Canalside’s 2024 Disability Pride Festival will mark the 34th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Today we celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities,” said Sophia Roberts of the New York State Self Advocacy Association. “We fight prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities by celebrating all that we are. Buffalo is home to incredibly talented people whose lives are defined by disabilities. Disability Pride promotes the idea that people with disabilities are an integral part of human society, vibrant and creative, and, in fact, always have been. The event is free and we welcome all.”
In Buffalo, we tend to support causes even if they don’t directly affect us — that’s why we’re “The City of Good Neighbors.”
“Buffalo has a vibrant and connected disability advocacy community, and we are preparing a Disability Pride Festival that we envision as a platform for local and national artists and activists with disabilities,” Roberts added. “This year, in celebration of the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we will be hosting a four-hour event at Canalside on Friday, July 26th (2-6pm). We will feature local musicians, poets, and movement/theatre performers who publicly identify as disabled or have personally dealt with aspects of disability. This year’s performers include Stress Dolls, Mike Farrow, Bianca L. McGraw, and Mahatamoho Dance Collective. We will also have a children’s area, agency/information fair, and artist and speaker tents with talks on disability history, accessible scholarship, and equal opportunity in the workplace from the Buffalo Museum of Science, Explore & More, EPIC Storytime, and more. Of course, wheelchair and sensory accessible carousels will also be present wherever we are.”
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