When did Ōtautahi festivals become so accessible?

Growing up camping with my family has created some of my favourite childhood memories - collecting crabs in the Coromandel, playing card games with my cousins in a muggy tent because it’s raining outside and finger puppet shows by my dad under the torch lights.

But it’s always the muddy grass, crowded mosh pits and questionable accessible portaloos that put me off going to camping music festivals.

And while some festivals are making progress (shout out to Kylee Black who runs the Soul Lounge at Festival One!), many other festivals around the motu still have a way to go.

So when we came across Twominds Festival’s accessibility programme online just last week and saw how detailed it was, our minds were low-key blown. The festival is being held this weekend at Spencer Beach Holiday Park just outside Ōtautahi. We at The D*List were sure their accessibility programme must have been designed and written by someone and/or a team with lived experience of disability.

The information doesn’t just cover mobility parking, toilets and viewing platforms - which many of us would argue is the bare minimum at a music festival these days - but the details are so elaborate they have an entire accessibility hub on their website. Their staff are even trained in understanding the Sunflower lanyard scheme and there are low-sensory zones at the campsite.

So we got in touch with the team at Twominds to find out what went into their accessibility programme.

‘We can do better in Aotearoa’

“Creative spaces thrive on diversity, but accessibility is so often left out of the conversation,” says Charlie Corkery, access manager at Twominds Festival.

Corkery and Twominds Festival general manager Kendra Walls have both experienced accessibility standards in the UK and Australia where “standards and events are miles ahead of what we have here in Aotearoa... we know we can do better.” 

When Corkery first started planning the accessibility programme, he took a holistic approach and thought about all the communities within the disability community and what the barriers to entry could be. Corkery has lived experience of disability and access due to a TBI so understands firsthand the difference that inclusive spaces can make. 

They also took advice from Arts Access Aotearoa and inspiration from Ability Fest Australia and the Untitled Group's festival accessibility programmes. “A challenge with this is that we can only bring our personal experience with access needs to this programme. Arts Access helped us to fill a lot of knowledge gaps around catering to different communities, and the language we should be using,” Corkery says.

How to design an accessible festival

Corkery says Twominds Festival is doing its best with pre-festival information to help with the uncertainty of what a festival experience might look like. 

“This is our first year with a dedicated accessibility programme. We know that we're not going to get everything right this time, but we want to make sure we’re listening, learning, and improving every step of the way. Accessibility isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and we’re committed to adapting based on real experiences and feedback.”

So if you head on over the Twominds Festival accessibility hub you’ll find information on how to get accessibility tickets and complimentary companion tickets without requiring proof or disclosure of disability or diagnosis. They also provide disabled festival-goers a handbook with all the accessibility information via email prior to the event, which includes bar and food vendor menus, set times, festival programme, a site map, travel times and contact details.

They provide information about accessible parking, which shuttles are (or are not) accessible, the level of lighting across the campground and what the terrain is like on site: “All grassed areas are level and free of potholes, with firm, dry ground suitable for navigation by wheelchair,” they say.

There are multiple ‘chill-out’ zones where people can charge their mobility aids and keep their medication cold in allocated fridges. And the feature that stands out to me the most is that they provide videos of the festival grounds so you know what you’re getting yourself into when you show up on site. I love a good visual recce ahead of time!

Even though Twominds is transparent about not being able to provide all accessibility requirements such as hearing loops, Braille transcriptions and sign language interpreters, at least they’re upfront about it so you know what to expect and can make your own decision without worrying about ‘what ifs’ because that’s what my mind worries about often when going into the unknown!

Also hosted in Ōtautahi but earlier this year was Electric Avenue Festival, a two-day festival within the CBD. Their website has its own accessibility section with detailed information about accessible parking, entrances and toilets. There’s also details about what people can expect across the festival site - “tree roots, uneven pathways, buried sprinkler heads and pot holes in the grass fields”, they describe.

In the paragraph about viewing platforms, they even prepare folks with invisible disabilities to be asked a few questions from the security guards. “We mean no offence,” they explain. “We just wish for these facilities to be available to those who need it most.” While some of us might not like disclosing our disabilities unnecessarily, at least the team at Electric Avenue are up front about it - and even I’m guilty of wondering what people’s disabilities are if they aren’t obvious.

How is the rest of Aotearoa looking?

As earlier mentioned, Festival One provides a space called the Soul Lounge for disabled folks who prefer low-sensory areas, as well as hospital-grade beds and even fridges for keeping medicines cold. 

Splore has a one-pager on its website which includes information about reserved accessible campsites, mobility toilets and companion tickets. Rhythm and Vines has four bullet points on its website briefly covering mobility toilets, pathway terrain, accessible parking and accessibility platforms. 

Womad provides a pickup and drop off service using golf carts (although I’m not sure how wheelchairs fit into that solution, grabbing onto the back perhaps?) and has information about accessible toilets, viewing platforms and festival site terrain (no surprises that a festival hosted on a hillside isn’t great for accessibility!). Womad says it can also provide Deaf and hearing impaired support and signed performances on request.

All the festival websites we looked at did have a form you can fill in or an email address to request more information and/or enquire about accessibility.

Twominds’ Corkery says he’s proud his mates run a festival together, “but even more so that they’re open to challenging the status quo”. 

He says Twominds has always been about creativity and community, and seeing accessibility embraced with that same energy is huge. “This festival is proof that we can build the kind of world we want to live in - one where live music is truly for everyone.”

So come on Aotearoa, take a page from Twominds Festival’s rule book and make your festivals more accessible so I can get rained on and muddy in a tent while rocking out to some good tunes just like my non-disabled counterparts.

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