ChillOut Festival receives ‘thumbs up’ for accessibility features after working with LCHS

Latrobe Community Health Service’s Community Capacity Building team is working to build more accessible and inclusive communities for people with disabilities.

In 2023, Central Highlands Community Capacity Building Coordinator, Damien Ray, worked with the teams at ChillOut Festival and Hepburn Shire to create a more inclusive event experience. ChillOut Festival is Australia’s largest and longest running regional LGBTQIA+ pride festival held each year in Daylesford over the Labour Day long weekend.

Damien helped introduce large print menus, clearer marking of potential hazards, and introduced recharge points for mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters. He also educated staff and volunteers on where they could find accessibility features at the festival.

This information was shared on the event website and social media pages for people with disability to pre-plan their day at the event.

“Preplanning is a daily reality for people with disability. If they don’t preplan, they risk turning up only to find out they can’t take part. And yet, this information isn’t always available. Lack of information is a participation barrier and can contribute to a negative experience,” Damien said.

ChillOut Festival Disability Advocate, Karan said, “I think what ChillOut Festival has done is something every event needs to follow. The number of people that came up to me and thanked me for representing them just blew my mind. But after seeing the overwhelming reaction at ChillOut I am now even more driven as a gay disability advocate and can’t wait to keep coming back and representing gay people with disabilities.”

Brett Dunlop, the Access and Inclusion Officer at Hepburn Shire added: “The collaborative approach of all three organisations made the 2023 Chillout Festival an event that was truly inviting, inclusive and accessible for all people.”

Attendee Margherita Coppolino from Inclusive Rainbow Voices also gave the festival a strong ‘thumbs up’. With LCHS’s help, ChillOut Festival plans to keep improving its accessibility features in the future.

If you want to make your event or organisation more accessible, we want to hear from you. Visit www.lchs.com.au/contact-lchs/ or give us a call on 1800 242 696 and ask to speak with the Community Capacity Building team.