Latest / Living Loud and Proud: Disability Conversations / Celebrating Disability Pride in Lehigh Valley (Featuring Jacqui Schwartz & Chaz Hayden)
Transcript
- Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:00:00 Welcome to the Living Loud and Proud Podcast, brought to you by Disability Pride Pennsylvania. If you need a link to the transcript for this episode, please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org/podcast. And now, here is your host... Vicki Landers 00:00:16 Hi everyone, its Vicki Landers of Disability Pride Pennsylvania. I want to thank you all for joining us for another edition of The Living Loud and Proud Podcast. Today I'm really excited to have two special guests. And we're going to be talking about Disability Pride Lehigh Valley that's coming up on July 20, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I'm going to let my guests introduce themselves. Chaz, how about you first? Chaz Hayden 00:00:57 Yeah, thanks so much Vicki. Hey everyone, my name is Chaz Hayden. I am an author of young adult novels and I currently reside in Easton, Pennsylvania. And I'm also the host of Front Row With Chaz, which is a web series that highlights businesses and venues that feature and make their places inclusive for people with disabilities. So you can check that out online and I'm excited to be hosting and emceeing Disability Pride Lehigh Valley this year. Vicki Landers 00:01:30 Yes, we're excited to have you there. Okay, so our next guest, Jacqui. Jacqui Schwartz 00:01:36 Hi, my name is Jacqui Schwartz. I'm the program manager at Lehigh Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance, otherwise known as LVACA. We are super excited to host, to partner with Vicki and Disability Pride PA for the second time this year. The next Disability Lehigh Valley will be Saturday, July 20 in Arts Park Allentown and we have a lot of new exciting partners this year. Vicki Landers 00:02:09 Yeah, so I want to like, jump right in, but I want to make sure that I say thank you to our podcast sponsor Highmark Whole Care for all of their support in giving us the space to be able to do these podcasts. These are community podcasts. And we're talking about things going on in our community. So why don't we do this? Why don't we jump in with Jacqui, you can kind of give us kind of a quick overview of what's going on. And then we can kind of chat about all the different things that are going. Jacqui Schwartz 00:02:43 Sure, so this year, we've, we've changed the venue. Like I mentioned, it's in downtown Allentown in Arts Park. We're going to kick it off with a Flag-Raising Ceremony right before the the actual events start at 11. And that will feature Chaz, our host will be there, along with several government officials. And then we'll kick it off. We have four different performers scheduled on stage, we have two returning performers by back by popular demand and that's Friends of Tom Band and Nicole Rismiller, they're both of the Lehigh Valley, actually, all of our performers and our artists are in the Lehigh Valley region. So we're super excited to highlight those folks. In addition, we have a really amazing visual arts exhibition. We're partnering with The Baum School of Allentown, which flanks Allentown Arts Park, the exhibition will be. It's open to all artists with disabilities. We have two full galleries, I think we have over 45 artists selected so far. This exhibit will kick off on, on July 18, with a art opening from 6:00 to 8:00, and then it will be up for a whole entire month. We will also feature an audio description, curated tour which is recorded. But what's really exciting, we have a live audio description tour the date of the event at 12 o'clock. In addition to that we have like a lot of new vendors this year we have like can canine companions we have Bitty & Beau's Coffee Shop. We have Country Meadows and we have many different other vendors outside, so we're pretty excited about that. Vicki Landers 00:04:44 No, that's great. It sounds like you know the last year was was a great first, you know kickoff event and this year seems like we're getting more and more. I know the, that my community partners are so excited to be back they're super excited to be in Allentown. And to see what see what's going to happen. Chaz. So is this the first time you're going to be emceeing an event? Chaz Hayden 00:05:13 It is I've never hosted an event before. And when Jackie asked me to do it, she said, "Have you ever hosted an event?" I said, "No. But I've also never made a TV show. And here I am doing that too." So we're really excited about it. I attended Disability Pride last year when he was at Penn State Lehigh Valley. And it was a good kickoff event. But I think everyone is interested and hyped about seeing how Disability Pride can turn out this year. Being in a more public and open space. Allentown is thriving on the weekends with so many museums. I mean, we're right next to the Allentown Art Museum. We're right next to The Baum School of Art, we're right next to restaurants and other shopping areas. So hopefully, besides the people that have already registered and are going to attend, we can get some passer byers as well that are just wanting to step inside, or stroll inside, or walk, roll inside however