Days to the Festival
Bringing music to your community year round.

Improving Accessibility

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is committed to making the festival more accessible to folks of all abilities. Our Accessibility Advisory Group, comprised of community members and long time festival goers has been working with the festival staff to offer insight and recommendations for the future developments of the festival site.

In 2010, the Winnipeg Folk Festival began a major site redevelopment project that will enhance accessibly in future years. You can find out more about this project, and the Staging The Future capital campaign, here.

Here is a look at some of our current services and initiatives:

  • a dedicated area for accessible seating at the Main Stage;
  • special needs parking located near the Main Gate Box Office;
  • guide dogs are welcome;
  • free admission for attendants of those in need. Please contact the Winnipeg Folk Festival office for more information;
  • a partnership with the Independent Living Resource Centre, who provides Disability Awareness Resource Training for our volunteers;
  • we have power available for guests at Audience Services, and at the accessible seating area at Main Stage;
  • we’ve increased the number of wheelchair accessible port-a-potties to meet the needs of our guests;
  • we will be offering sign language interpretation for two of our acts in the Family Area;
  • we have all Winnipeg Transit busses on the free Festival Express service from Winnipeg to Birds Hill Provincial Park wheelchair accessible;
  • large-print schedules are available online in advance and at Audience Services during the festival;
  • an accessible camping area is available in the Festival Campground;
  • we’ve installed a low counter  the Main Gate box office;
  • POS Debit machines at Main Gate – low/no vision friendly – have keypads with a dot on the 5 (not touchscreens);
  • text versions of selected sections of the program book are available online for screenreading software;
  • an accessibility Liaison volunteer is located at Audience Services;
  • ATM will be accessible for wheelchairs and low/no vision – 37” high; keypads with the dot on the 5.

Because the grounds are open and uneven fields, people in non-motorized wheelchairs may need an attendant.

If you have comments, suggestions or questions about our accessibility initiatives, please email us at eo@winnipegfolkfestival.ca.