It was a gorgeous summer day for a festival July 22 at Penn State Lehigh Valley in Center Valley. Lehigh Valley Arts & Cultural Alliance and Disability Pride PA teamed up to hold a free service open to the public. Disability Pride Lehigh Valley is a family-friendly event celebrating the disability community with art, live music, special guests, resource tables, food trucks and games for all ages.
Several vendors were available to help answer questions and give out literature.
Parisian Phoenix Publishing had five readings from poetry and book excerpts focusing on disability perspectives.
Live music performances included a person with a factor of disability. Performances included Americana rock band Gooch and the Motion, who headlined the festival along with local performing artists Controlled Chaos, Friends of Tom Band, Larry Mason and Nicole Rissmiller.
A pop-up visual art exhibition featured works by Mary Ann Dunwoodie, Derick Fiedler, Michael Freeman, Marissa Grello, Marie Jeanne Haba, Heidi Hooper, Justin Kaniper, Mark A. Klingler, Connor A. Purcell, Peter D. Schnore and Eliana Ruth Velez.
Along with a games section, there were food trucks available, including Cactus Blue Mexican Restaurant, The Udder Bar, Bananarama and Cone Appetit.
American Sign Language interpreters were working throughout the event to provide ASL interpretation for announcements and performances. Event partner LANTA provided special LantaFlex 505 Service to and from Disability Pride Lehigh Valley.
Jacqui Schwartz, LVACA Accessibility Manager, explained, “Our ultimate goal is to make Disability Pride the epitome of accessibility and inclusivity in the Lehigh Valley, ensuring that everyone can actively participate and feel welcome.”
Overall, the context of the event can be felt in this statement by Disability Pride PA; “We work to address the needs of underserved populations for whom participation in the arts may not be economically, historically, or otherwise available. Disability Pride PA is an organization that promotes visibility, cultivates pride, and advocates for an inclusive world for those with disabilities. They are dedicated to serving every disability community and ensure that their practices are informed by the voices of those they serve.” For more information on the partners of the event, go to lvaca.org and disabilitypridepa.org.
Paula sank a ball in the buckets at the Disability Pride event. Mount Trexler Manor of Coopersburg provided transportation for residents to enjoy the day.
Disability Pride Lehigh Valley lined up five music acts that included members of the disability community throughout the day. Americana rock band Gooch and the Motion headlined the festival. Ryan ‘Gooch' Nelson fronts the band with his gutsy voice, playing his own version of slide guitar. ‘Gooch' was in an automobile accident in 2016 that left him paralyzed.
Rich Davis gets his message across by wearing a sandwich board for career development awareness. Davis, a Neurodivergent and Career Strategist, has OCD contributing to a mental illness. He advocates for workplace equality and helping those with disabilities fit into their career environments. Learn more at mycomfortjob.com
Max, 3, enjoys a lollipop while waiting for his brother Griffen, 5, to complete his Connect Four game. They boys reside in Hellertown and came out to have fun at Disability Pride Lehigh Valley's first community event held at the Penn State Center Valley Campus.
Many vendors were available for the Disability Pride event with services and information. Disability Rights PA was busy answering questions for family members and disabled attendees throughout the day.
On a summer day, ice cream is a favorite. Bananarama was a food truck vendor for the Disability Pride PA festivities. Jessica Clark, right, is a monitor for state disability services. Erin Perry works with AMC as a greeter and usher. The girls are best friends and are huge fans of any Philadelphia sports team. They were working as advocates for Values into Action PA during the festival.
A double sided exhibition on the inside of Penn State Center Valley Campus showcased the work of artists who identify as living with a disability. The work was available for purchase and artists were available throughout the day to discuss their work. Media included drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, metal, wood and even dryer lint.
Vicki Landers executive director and founder of Disability Pride PA holds the hashtag sign while Jacqui Schwartz, Lehigh Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance “LVACA” Accessibility Manager, speaks to festival attendees and vendors about the importance of events like Disability Pride to further advocation and education for the disabled community.
PRESS PHOTOS BY LORI PATRICK Sign of the Times agency provided sign language support throughout the day where needed. The sign language interpreters learned the songs for each music act and signed the lyrics during every performance. Left to right, Shawn Petroff of Philadelphia, Suzy Morekin of Whitehall and Theresa Mols of Philadelphia.
