Brighton Gay Pride 2010

Brighton Pride this year made serious efforts to improve access for disabled people to both the parade and the event in Preston Park which was attended by an estimated 160,000 people.

The Pride organisation worked with the Brighton Federation of Disabled People to
plan facilities. The website stated:

• Park and Ride close to the park
• An area reserved for those with mobility issues on the parade route
• A shuttle service to the viewing area/access tent from the car park
• The very important access tent operated by Brighton & Hove Federation of Disabled People.
• Our fantastic signers
• Accessible toilets

Buggy Rider at Brighton Gay Pride 2010

The parade and the party in the park were bigger and better than ever. Several people joined the parade in decorated wheelchairs and electric buggies. Some may say that Preston Park is now too small for an event of this magnificence and magnitude. However it was wonderful to see so many thousands of happy smiling people have such a good time. Indeed, it was so crowded in many places that any movement was very difficult indeed. The huge crowds also made finding the accessible toilets very difficult. The permanent public lavatories in Preston Park were closed for Pride including one which has a RADAR lock.

Access Area

The biggest blessing in facilities for people with disabilities was the “Access Tent” provided by the Brighton Federation of Disabled People. This was a real oasis of peace and tranquillity in what at times could be a little too much.

Brighton Pride 2010 Access Area

It was a real chill out space offering shelter from the weather and head space, and I was instantly offered a cup of tea when I came into the tent. It was a warm welcoming and secure area. There was also a nice enclosed outer space with tables to watch the world go by. It was wonderful and was appreciated by many.

One quite serious criticism about the space, which I am sure will be rectified next year, was the shortage of accessible toilets in the “Access Tent” compound. There was also a lack of changing facilities, and arrangements for disposal of clinical waste. There was only one temporary wide access toilet in the Access Area. There were some seats for people waiting. This was very quickly full, as there was little or no effective stewarding. At one stage eleven ambulant people were queuing to use it and two people in wheel chairs at the back of the queue waited for a long time to use what was by then a pretty awful facility. Because there was no waste bin people put clinical waste down the toilet so by four o’clock it was unpleasantly full.

Brighton Pride 2010 Access Area Interior

When the stewards were asked abut this, they indicated that there was nothing that they could do to prevent this, which is ludicrous. Given the willingness that there has been this year to make the situation a million times more enjoyable this year, I am am sure that they will rectify this and anything else that people point out to them. There should have been at least two wide access toilets as well as one for carers and and one for people needing clean facilities for medical rather than mobility needs. There should also have been handwashing facilities or gel and wipes- and maybe the GAMA toilet fairies!

In the Women’s Marquee a BSL signer was interpreting for a singer, her expresiveness enhancing the experience for everyone.

If you were at Pride or wish to review / comment on disabled persons facilities at any other outdoor event, then please free to do so on the GAMA Website. After all its ours and we should use it !!!

Thank you and a happy Pride !!!

Miki Hall

If you want information about accessible venues in Brighton please check out the Brighton and Hove Federation of Disabled People’s Accessible City Guide

Nicola at Sunrise Festival 2010

I used to love camping and going to outdoor festivals but since getting ill with CFS/ME, stopping work and feeling physically and mentally shaky, I sort of gave up on the idea. But how I missed it and felt left out!

Recently, however, I moved to a new flat, and I started to feel that perhaps other good things were possible. I said to a friend who’s a regular festival-goer  ‘I wish you could take me with you sometime’. And straightaway she said  ‘Come to Sunrise! It’s quite small, got a lovely atmosphere – and I’ll do the driving!’.  I was unsure but then I checked the festival website. Music, yoga, organic food, wood-carving, dancing…  and then I saw that organisers had set aside a section of the site for disabled people and were offering free places for carers and help with shifting gear.  I suddenly felt inspired and confident. I said ‘YES let’s do it.’

GAMA Area at Sunrise Festival 2010

Nicola Field

This article was originally written by Nicola Field for her local ME support group – many thanks to Nicola for letting us reproduce it here!

In date of event order, we are now involved in the following:

Sunrise Festival – 3rd / 6th June 2010

GAMA has been confirmed to run the green access area on site, and we are involved in all the planning and logistics. Jos, Penny and Jane all attended the site visit and planning meeting last weekend, which was very positive. The GAMA area during the festival will be run by Miki and Penny, and their dedicated crew.

