Every Fathers Day Weekend for at least the past 20 years, you can find me in Croton Point Park at the Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival, a folk festival established by legendary folksinger Pete Seeger back in 1978. The proceeds from this festival have gone to efforts to restore and clean up the Hudson River.  So what has this to do with disability rights?  The answer will be clear to you after you read “Disability/Access piece for Revival Program book” at the end of this blog entry.

But first, a little of my personal history with this festival:  I attended the first festival there in 1978 and was treated to live performances and workshops. The most memorable being from the late Singer-Songwriter Steve Goodman, who rocketed to fame after Arlo Guthrie recorded his song “The City of New Orleans”. Steve was one of the funniest, most talented folk musicians of the time. He exhibited a joy for life and had the attitude “You Better Get It While You Can”- and for good reason. You see Steve Goodman had chronic leukemia which took him from us too soon in 1984. So that was my introduction to this wondrous Festival.

Another amazing thing about the festival is that it is run primarily by volunteers: Parking Cars, Recycling Garbage, Keeping the Peace; all is done by this community. So for 6-7 years in the 1980’s I volunteered-  making sure stages were kept safe and secure, keeping paths of access clear, and camping out in some of the worst rain storms ever known to man.

 In the mid-late 1980’s my relationship with the Festival entered a new phase as I was a member of the Disabled In Action Singers ( For more info on the DIA Singers go to: www.disabledinaction.org/singers_parking.html ) That’s Right! Not only is Clearwater accessible to members of the audience with disabilities, but performers with disabilities can actually get on a stage- Miracle of Miracles! The Singers performed at Clearwater twice and had the honor of sharing a stage with groups like Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Last year for the first time ever WDOMI had a table in the “Activists Area” where we provided information, raised consciousness regarding disability issues, and got over 400 hundred signatures on a petition for saving Medicare and Medicaid. So this year I took a break and remained an audience member. I was particularly “blown away” by a musician named Raul Midón, a blind musician-songwriter who is one of the finest acoustic guitarists I have ever heard.

So thank you Clearwater for including people with disabilities in your mission of justice, inclusion and a better world. And thanks for over 30 years of great music, community and service.

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Disability/Access piece for Revival Program book

Welcome to Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival 2012!

We all know that Pete has always been a champion for people who are underrepresented and those who struggle with oppression. The disability community, among the most underrepresented citizens of the country, came forward early in the evolution of Revival, and Pete and Toshi made a commitment to providing equal access. As a result, the Clearwater Revival is one of the first and still one of the most accessible outdoor festival venues in the country. From a practical standpoint, this accessibility is provided by establishing Access Areas at the front of all the stages, ASL Interpreters on the main stages, large print and Braille programs and maps, wheelchairs to borrow free of charge, golf cart rides around the festival site, Access volunteers to assist people with disabilities as well as many other amenities. We also pride ourselves on creating a welcoming, non-judgmental, positive attitude around all kinds of disabilities. For instance, in this entire article, except for this explanation, you won’t see the “H” word…handicapped. The word handicapped is generally believed to have originated before the start of social support programs when the disabled had to sit on the corner begging, with their cap in hand (hand-in-cap…). In addition, we talk about parking, seating areas and port-a-johns as being accessible, not as “handicapped”. The parking and port-a-johns aren’t disabled or “handicapped”, but they are accessible. Words are powerful and by choosing this kind of positive language, we hope to affect change in a much broader way.

So, this is why there are large open areas in front of the stages that may seem unused during some performances. By providing this space at the front of the stages, people with disabilities and their families are welcome and don’t have to try and move around the patchwork of blankets and chairs in the audience area. Also, unlike able-bodied people, people with disabilities often cannot easily move their bodies to get a better view of the performer. We keep these areas clear and open, even when there doesn’t seem to be a great need, because it’s much easier for everyone to have the space established rather than asking able-bodied audience members to move later in the day.

Clearwater loves and celebrates cultural diversity. One of the cultures celebrated here in the midst of song and sunshine is the Deaf Culture and its community.  While enjoying the high quality performances you will encounter at each of our stages, take a moment to notice the American Sign Language Interpreters positioned on stage to insure that all of our Clearwater family can enjoy the celebration equally.

The American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters at our festival are nationally certified and experienced ASL interpreters whose expertise is theatrical and performance interpreting.  They have all come together to find a way to provide access in a way and at a cost that furthers the festivals’ goals of inclusion and environmental education/activism.

The ASL Interpreter’s booth is located next to Information, and the Access Hospitality Tent is right next door. Come on by, ask questions, learn, get inspired. Please feel free to talk to the interpreters about our work at the festival and in general at our booth.  We are also open to talking as we wander the festival, but beware – we may be on our way to interpret, so you may have to walk along with us rather than stopping us to chat. We hope to serve as access for the Deaf, educational awareness for the hearing, a bridge to other cultures and maybe even a bit of an enhancement to the performances! However you come across us, please don’t be shy we love to talk in voice as well as with our hands!

Thank you for respecting these spaces and welcome to our accessible Festival!