Upcoming Presentations
International Music Festival Conference
http://www.imfcon.com 
December 6 – 8, 2009
Las Vegas
International Festivals & Events Association
http://www.ifea.com
April 8, 2010
Webinar
Seminar Description
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that any public accommodation be accessible to people with disabilities – if an event is open to the public, it must be accessible. Accessibility is more than providing a few accessible parking spaces and a ramp. These seminars cover the basic principals of accessibility and provide practical advice that can be put to use right away. An outline for a festival-access seminar might look like this:
- Reasons for inviting people with disabilities
- How to accommodate people with various types of disabilities
- Why training for your staff, volunteers, and vendors keeps the attorneys at bay
- The importance of publicizing the program
- Common mistakes
- What's new in the industry?
- Inexpensive things you can do that make a big difference
- Resources
Previous Seminars
Accessibility seminars that Laura Grunfeld has conducted include:
- "Accessible Events: Inviting Patrons with Disabilities,"Arts Council of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana.
- "Accessible Festivals,"Carolina Showfest, Charlotte, North Carolina.
- "Accessible Festivals; Including People with Disabilities," 51st Annual International Festival and Events Association (IFEA) Convention & Expo, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- "Chemical Sensitivity: What's the big stink?"Berkshire Community College, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
- "Welcoming Customers with Disabilities; Access Makes Good Business Sense," The Greylock Federal Credit Union and The Office of Cultural Development, City of Pittsfield, The Colonial Theater, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- "Planning an Accessible Event," The Greylock Federal Credit Union and The Office of Cultural Development, City of Pittsfield, The Colonial Theater, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- "Accessible Festivals - Make Your Outdoor Event Accessible to People with Disabilities," National Institute on Recreation Inclusion (NIRI), presented by The National Recreation and Park Association, Groton, Connecticut.
- "How to Make Your Event Accessible To People with Disabilities; Attract New Audience Members, and Comply With the Law," Southern Arts Federation's Performing Arts Exchange, Memphis, Tennessee.
- "How to Make Your Event Accessible to People with Disabilities," Berkshire Community College, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires.
- "Accommodating People with Disabilities at Business Events," Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- "Making Your Event Accessible, A Guide for Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act," National Association of Independent Artists Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Laura has also conducted countless in-house training sessions for staff, vendors, and volunteers. These trainings can range from half-day Access Awareness trainings to 10 minute, on-site, job specific trainings, and everything in between.
What Participants Say
- "Excellent, Excellent!"
- "Great content; obvious passion of speaker."
- "Thank you! Enjoyed very much!"
- "Good pace, interesting subject matter presented in a well organized manner."
- "Excellent information... well organized and very positive!"
- "This was really wonderfully done."
- "The information was shared in an expedited manner - group discussion made it more interesting and is always fun - also - very practical information was given."
- "You've educated us and encouraged us to "think" about accessibility/universal access which will result in what's best for us all - our business and our personal lives."
- "It was very informative - promoted much thought on the subject."
- "Extremely useful."
- "Lots of interaction. Great information. Very practical."
- "Specific situations & possible solutions."
- "Well prepared and organized. Involved all people. Welcomed input."
- "Very informative, learned more is needed than just a ramp, importance of signage, etc."
- "Lots of info. Lots of topics that I had not thought about. Well run."
- "Yes, very useful. My knowledge of this subject went from very little, to very wide, very informative."
- "Good information to apply to our situation."
- "Useful and applicable to my work."
- "Great information, what an eye opener.