Sunrise very kindly agreed to offer a “ticket swap” for those who bought GAMA tickets for last years Big Green Gathering, which did not take place. This scheme is now drawing to a close, and hopefully all those that wanted to swap, have done so. This is being administered by Jos and all those that responded will be hearing from Jos in the next few weeks. This scheme was put into place for just the GAMA tickets, and does not include any other tickets. For any further information regarding general BGG tickets, look on the BGG website.

Glastonbury Festival – 23rd / 27th June 2010

GAMA has been involved in feedback from last year, and Miki sent in a resume of comments for their planning meeting for this year. The disabled facilities at Glastonbury are constantly being extended and increased, and GAMA hope to continue being involved in all aspects of this work. We are happy to continue liaising with the Festival’s own support staff, and hope to be a positive and vibrant part of future developments.

Glade Festival – 15th / 18th July 2010

Seagh and Mike are cracking on with organising the Glade festival disabled access. This will be the second year on the very successful new site at Matterley Bowl, near Winchester, so this year we know more of what to expect. They are planning a slightly larger team this year and have started liaising with the Glade organisers to bring about the best camping facilities within this incredible dance festival.

Croydon Mela and World Party – Saturday 31st July, 2010

The world party is taking place on Saturday 31st July, and the Croydon Mela on the Sunday 1st August, both in Lloyd Park. Jos is working on a new venture with the organisation Green Stewards to train up the stewards in Access support and information. We have put together a training package which will provide practical advice, an outline of the legal obligations, support inclusivity, and give confidence to the stewards to help all the public.

Shambala Festival – 27th / 30th August 2010

The report we got from last year’s Shambala was that the Access area was their busiest one yet – this year Jos has started having discussions with the organiser and we hope to continue supporting the area in what ever way we can.

Out of the Ordinary Festival – 17th / 19th September 2010

Miki and Penny have started thinking and planning for this years Out of the Ordinary, a charming little festival held in the Sussex Downs. Each year the festival takes on more eco planning and conscious thinking, encouraging zero waste and only functioning on green power and eco products.

So that’s where we are so far – If there are any other festivals that you would like us to get involved with, or any campaigns we can do, please let us know. As we get further involved during the season we will update this regularly. Similarly, if you want to be more involved with GAMA, sign up to the email newsletter, follow us on twitter, or just contact us.

The ticket swap to Sunrise 2010 is now closed & finished. The Big Green Gathering website has a new available offer for ticket swaps to the “Green Phoenix Festival”, 19th – 22nd August 2010, and we will be supporting a GAMA field there.  There will shortly be instructions on the Big Green Gathering website as to how to process and swap tickets for the Green Phoenix Festival.

UPDATE:

GAMA has had negotiations with the Green Phoenix Festival, 19th – 22nd August 2010, near Newcastle, ( www.greenphoenixfestival.org.uk )   and is pleased to announce that they will accept GAMA tickets from last years cancelled Big Green Gathering for their GAMA area.  THE TICKETS WE ARE DEALING WITH HERE ARE ONLY THE BGG 2009 GAMA TICKETS – FOR ALL OTHERS GO DIRECTLY THROUGH THE GREEN PHOENIX WEBSITE AND CONTACT ADDRESS.

Conditions:

• This can only be done if you have not already used your tickets to swap to any other festival.
• That you have proof of purchase of BGG 2009 GAMA tickets.
• This offer will close at the end of June 2010.
• To be involved in this offer, please contact  joscolover@btinternet.com by email ONLY, and give us your name and address, any ticket details you have from your purchase of tickets for the BGG, and a contact phone number.
• Green Phoenix is also doing a reduction, so if you want to buy more tickets direct from them, they are offering a 10% discount for those that bought BGG 2009 GAMA tickets.
• If you want to buy more tickets for your friends and family for the Green Phoenix Festival, then go directly to their website.

OOTO is 3 day eco & family friendly festival set in the beautiful Sussex countryside celebrating the Autumn Equinox. Solar powered stages and wind generators power fascinating talks and workshops plus children’s activities and a green market place plus many more out of the ordinary surprises!
www.outoftheordinaryfestival.com

GAMA Sign - OOTO, 2009

We had a crew of eight GAMA volunteers to set up and run the GAMA camping area. Jo and Degs went to the site on Wednesday to check and mark out the GAMA area.

In spite of the lack of publicity we had about 30 guests including friends, partner and carers of people with disabilities. Our guests had 3 campervans, 11 tents and a caravan. Several have camped with us at other events. They included a band playing at the festival, a cafe owner and a woman running creative workshops for all ages. We also offered our facilities to guests and crew camping elsewhere.