they want to do it and see what we're about. Vicki Landers 00:06:22 Yeah, that's, that's really that's what's exciting to me this year, is that we're right downtown Allentown, where like, that's where the main drag is. That's where everything is happening. I hear from everybody that I know that Allentown is hopping on the weekends, especially during the summer. So I just think that it's going to be a great, a great space for for the event. Jacqui, can you tell us a little more about the flag-raising part of it? Jacqui Schwartz 00:06:58 Yeah, so we will be kicking it off at 10:30. And as I mentioned, Chaz will be there. Some of the keys, colleagues will be there. LVACA will be there. And Mike, Representative Mike Schlossberg will be there and someone from May, Mayor Tuerk's office, he's the mayor of Allentown will also be there, and, and anyone else is welcome to be at the flag-raising ceremony. And, and I think it's a nice pivotal point to start, you know, the celebrations with, you know, dedicating that to all the folks in the Lehigh Valley. Vicki Landers 00:07:43 Yeah, we just here in in Philadelphia, on July 1, we kicked off with a flag raising ceremony to kick off the entire month, which was super exciting. And people are people have been asking, I've gotten emails, so many emails asking me, "When, when's the next event? What's happening?" So I've been sending everybody along to the LVACA website, so they can find out more information about the event itself, and how they can still get involved. So that's very exciting to me. Can we talk about some of the well, you know, what I'd like to do is take a step back and talk about the work that LVACA does. Jacqui Schwartz 00:08:33 Yeah, so LVACA, we are a result of a merger from the Allentown Arts Commission and the Arts Council, and more or less, we're a unifying voice for all the arts and cultural organizations and artists of the Lehigh Valley. And when I say artists, it's a collective of musicians, actors and whatnot. And we, you know, part of our mission is to create an all accessible and inclusive environment for all of our community members to, to appreciate, to participate in the arts and, and that's basically one of the reasons that we are thrilled to be involved in Disability Pride, because it gives us a great opportunity to showcase all of our accessible and inclusive organization and artists in the Lehigh Valley. We have tons of things to do in Lehigh Valley, and I know Chaz could speak more to that he because of his show. So we're excited about that. And that's what we do and we hope to be a shining example of what accessible and inclusion looks like for folks around. Vicki Landers 00:09:56 That's great. So, Chaz, she just mentioned that you might know a little bit more. So tell me what that that looks like. Chaz Hayden 00:10:04 We've been filming Front Row With Chaz for over a year now, we've hit up about six or seven different spots throughout the Lehigh Valley the Martin Guitar factory, I mean, you wouldn't think that a factory would be 100% accessible. But it really is all the way from physical and motor disabilities to navigating throughout the entire factory line through the tour through if you have a vision or hearing impairment, with, they have headsets you can wear, and then even sensory activities at the factory. So that was one of my all time favorite episodes we did. And then we just visited The Baum School of Art, which is right next to Arts Park where the Disability Pride event is happening. And I was really excited to showcase their partnership with the Autism Society, what they do for young people who are neurodiverse, and then also the accommodations that they can offer. I was lucky enough while filming to sit in on a painting class that was happening and to just be able to be offered certain accommodations, whether it was different paintbrush sizes, or different canvas sizes, that maybe weren't the normal choice for the project they're working on, but setting up so that I could be involved and experience the class in a way that I would be able to experience with my disability. So there's been a slew of places throughout the Lehigh Valley. But what really, really makes me happy is to see what the Valley is doing to become inclusive. Everyday, I'm visiting more and more places just on my own. And seeing what they're doing to go above and beyond ADA is really heartwarming. Vicki Landers 00:11:53 That's great. I mean, you know, I love to, I love to hear that the Lehigh Valley is really like leaning in and becoming legal, as I tell folks, and just being a being examples of what the ADA, and like you said, going above, above the ADA, what that looks like, because, you know, we always talk about, you know, the ADA is 34 years old this month. But it is kind of the the floor to what accessibility should look like. So we're really excited to hear that the folks in the Lehigh Valley are doing great jobs. And make sure that more people know about your, yours, your, make sure you tell everybody about how they can get involved in your series. Chaz Hayden 00:12:48 Yeah, for sure. And like even ArtsQuest, where Musikfest happens, Musikfest is one of the biggest free music festivals in the country. And they really made sure that everyone feels included