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ACCESSIBILITY

Beach Road Weekend Festival’s Accessibility Guide

For Patrons with Disabilities

Last updated 8-18-2022

1. Accessibility information

  • Pre- or Post-Festival Questions: Email info@beachroadweekend.com.  

  • Questions During the Festival: Stop by the Access Center inside the venue. The Access Center services are listed below.

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2. REQUESTING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

If you need an accommodation not listed in this Guide, please make your request as soon as possible by writing to info@beachroadweekend.com. The sooner we know, the more likely it is that we can provide the accommodation. We may not be able to accommodate last-minute requests. Please include your phone number.

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3. REQUESTING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

  • Getting to the Festival: See the Getting There and Shuttles & Parking tabs.

    • The Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority busses are accessible.

    • The MVTA operates The Lift paratransit service for those who have previously registered for the service.

    • Cottage City Cab Company, (508) 693-3500, uses mini-vans and is capable of transporting persons using manual chairs who can transfer on their own. Call or text in advance to make a reservation.

  • Accessible Drop-Off and Pick-Up Locations (no parking):

    • 21 Beach Street, next door to the Harbor Landing. This entrance is for patrons with disabilities and their companions. It is the shortest route to the festival. Use the paved bike path to get to the venue (about 250’). There is no Box Office at this entrance. Use the Main Entrance if you need the Box Office.

    • Beach Street and Lagoon Pond Road intersection, (about 1,000’ to the Main Entrance).

    • Lagoon Pond Road and Skiff Avenue intersection, (about 1,500’ to the Main Entrance).

  • Main Entrance Access Lane: Patrons with disabilities and their companions may use the Access Lane on the left side of the Main Entrance. Look for the sign with the wheelchair symbol.

  • Box Office: The Box Office at the Main Entrance has an accessible lane. Look for the sign with the wheelchair symbol.

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4. INSIDE THE VENUE

  • Venue Description: Veterans Memorial Park is a large field with mowed grass. The ground is a firm, mostly flat surface with little change in the terrain. This grass can become muddy, less firm, or uneven depending on the weather. The distance from one end of the festival to the other is about 700’. 

  • The Access Center: We are an information and assistance booth for patrons with disabilities. We are located just inside the Lagoon Pond Road Entrance to the festival, on the right. Stop by to: 
    o    check out a wristband giving permission to use the reserved viewing areas for patrons with disabilities.
    o    get the code to the locked toilets reserved for patrons with disabilities.
    o    pick up the braille or Large Print copy of the program schedule that you reserved, or to read the extra copy we keep at the Center. To reserve your copy, write to info@beachroadweekend.com at least 1 week before the festival.
    o    meet up for a guided tour of the venue available to patrons who are blind or have low vision. Write to info@beachroadweekend.com to make a reservation. We may be able to accommodate a last-minute request.
    o    recharge your powered mobility or medical device.
    o    learn where the service animal relief area is located.
    o    fill out a survey about the Access Program.
    o    rest in the shade of the Access Center.

  •  Reserved Viewing Area: The viewing area for patrons with disabilities is on a raised platform in front of the Sky Deck in the middle of the field. Folding chairs are provided. Enter from the southern side of the Sky Deck. Look for signs with the wheelchair symbol. Patrons using this area must have a disability that makes it very difficult to stand in the audience. To gain access to the viewing platform, stop by the Access Center to check out an access wristband.
    o    Companion Policy: Each person with a disability may bring one companion into the reserved viewing area. Families, consisting of no more than two adults and any children less than 18 years of age, when one member of the family has a disability, may stay together in the reserved areas.

  •  Accessible Toilets: There are accessible portable toilets located in each cluster of toilets. Some are locked to help them stay cleaner. Patrons with mobility disabilities, compromised immune systems, or conditions making it necessary to use the facilities with great haste, may stop at the Access Center for the code to these locks.

