Service dog sniffs out accessibility issues at Fringe venues
An Edmonton woman and her service dog are helping to ensure the venues at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival will be accessible for everyone.
Marla Smith is in a wheelchair and she gets around with the help of her Rottweiler Kuno.
She and Kuno are touring fringe venues ahead of the festival.
“They’ve invited members of the disability community to come out and give feedback and talk about where the barriers are and what the challenges are,” she told CTV News Edmonton.
Smith and Kuno have gained a following on social media talking about the accessibility challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.
“As much as we like to think that we are an inclusive city, so much of our community just isn’t by design.”
“There’s a lot of places that someone like myself cannot get into, and most people don’t realize that.”
Fringe officials say it’s important to make the festival inclusive for all.
“We believe that fringing is for everyone, and for us what that means is working with our community to listen, learn and adapt,” said executive director Megan Dart.
She says it’s important to get perspective from people like Smith.
“This allows us to take a look at our venues, our sites, our processes like ordering a ticket or purchasing a coffee from our cafe to ensure that we’re considering the best experience for everyone possible.”
“This is everything from knowing how a wheelchair user might move through the site or see a show in a venue, to how someone who is maybe neurodivergent experiences theatre.”
There are 27 venues at the festival this year. On Thursday, Smith and Kuno visited the Westbury Theatre, which has an accessibility coordinator on staff.
“We have to look at how close performers get to people and their mobility aids, even with a living mobility aid. So space is a really big thing, we can’t have them inadvertently bumping into somebody, knocking something over,” Smith said.
She added that the Fringe has done a great job of making the venues accessible, and she hopes other festivals and businesses will follow suit.
“Fringe has been a long standing, well respected festival in this city, so I’m hoping it might be a bit of an influence for other organizations and businesses to follow.”
Dart says she’ll take the notes from Thursday’s visit back to her colleagues.
“We’re measuring how wide doorways are, and we are looking at whether there are ramps or stairs. We take a peek at the washrooms to see if they are fully accessible. We record all of those notes and then we bring them back to the team.”
The Fringe runs Thursday until Aug. 21.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Courteney Cox says her partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in therapy
Courteney Cox's longtime partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in a therapy session.