The United States Can Learn Lessons on Accessibility from International Music Festival

As we enter August, we also enter the height of the festival season, whether it be hard rock, country, or my girlfriend’s favorite EDM; if you look hard enough, you are bound to find a festival for whatever you are into somewhere. However, if you're disabled, it is that much more challenging.

When you are disabled, you have many things to consider when planning an outing indoors or outdoors. I am not suggesting that disabled people should be homebodies; rather, this piece and the article from Enable Magazine in Scotland will provide ideas so that no matter what kind of disability you may have, you can live your best life regardless of your abilities or disabilities.

Anyone who knows me knows I love music festivals. I attended one earlier this summer called ‘Rock the Country.’ You can learn more about ‘Rock the Country’ and plan accordingly for next year at the following website https://www.rockthecountry.com/.

The information on the 2025 festival is not yet available, but the site says it will soon become available. This blog is not intended as a review or criticism of the festival as a whole. Rather, I only mention the festival because it got me thinking about accessibility at concerts and festivals.

As I stated above, I was able to attend this festival in my hometown of Ocala, Florida, this year. As it was the first time Ocala put this festival on, I was impressed with their attempt to make it accessible. However, as it often does, the United States is late to the accessibility party once again. I understand it was an outdoor festival, but many outdoor festivals take place worldwide and are often more welcoming to individuals with disabilities. The US and Rock the Country can learn from the fringe festival that takes place in Scotland every August.

I was first made aware of the fringe festival through a disability publication I subscribe to called ‘Feedspot Today.’ I have referenced it on this blog before, but for those unfamiliar, ‘Feedspot’ is a magazine service that searches the web for articles based on keywords you put into a search engine. Due to the fact that I am a disability blogger, I often search for disability-related news. ‘Feedspot’ recently pointed me to an article published in Enable, a Scottish magazine. Without rehashing the whole article (which I will link at the bottom of this blog post), it gives the history of the fringe festival. It highlights how, even though it is not a hundred percent accessible, Scottland is trying to include people with all types of disabilities in the event.

Festivalgoers can use an app to search for accessible shows, ranging from music to theatre to cabaret. The app includes all accessibility features. Currently, only one show is accessible for all disabilities listed in the app, but over 1,500 shows are accessible in some form.

As I stated before, Scotland is not perfect, but if we pay attention, it can serve as a shining example for those in the US. It is about time that the voice of the voiceless is heard again and that we are fully included in society, which means in all forms of recreation and entertainment. 

 

Here is the link to Enable magazine’s article on the fringe festival I mentioned. Enjoy!

 

https://enablemagazine.co.uk/on-the-fringe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_cam