The Swansea Festival of Music and Arts runs from the 28th Spetember – 17th October at various venues across the city. “The success of last year’s 60th birthday Festival has enabled us, in difficult economic circumstances, to build a programme of quality and diversity: concerts, opera, oratorio, chamber music, jazz and gospel, together with classical and contemporary dance, musical comedy, visual arts and lectures. We hope that people of all ages and backgrounds will share the colour and imagination which the arts bring to our lives.”

More from the OpenBritain Swansea Festival of Music and Arts Article.

This is continuation of yesterday’s article “The Best Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals“. The festival recommendations came from the an article in the Observer and here at OpenBritain we’ve undertaken research to try to make them inclusive for all.

As I continued to research based on the Observer’s Article I found myself becoming more and more frustrated due to the lack of information for people with disabilities. The norm is that event organisers only provide information for wheelchair users and those with mobility impairments, the needs of people with other disabilities such as sensory impairments or hidden disabilities are generally ignored or maybe it’s because they are too complicated to be addressed.

Of the seventeen festivals listed in the Observer’s article only 4 of them actually give any information for people with disabilities and in most cases I had to dig around to find that. Some of the events take place at multiple venues, most notably city wide festivals such as the ones in Nottingham, York and Manchester, therefore maybe the reason or excuse for not providing information is that the organisers do not have the resources to collect the data required. However, when considering that many of these events are sponsored by or in collaboration with local councils and tourist information boards surely they have a duty to be inclusive and provide information for everyone.

Although the events from the Observer article don’t have any information for people with disabilities, a friend sent me a link to the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival (19th & 20th September) who have provided quite a lot of access information for people with disabilities. I also wrote an article on Monday regarding the Coastal Currents Arts Festival in Hastings so it would seem that at least in East Sussex event organisers are becoming more inclusive.

More from the OpenBritain Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals Article.

Whilst flitting through the net looking things to write about for the OpenBritain Blog I came across this article titled “The Best Autumn Food Festivals” by Nichola Iseard in the Observer’s Escape Magazine. Here at OpenBritain we love a good festival whether it be art, music, beer or food but we also need to know what facilities the festivals have for people with disabilites.

For this reason I’ve taken Nichola’s suggestions and dug a little deeper to try to find the information to The Best Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals:

Ludlow Food Festival
11-13 September

Information for people with disabilities:

ACCESSIBILITY

All events in Ludlow Castle and most other venues are suitable for wheelchair access. The entrance to the Castle itself has a rough cobbled surface and a wheelchair user may require assistance – readily available on the spot – for this short section. Some shops have entrance steps but again assistance is readily available. Detailed information can be found at the Festival Information Stall near the Castle entrance, or by phoning 01584 873957

Disabled toilets can be found at the car park off Castle Square, and in the Castle during the Food and Drink Fair. Disabled car park spaces (for disabled badge holders) can be found in the car park off Castle Square.One of the Park & Ride buses has a low floor access. Further information on this will be available from the stewards at the car park.

If you have special needs and require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office on 01584 873957, or email info@foodfestival.co.uk , and we will be happy to do what we can to help.

For more information about access in Ludlow generally, please contact Malcolm Marsh at South Shropshire District Council, tel 01584 813367.

More from the OpenBritain Autumn Food Festival Article.