For those of you who don’t know me, I lost my hearing about three years ago due to a long standing health condition. When I lost my hearing, I lost a huge amount of my confidence, self-esteem and was suddenly lost in a world I knew nothing about. At the time I found it hard to accept that I could still do all of the things I loved, including enjoying gigs and listening to music… after all, how could I?!
Last year, after founding iDID Adventure, I started to face my own demons and wanted to address my own confidence issues so i made the decision to attend a festival. I had seen Boardmasters advertised previously and it was right up my street; watching music, surfing and skating… yes please!
I spoke to a friend of mine who was looking for a festival and managed to sell the idea of Boardmasters to her. I shared my worries about being a Deaf person at a festival and also the physical difficulties I have; she was the same person that I had first tried rock climbing with, so I trusted her explicitly. She is one of these annoying people who are good at all things physical (you know the type) and assured me that it was fine, she’d help me plod along and not fall over in the dark. That was enough to get me excited so we booked the tickets that day… eek!
It suddenly dawned on me that my physical difficulties may pose some issues, but surely the festival organisers would be able to accommodate for Disabled individuals…right?!
I emailed the organisers and was surprised to find out that there was no dedicated camping area for disabled festival goers, you couldn’t get free use of the festival buggies to help with camping gear or getting to the festival site and that the only thing they could provide was space on a viewing platform. I hadn’t been to a festival since acquiring a disability, so I wasn’t sure what I needed and i was quite happy with only having the facility to use a viewing platform… until I got there!
After an excitable journey down to Watergate Bay, we arrived at the campsite (with a few swerves in the road because I found out about using mirrors to communicate with passengers AFTER our trip!). I am always conscious of being a burden and although my friend was ridiculously supportive, I endeavoured to carry more than I could handle. It wasn’t really the best idea I had over the weekend; by time we found a pitch I was so fatigued that I could barely help set the tent up!
After a rest and some food, I had regained my energy levels and wasn’t going to let my disability get in the way this early on. We got ourselves ready and headed over to the festival site. One thing they don’t warn you about is the distances between the campsite and the festival site… it’s pretty immense actually. Luckily, I didn’t have all my camping gear and also had the help of a willing friend, so it wasn’t as tiring. I was more worried about the return journey because it would be dark. Whilst most festival goers are delighted to see stands selling flavoured oxygen, I found myself getting excited because I saw rows of lights!
I was a bit worried before we arrived… how would I enjoy the music? Would I feel the beat? Would I be able to see any of the visual aids? I was determined to find ways to maximise my enjoyment. Earlier in the summer, I had been to a food festival and felt the music they were playing through a shoe box I was holding... long story.
It gave me food for thought though (get it?) and I wondered if I could do the same for Boardmasters (I am actually serious, I went out and bought cereal boxes and decorated them in funky wrapping paper).
As we got to the festival site, I soon realised that I’d essentially wasted £1.25 and about an hour of my life. The box went straight into the bin as I felt a hard beat running through my chest… oh my days, it was an amazing feeling! I could feel the pitch and depth of the beat just by the different feelings poundings against my chest… I almost cried! We spent the first night partying in the mosh pit (where it seems everyone has balance problems because everyone bangs into to everyone, its mental!) in the pouring down rain – it sounds bad but actually the feeling you get makes you understand why people go to festivals year after year, there really is an absolute sense of pure freedom. Anyway… the main act finished and we decided to take a look at the fairground rides…oh dear.
My friend eagerly ran to get on the Waltzer and because of pouring rain, she slipped and had an almighty fall (I know I shouldn’t joke, by my word it was all in slow motion and she didn’t even seem to put her hands out to protect herself, she fell flat on her face!). So eight hours in A&E and two crutches later, the person supporting my physical issues was well and truly impaired herself. She had a great attitude and in no way was she about to let her injury get in the way of her fun!
One of the main reasons I chose to go to Boardmasters was because the line-up included Fatboy Slim. I absolutely loved Fatboy Slim when I could hear, so it was perfect for my first festival as a deaf person. Along with the discovery that I could feel the beat and the amazing access to all of the visual aids from the viewing platform provided for disabled people; we had the most amazing night and it really did make a difference having access to that.
There were some things that would have improved my experience and would be crucial to allowing other disabled people to attend such as; dedicated camping areas close to the site, free use of buggies to help with equipment and also a wristband so you don’t have to explain your whole life story to every official. Things are on the up with festival accessibility and some festivals make the above provisions available. Furthermore, a lot of money is being ploughed into festival accessibility campaigns.
My advice to you is if you can’t see any information on accessibility for the festival you want to attend; contact the organisers and explain (it can be stressful organising a festival and also they may have no experience with disability issues) the support you need and see if you can work together to enable you to attend. It really is worth trying!
Useful links:
http://www.efestivals.co.uk/info/disabled.shtml
http://www.festivalrepublic.com/disabled/
http://www.laterooms.com/en/k17235542_festival-theatre-hotels.aspx?q=2_disabled-access-hotels
Susanne is 26 and lives with Neurofibromatosis Type 2. This genetic condition causes tumours to grow throughout her central nervous system. She has had major surgery to her brain and spinal cord which has resulted in considerable balance problems and has left her completely deaf.
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