One person arrived in a campervan at 11.30 pm on Friday. As it was not safe to drive across the festival site in the dark he was accommodated elsewhere. We could have made room for him on Saturday if necessary. OOTO arranged for him to charge his wheelchair close to where he was parked.

Camping Area

We had just enough space for all our guests and crew. OOTO provided a 20ft square white marquee as a shelter and information point furnished with tables and chairs. As the weather was fine all weekend we used the green space outside for meals and for children to play. We did not have electricity but it would have been available if needed. Two guests brought flowers made of foam to decorate the marquee and tea light lanterns for inside and outside the marquee.

Sink & Water Taps

A sink and separate stand pipe were nearby.

The wide access toilet remained usable all weekend (although it was not emptied), thanks to our notices and lookouts and the well-constructed compost loos nearby. One of the compost toilets had a child seat but it was as high as the others and not signposted or easy to find. Festivals need to provide lower seats and wider cubicles for young children. As usual the crew kids played happily together and with guests. This was particularly appreciated by the mothers of two boys with types of autism.

Disabled Access Toilet

We had a radio to link us to OOTO organisers, site manager and security. We had no security or anti-social behaviour problems. There was a lot of mutual help and we had time to talk. Two of our guests as well as Unity And Devision sang in the Lost Horizon open mike session on Sunday evening. We welcomed Lorraine who had come to OOTO with her two children and two friends to run creative activities for all ages using poetry, story-telling, music and puppets. She set up a gazebo as a workshop space and ran a session on Saturday afternoon. The circus area was nearby.

The GAMA Gazebo

We had to be careful that none of the children accidentally or deliberately strayed into the marked off area next to the marquee where equipment and fuel for the fire show was stored. We would have preferred a more secure fence. We were not far from the centre of the festival but the circus area and cabaret tent were between GAMA and the peace circle. In future we would like to be on on of the radial routes directly to the centre. Distances which seem trivial to most people are difficult and even painful for people with physical disabilities. We were very pleased to be close to the warm showers, cafe, live music and sauna provided by Lost Horizon. We were also close to the cabaret and negotiated a short cut through their bar one evening. Jerry, who has worked for GAMA at other festivals, provided an audio description of an escapology act in the cabaret tent for a guest temporarily unable to see.

Trailer Trashed Wagon - Easily Accessible Counter

On Monday some people had to leave early but many stayed to enjoy the sunshine and share food and talk. Lost Horizon asked us for advice about making their showers more accessible. We will send them some ideas for future events.

Steve's Cantina - Good Accessibility

We provided guidance to stalls at short notice. Access varies but there were some good examples, including seats in Steve’s Cantina  and the low counter on the Trailer Trashed wagon.

Recommendations

Table & Chairs for GAMA campers

We need a system for reserving essential vehicle spaces so that we have enough frontage on to fire lanes for all to be parked side by side. We also need enough internal space for a communal green for safe play and for people to meet, and clear paths for all to access the marquee and toilet[s]. OOTO showed how a small festivals can provide accessible camping and we would like more to make the effort. We are grateful for the support of the organisers and site crew.

Here’s to OOTO 2010!

Feedback helps us define and support what you want; it helps the festival organisers who may be feeling not sure what to provide, and it should help any workers, visitors and performers to the festival. Whether it is festivals that GAMA are involved with or ones that are not, it does not matter  - as what the festival should be providing is reasonable access for all. We are happy to get involved with any outdoor events.

Here’s some of the feedback we have received so far:

“We went to Sunrise with GAMA with my son who has recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. I can’t thank you enough, we would never have been able to go to a Festival normally due to Leo’s intolerance of noise and people in general. The GAMA camp provided a safe place for him and for the first time he was able to play with other kids, who are generally much more accepting and tolerant.”

Get in touch & let us know your thoughts on Gama, festivals – anything you like! Leave us a comment below or drop us an email.

Strobe lighting can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Of all persons who have been diagnosed as epileptic, between three and five percent are known to be of the photosensitive type (approximately two people per 10,000 of the general population). Often persons with PSE have no history of seizures outside of those triggered by visual stimuli. Females are more commonly affected than males and children are about twice as sensitive as adults.

Although the flash rate of strobe lights is restricted to four flashes a second by the Health and Safety Executive, some people with photosensitive epilepsy may still find strobe lights could trigger a seizure.

If you are a sufferer of Photosensitive Epilepsy and strobe lighting, or other flashing or flickering lights come on without warning, you should immediately cover one eye with the palm of your hand and turn away from the light.

Festivals without Strobe Lighting

• Small World Festival have confirmed that they never use strobes – www.smallworldsolarstage.org

Do strobe lights affect you or do you have any thoughts on the subject?
Let us know in the comments below!