  • Hydration Stations: The hydration water stations are staffed so are accessible.

  • Charging Stations for Powered Mobility and Medical Devices: These are located at the Access Center and on the raised viewing platforms. 

  • Mobility Devices: Only those with mobility disabilities may use mobility devices. 

  • What’s allowed: Power wheelchairs and three or four-wheeled mobility scooters. Manually powered mobility aids, such as walkers, crutches, canes, braces, knee scooters.

  • What’s Not Allowed: For safety reasons, powered mobility devices that move faster than a walking speed or are heavier and larger than a wheelchair or scooter, including two-wheeled scooters, golf carts, or all-terrain vehicles, are NOT allowed.

  • Other Devices: Other types of mobility devices will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You must obtain permission to bring a powered mobility device other than a wheelchair or three or four-wheeled scooter. Contact info@beachraodweekend.com no later than 1 week in advance of the event. Include a link to the manufacturer of the other type of device.

  • Services Not Provided: The festival does not provide wheelchair push service or personal care attendants.

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5. OTHER ACCESS PROGRAM SERVICES

  • Braille & Large Print: programming information for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Request your own copy one week in advance or read the copy we keep at the Access Center.

  • Recharge Medical Devices: such as scooters and motorized wheelchairs. Power strips are available at the Access Center and on the accessible viewing platform.

  • The Calm Space: The Calm Space is located next to the Medical Tent (see map). The Calm Space tent sides are lowered to reduce visual over-stimulation and offers comfortable places to sit or lie down, earplugs, and drinking water. There is also a space where mom’s may nurse or pump and a rug at ground level where parents may change their baby’s diaper.

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6. MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND MEDICATION POLICIES

  • Accommodations at the entrances: Write to info@beachroadweekend.com if you need permission to bring in a prohibited item because of a medical condition or disability. Examples include food or non-alcoholic beverages because of allergies, etc. All possessions brought into the venue are subject to search. See "allowed and prohibited items - 1" on the information tab.

  • Syringes: A patron requiring medication that is administered via syringe must bring medication in prescription packaging with name on the label and current photo ID.

  • Medication: Bring enough prescription medication for personal use only. An excess of medications is not allowed. Do not mix types of meds in one container. Each medication must be in its own prescription packaging with the person’s name on the label that matches the person’s current photo ID.

  • Medication Requiring Refrigeration: Patrons may bring a small, soft-sided cooler in which to keep medication. Stop at the Access Center to learn where to replenish ice.

  • Medical Personnel: Medical Staff will be based in the Medical Tent located in the northeast corner of the festival and will be roaming on site. The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is located 1.5 miles from the Park. There are several pharmacies on the island.

  • Pacemakers: If you use a pacemaker, use the Access Lane at the entrance and inform gate staff before going through metal detectors so that they may use a hand-wand.  

  • Special Dietary Needs: Those who have special dietary needs may bring small amounts of food, for personal use only, into the venue. A small, soft-sided cooler may be used. Factory sealed, non-glass, water bottles, or empty containers to fill at the water stations, are also allowed.

  • Chairs: Patrons may not bring their own folding chairs. See "allowed and prohibited items - 1" on the information tab. Patrons with disabilities may use the folding chairs on the raised viewing platform.

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7. SERVICE ANIMALS 

  • Pets are not allowed at the festival. Persons with disabilities and their service dogs or miniature horses that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for those persons with disabilities are welcome. For safety purposes, festival staff at the entrance will perform a short service animal screening and issue a festival tag to service animals. After entering the festival, stop by the Access Center to learn the location of the service animal relief area, and additional services.
    •    If a service animal does not comply with the following, its handler may need to take it home. Service animals must: 
    o    be housebroken.
    o    be under control, on leash, harness, or tether, unless the handler cannot use these and uses voice, hand signals or other methods instead.
    o    not threaten the health or safety of any person or animal.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT
BEACH ROAD WEEKEND!

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