and accommodated all the way from partnering with LANTA buses that have wheelchair lifts for transportation, from the different venues to sensory tents, if you wanna experience the music and the festival, but it's a little bit too loud. You can enter the tent and still listen to the music at your own pace. Vicki Landers 00:13:23 Oh, that's wonderful. I love that. So Jacqui, can you tell me a little bit more about the offerings during the day? Jacqui Schwartz 00:13:33 Yeah, so and Chaz made a very good point. And Vicki, the same, that Lehigh Valley we're all leaning into. And what we do at LVACA we we offer different like lunch and learns. So people will learn about what you can do. And we always say that accessibility inclusion is always a journey and to take one step at a time and the more, the more you see it at one organization, it happens at another organization, and it snowballs. So at Disability Pride Lehigh Valley we, we have a sensory room and it will also offer cooling room July 20 might be a little hot. So we have that. In addition, we are also partnering with the Allentown Art Museum, which is free of charge, right across the street from Arts Park, and they also have another sensory room as well. We will have ASL interpreters for everybody on this stage. As I mentioned earlier, we have audio description of the visual art, art exhibit and we have accessible parking. The Baum School has generously offered their whole parking lot, and that will only be for accessible parking only. So we're really excited about all the things that we're doing, and any of the listeners out there, if you have any suggestions or, or any accommodations, please feel free to reach out to us directly. And we will try to get that accommodated before the day of the event. Vicki Landers 00:15:19 Great. So I want to hear about the fun activities that are going on because I hear there's going to be lots of art stuff going. Jacqui Schwartz 00:15:28 Yeah, so there's, in addition to the arts, but we'll have live art making out out in the Arts Park, but that will be sponsored by Lehigh Valley, I mean, the Lehigh University Arts Gallery and then the Allentown Art Museum. Another fun thing is that Allentown Symphony will be out there, they will have different instruments to sample, we'll have lots of lawn games to be played. We also have DaVinci Art Center as another big sponsor, they had, they just opened up their brand new facility, which is in walking distance of Allentown's park that opened up in May, they won't be part of the festivities that day, they are, they will be performing, they're very entertaining and educational nitro, nitro, liquid nitrogen act. So that's going to be a lot of fun. And then we have the performers on stage, where we have laughing yoga, which is a entertaining, interactive yoga experience, complete with humor. And, and then we have the different musical acts of the day. So we have a lot going on. We also have Canine Companions, their organization, our local chapter raises, service dogs, and the service dogs will be there and all the information will be there as well. And we're excited to welcome Bitty & Beau's. They are a coffee shop, it's a national chain, we have one in Bethlehem, and they offer employment for folks who have development disabilities, and they will be there selling iced coffee or hot coffee if you want coffee on that day, and pastries and things like that. So a lot of fun stuff happening, a lot of food, we will have some food trucks there as well from, and we're really proud that most of our organizations and vendors are local folks, too. Vicki Landers 00:17:48 Oh that's great. So can you, so can you Oh, that very important. What time is the event? Jacqui Schwartz 00:18:01 A good question. So the flag raising ceremony all are welcome at 10:30. The festivities really start at 11am Sept. I'm sorry, July 20. That's a Saturday 11am to 3pm at Arts Park. Vicki Landers 00:18:19 Awesome. Yeah, that's, I think that's a perfect way of like, you know, here in Philadelphia, we kick off with the flag raising and a parade. You know, so I think adding the flag racing this year and having Allen, to the city of Allentown, you know, letting us you know, letting us like, be supporting us, basically, by letting us raise that flag that day, I think is, is wonderful idea. I personally, I am very upset that I'm not going to see that because there are not very many cities in the US that get to raise the National ADAPT flag to honor our past. So I think it's super important to be able to do that. So Chaz, so what are you looking forward to the most at the event? Chaz Hayden 00:19:19 I think just seeing all the people there. Yeah, I'm really excited about that, seeing the community turn out to support disability awareness. When I came to the event last year, it seemed like there was definitely an interest from the community. But now that we're more centrally, centrally located, for the event, we're expecting a massive amount of people hopefully, right? We can be up on the stage, we can entertain them, interacting with them. I just love communicating with people and talking to them and learning about them. So that's what I'm really excited about the most is the people. Vicki Landers 00:19:55 Great. Yeah, I think that's