After many phone calls, negotiating, chatting to people and using our common sense, we can now confirm that padlocks can be bought from the RADAR lock manufacturers that will fit onto a normal hasp & clasp to go on portable toilets (portaloos).

This will enable all festivals and outdoor events to have RADAR locks on their portable toilets, ensuring that the wide access toilets are only used by those people that need to use them – and not by any one who should not be using them…

The padlocks are quite chunky and need a “space” of at least 1cm (so the small staple type device on each side of the door are not big enough). They can be opened by the normal RADAR key that most people with disabilities have, and this would stop the abuse of these toilets by people who are not disabled and should not be using them.

Large notices would need to be put on the toilet to say this is a RADAR padlock, so people know it can only be accessed by those with the keys.

Like anything that is new, do try them out first and check they work for your event. If you are a festival organiser do get one in advance and check them with your portaloo provider…

The padlocks are £15.96 each & the keys are £2 plus P & P. They can be bought from:

N & C Ltd,
41 – 51 Freshwater Road,
Chadwell Heath,
Romford,
Essex.
RM18 1SP

The man to speak to is Graham Hardwell, phone number 020 8586 4600.

They can be purchased by festival organisers or by portable wide access toilet suppliers, as long as the hasp and clasp is already attached to the toilet…….. Extra keys can be bought to give to the cleaning staff.

You are welcome to pass this information on to any other festival organisers and portaloo suppliers that you deal with.

Another First!

We can also announce that Shambala has said that it will provide the locks on all their wide access toilets at the 2009 festival.

• What would have made your experience easier?
• What could you have been told beforehand to make your experience more manageable?
• Did the organisers really try to take on board your needs and provide for them?
• Was there anyone on the festival site that was specifically there to be a disability liaison co-ordinator with the organisers, or were you just left to get on with it as best you could?
• What made the effort of going to a festival worthwhile for you?
• Any examples of good practise, where individuals or the festival has gone out of its way to make people with disabilities welcomed and comfortable?

Some might say that festival sites, being temporary and generally outdoors and often in fields, are intrinsically difficult places to adapt for people with disabilities. Our view is that with enough forethought, information, planning and creative thinking, most places should be able to be accessible to most people, whatever one’s mobility needs are. And that for the festival organisers, changes and adaptations need not cost a fortune.

Organisers should be honest in describing the festival site:

Hills, rough ground, farm tracks and distances between camping, venues and other attractions, so that people with disabilities have enough information before deciding to buy a ticket. We want to hear your experience of whichever festivals you have been to, and what would have made it easier for you – and of course we would like to hear about as many examples of “good practice” as possible.

There are some festivals really trying to improve and upgrade facilities… we definitely would like to hear about them.

Once we have your views and thoughts we will put them on this website, and we can start compiling information about various festivals. We want to do this in a supportive and positive way, to feed back to festivals your comments and encourage them to make the changes that you are asking for. We are not proposing to take on individual complaints, but will certainly take up collective issues where it is appropriate to.

We can also use this space as an information space about what various festivals are offering, what they say they are offering, what it says on their website, and what improvements year on year are being made. We also need to work with festivals to ensure that their legal obligations of “reasonable adjustments” are being made; and that their crews, stewards and staff understand this concept and abide by it.

We want to work with festivals to make your experience of visiting, working at, or performing at festivals as good as possible.

Any thoughts, suggestions, horror stories or praise please get in touch via the “Contact Us” page – and don’t forget to say which festival and which year you are referring to.

Festivals & Organisations Involved with GAMA

Croissant Neuf – Family friendly fun.
Sunrise Festival – the off-grid, eco friendly sustainable festival.
Big Green Gathering – the worlds premier award winning festival.
Out Of The Ordinary Festival – 3 day eco & family friendly festival set in the beautiful Sussex countryside celebrating the Autumn Equinox.
Glade Festival – the UK’s best open air electronic music festival.
Waveform Festival – partying dosen’t have to cost the earth.
Glastonbury Festival – no need for further explanation.
Shambala Festival – Shambala is known as the festival goer’s festival.

Bands & Music

Unity & Devision – the punkfolk/ska four-piece from London serving up bitter-sweet lyrics with music that’s raw, edgy and ringing with heartfelt harmonies…

Disabled Companies

The Wheel Life Guide – A directory of information on all leisure and lifestyle activities for the wheelchair user.

Information

Permanently Seated – Information resource for green-field event goers that need that bit more help.