often approached by patrons with questions. A patron may ask a vendor in the beer booth if they know where the nearest accessible toilet is located. The crew volunteering to direct traffic may be asked where the Access Center is located. An upper-level executive in the organization, walking around with their credentials is an obvious target for patron’s questions. Absolutely everyone needs to know the basics of your Access Program.

After that, certain teams need more detailed training. Consider the Security team members who are often called to incidents that may involve people with disabilities or who staff certain locations and must know what particular accommodations are allowed. The Parking crew need essential instructions and if that information is not delivered accurately it can result in patrons with mobility disabilities needing to travel extra distances. The Gate Staff, viewing platform ushers, accessible golf cart drivers, and other teams need specialized training as well.

Finally, certain individuals will need specialized training. The Service Animal Screening person needs highly specialized training and if poorly done could easily lead to litigation. The persons answering questions at the Access Center need to know your Access Program inside and out as well as having an understanding of providing customer service to people with disabilities. Your Stage Manager will need to know about the sign language interpreter set up requirements. There are other specialized trainings that are necessary for individuals and teams in your organization and some of these will be specific to each event. Training can be provided in house or you may want to bring in some in-person or online expertise.

Why is Publicity Important?

Because you can change lives by spreading the word. One festival I worked was a popular destination for school field trips and each spring many schools sent groups of students to absorb some of the local music and culture that the event supported. When I started the Access Program at this event, one of the first things I did was print up a list of all of the services that the festival offered to patrons with disabilities. This list was distributed to the local organizations that served people with disabilities and a press release was sent to the local papers. It has been some years now but as I recall the internet had not yet taken hold and the event did not yet have a website.

Soon after this simple publicity plan was enacted, I heard from a mother who informed me that each year, the school that her daughter attended had told her that the festival was not accessible to people who used wheelchairs. Therefore her daughter, who used a chair, could not join her classmates for the field trip. When the mother saw via our publicity that the festival was accessible, she talked with school officials and learned that the real reason her daughter was not invited was because the school did not have accessible transportation. A mother’s fury! You can be sure that her daughter was included on the field trip that year! This story illustrates that being accessible is crucial, but the next step must be to tell people about your Access Program.

We mentioned some ways of spreading the word above, but others can include all of your usual online avenues, your website and social media. Please, make sure your Access Info Page is easy to find and not buried deep in the FAQs. If you distribute a poster or program guide, include a wheelchair symbol and contact information for the Access Program. Write up a short paragraph and distribute it via all of the many email lists that are available to you. Work on getting a feature story printed in the paper. The beauty of these practices is how low-cost they are. There is no reason you can’t fit it in your budget.

Putting some person-power and time into your training and publicity efforts will bring you many rewards. Not only will it help protect you from litigation, and your staff will feel empowered in offering your accessibility services, but your patrons will feel that they are welcomed at your event and will bring their family and friends.

On May 6, the IFEA will host Laura Grunfeld presenting a webinar entitled “Right Now is the Perfect Time to Update your Access Plan for People with Disabilities!” Attend live on May 6, or afterwards for a recorded version and you can learn the basics and the breadth of a well-run Access Program. Learn more here.

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, April 2021.

The Second-Year class at the 2020 IFEA/NRPA Event Management School learned more in-depth information about how a well-run Access Program operates.

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