to me, it's, it's the best part just 'cuz I love being in the community. You know, I love just interacting, playing games, just talking to folks meeting new people and then also getting to say hello to folks that I haven't seen, you know, in a year, or I've met and done lots of things virtually. But, you know, I can see something more than their little head in the box. Chaz Hayden 00:20:25 Yes. That's what I love about the Valley like the Valley when you think about it, is huge. You have Easton, Bethlehem Allentown, right. And so many other towns and cities. I geographically, it's huge, but very much feels like a community. And that's why I love saying that the Lehigh Valley, because just saying that gives it that community feel, we're all in this together, doesn't matter what town you're from. And because of that, living here, very much has a small town vibe in the best way possible. When you're out, whether you're at the Farmers Market in downtown Easton on the weekend, or you're going to an IronPigs baseball game, it really feels like you know, your neighbors, you know, everyone even if you've never met them before. Vicki Landers 00:21:14 That's awesome. I love that. That's, you know, to me, I'm like, this is kind of why we wanted, we started these, you know, these events 12 years ago in Pennsylvania, was because of the fact we wanted a place where our community can come together and celebrate who we are, you know, the triumphs, sometimes the not so, not so good parts of it also, because I think every everything that we do is a stepping stone and a learning possibility. So I think that that's, I think we should look at it as a whole. And as a whole, I think we've come a long way. And we should celebrate all of those things. And also, to me, remembering the folks who have been a part of the disability rights fight, you know, and all, all of they've done for us, you know, but also looking forward to like, what else can we do? So, Jacqui, do you have any plans? Like does LVACA like what are LVACA's next plans for access, like to keep building on it? Jacqui Schwartz 00:22:29 Yeah, so, you know, of course, the Disability Pride event is is our big event of the year, but all throughout the year, we offer lunch and learns, we, we invite nationally recognized folks, and they we have different topics, we will have like different topics about like, accessibility, we'll have like something on sensory room, we'll have, you know, something of you know, of how to make your your festivals more accessible. And we're always open for others. So if anyone has a suggestion, you know, feel free to write in. Yeah, so that those are some of the things that we offer. And we also offer, like part of our organization, we just had a big convening meeting, where all arts and cultural organizations, including individual artists, were welcome at Lafayette. And this brings in everyone that we talk and how do we face the challenges of and the future of arts and, and what does that mean, for folks in Lehigh Valley. And so, you know, getting everyone collectively together and talking about it, when we can come up with a strategic plan that we can all be, you know, sustainable, we can be all accessible, we can all be inclusive. So those are things that we, we work on, we're sort of like behind the scenes we're sort of like the glue, getting everybody together into the same room and making that what, but Chaz mentioned, making the Lehigh Valley feel, even though it's so big, but a small community. So no matter where you go, you feel welcomed. Vicki Landers 00:24:22 And I love that. I think it's so important to, to bring folks together to have these conversations, you know, it's, it's, I, I tell folks all the time that for me, having these types of celebrations at these events, brings, brings people together in a fun kind of interesting way. And you make better connections with those folks, and those are the folks who are going to have you know, other conversations sometimes not so pleasant conversations with, conversations that we need to have, stronger conversations. And those are the, that's how you're building this community is by having all of these folks that you're now being connected with. And it's all, you know, it's growing. I am on the board of the National Council on Independent Living. And, you know, we're, we have our National Conference coming up at the end of the end of July, which is why I have to miss Lehigh Valley this year, unfortunately. And, you know, this is all about, like, bringing people from all over the country together, you know, for one, for to have these same types of conversations. How do we get how do we keep moving the needle forward? Past the floor level? If that makes sense. Jacqui Schwartz 00:25:56 Definitely, and having these conversations, also, it's not coming from one organization, it's coming from everybody, everyone's input on how it like, what things look like, and, and, you know, Disability Pride Lehigh Valley is a result of that. It's not all Disability Pride, PA, it's not all LVACA. It's, it's a result of everyone coming together and what they, they, they, they thought, what, like, what this year should look like. And that's why it's changed immensely. Because of those conversations. Chaz Hayden 