Welcome to the Disability Unite Festival! This document contains information on the following:
The best way to enter the festival is on East 72nd Street and 5th Avenue. After entering the park, follow the path and head West for about 1000 feet or roughly 2-3 short blocks. It’s best to follow the sidewalk which is on the right or the uptown side of the path. Continue to follow the path until you reach the first crosswalk. That should be only a block. You need to be extremely careful crossing this street. There will be security guards there to assist. The problem is that the bicycles that will be whirring by on a weekend may not abide by the crosswalk signals. Cross the street here and navigate the sidewalk about one more block. Bethesda fountain will be across the street on your right side.
The festival will now be on your left side.
You are now at the Northeast corner of the festival area. The festival area is shaped like a rectangle with the long sides of the rectangle going from North to South. As you walk South, you are walking down the long part of the rectangle. The middle of this rectangle has on its east side the stage.
When you first enter the festival on your right there is a stairwell area that goes down to a set of restrooms. As you descend the staircase, the women's restrooms are on your right, and the men's restrooms are on your left. The restrooms are not at the bottom of the stairs, they are in the middle of the first landing of the stairs. There is no family changing area with these restrooms as well. Be advised, this staircase has no railing.
Near the top of the stairs on the ground level, we have placed an Information Table located in the center of the path. To the East of the Information Table – facing towards the bandshell stage – is an area called Network. If you face the Network Table, to its right is a Water Station. To the West of the Information Desk – or as you walk away from the stage – there is an area for Interactive Activities. Just South of the Network area is a Staff Only alley, so please refrain from walking down that alley.
Just South of the Interactive Activities, is an alley that we are calling, ‘Activity Avenue’. Going back to the Information Desk in the front center of the path you will notice a line of booths with vendors that span about 100 feet long. At the end of the line for the booths on the right is a First Aid Station, another Information Desk, and another Water Station. Walking South past the booths to the left is the stage and audience seating where there will be multiple performances throughout the day. You pass the stage which is in the middle and on the East Side of the rectangle. In the space between the audience and the stage is an Open Dance Area.
As you face the stage, on the South Side is a Calm Space where people can sit if they need to take a break from the noise or other stimuli. On the North side is the Command Center. On the West Side, (across from the stage) there are multiple Art Installations. Just South of the Art Installations on the West Side is Creation Row. To the left of Creation Row is another pathway filled with additional booths. Between Creation Row and the booths, directly across from the First-Aid Station and before the additional booths, is another Water Station and a Step and Repeat.
To navigate to accessible portable bathrooms, all wheelchair accessible, head to the South West of the Festival area – and possibly follow the smell, depending upon the time of day.