00:26:29 Yeah, I have to second that as well. And then even just with other businesses that I've connected with, or have reached out to me, they want to improve their accessibility. And what's really important is that they recognize that they need to include people with disabilities in those conversations, whether it's myself or I'd recommend someone who can speak better on behalf of whatever they're trying to do. That's really amazing that we've reached the point where we're not building things or during renovation to think that we're making enhancements, when we're not really including the people that are being affected by those decisions. But here in the Valley, we 100% are. Vicki Landers 00:27:16 Yeah, I think that that's so important. And I you know, for me, when I when I build out, I always, I go into an area that has asked us to come in, and we work with a community there, that community of how they want the event to look like and that's, that's super important. You know, because I tell everybody, I'm from Philly, so I know what we want it to look like in Philly. But, you know, Lehigh Valley is is a different area and Pittston and Williamsport and Pittsburgh, and all of those are different communities, and we want to make sure that Disability, Disability Pride looks like what they want it to look like, you know, and that is bringing those voices in, letting community members be a part of it and, and just kind of helping to facilitate how that could, how that looks. With our with the experience of the event planning. So we're very excited. You know, again, this is second year for Disability Pride, Lehigh Valley, partnering with our friends at LVACA. And I'm very excited to see the photos, and hear from our staff, and our corporate partners on what how the event felt to them, and, and their ideas, because I always like to hear their ideas also, and what it could look like going forward. Because we just learn and every year becomes better and better and better. So. Jacqui Schwartz 00:29:04 Yeah, absolutely. And it does get better and better. The first one is always, you know, "Oh, I hope this works out." And it did work out. And the second one is, it's just, it has grown, you know, hugely from last year, and it's a result of everybody being at the table and creating what what the Lehigh Valley wants to see. Vicki Landers 00:29:32 Yeah, absolutely. So any last words? Jacqui Schwartz 00:29:37 Um, you know, I wanted to give a shout out to the Zoellner Arts Center. I forgot to mention them as one of the partners. The Zoellner Arts Center is the Performing Arts Center at Lehigh University, and they will be hosting Kinetic Light in October and Kinetic Light is an innovative Disability Arts Ensemble, their globally, actually acclaimed. And so they will be at Disability Pride talking about their event. But the big thing is they have gifted us 10 tickets, and they will be raffled off through pre-registration and registration on the day of. So folks have a chance to go see Kinetic Light in October for free. Vicki Landers 00:30:32 That's great. Where can people register? Jacqui Schwartz 00:30:34 So our registration will be up on our website, hopefully by the end of this week, and our website is LVACA, lvaca.org. Sorry it's not up yet, but it will be up very shortly. And and if you miss pre-registration, we will have registration at LVACA's tent at the day of of the event. Vicki Landers 00:31:01 And is registration required? Jacqui Schwartz 00:31:04 No, it's not required. It's free, the event is free as well. Just if you register, you'll have a chance for your name to be called for one of those free tickets. Vicki Landers 00:31:17 Great. Chaz, any last words? Chaz Hayden 00:31:21 Just really excited about this event. Thank you to Jacqui and LVACA for asking me to host, and can't wait to see everyone there! Vicki Landers 00:31:32 I agree I, I think it's adding up to be a great, a great time. You know, I'm very excited about all of the arts and culture that is going to be there. But also remembering that a big part of this is also bringing in resources for for folks. Because resources, especially in the disability community are so difficult to find. And to be able to be independent and make our own choices. We need to know what resources are out there. So that is a huge part of what we do. So I want to make sure everybody comes out to Disability Pride Lehigh Valley this this year, it is in two weeks, eesh, two weeks! July 20 at the Arts Park in downtown Allentown, and it is from 10:30 to t3:00. And we hope to see everybody there. And remember, if you have any questions, you can visit the LVACA website. It's lvaca.org. And if you have any questions, you know you can reach out to Disability Pride Pennsylvania, or to Jacqui at LVACA. And I hope to see you all again. Thank you again to our partners, Highmark Whole Care for sponsoring our podcast, and we look forward to seeing you at the Lehigh Valley event. Thank you everyone. Jacqui Schwartz 00:33:02 Thank you Vicki. Chaz Hayden 00:33:03 Thank you. Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:33:04 Please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org. You can find us on social media @DisabilityPridePA on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok.