Wychwood Welcomes All!
This year at Wychwood, we’re making big plans to level-up our accessibility.
We love how festivals are for everyone, and at Wychwood we have something for all with our diverse range of performances, workshops, and activities on offer – from live music and comedy, to dance and street theatre, to arts, crafts, and more!
We welcome people of all ages and abilities (just look at our activities page!), and we pride ourselves on being Cheltenham’s best-loved family festival, but we know we can do more to make Wychwood an even better place to be.
This year, we’re working with some great organisations to improve our disability access, including the University of Gloucestershire, You’re Welcome, Attitude Is Everything, Active Impact, and the Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum.
Here’s a sneak peak of what’s to come!
You’re Welcome at Wychwood 2022
Wychwood Festival 2022 is now listed on You’re Welcome!
You’re Welcome is Gloucestershire’s inclusive online community space. The website hosts its events directory showcasing and providing accessibility information for the great inclusive events and activities across the county, as well as their friendly forum.
We are so happy to be listed on the website and can’t wait to welcome all our new and existing customers to the festival again this year.
Find out more about You’re Welcome by visiting their website (and be sure to check out our listing whilst you’re there!).
New for ’22 – The Sensory Tent
This year, Active Impact and the Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum are bringing us our first ever Sensory Calm Space.
Open from 10am-8pm every day, this new space offers a quiet area for disabled and non-disabled children and young people to take a break from all the hustle and bustle of the festival. With space to spread out and lots of sensory toys and resources to enjoy, you’ll have everything you need to recharge, ready for more festival fun!
The space is supported by our wonderful volunteers from Active Impact and Gloucestershire Parent Carers, but please note, children and young people visiting the space must also be accompanied by their parent or carer.
Active Impact is a Gloucestershire-based organisation that supports disabled people to find fun and challenging opportunities, whilst providing support and guidance to organisations and community groups to improve their inclusivity.
To learn more about Active Impact, visit their website.
Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum is a voice for those with lived experience of being a Parent Carer (this means parents and/or carers of children with any disability, SEN, condition, impairment, or additional need).
To find out more about the Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum, visit their website.
Content, Content, Content!
We understand that great access begins when you book, so we’re taking steps to improve our accessibility information and provide our customers with a more detailed and informative service.
With help from students at the University of Gloucestershire, we are transforming our website’s accessibility page to give you all the information you need in one place. Plus, you will also be able to read and download our new access information document, so you can have it to hand whenever you need.
Alongside our re-vamped accessibility info page, the University of Gloucestershire will also be creating some great online content for you. By creating a fully captioned site walkthrough video, as well as interactive 360 degree photos and high quality static images of the main festival areas, you will be able to get a feel for the festival site before you even arrive!
So, keep your eyes peeled for when we launch in preparation for Wychwood 2023!
We’re Getting On The Charter!
At Wychwood, we really want to create a lasting difference and make our festival more inclusive and accessible for years to come. So, what better way to do this than working with the UK’s leading charity advocating for Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music?
We are pleased to announce, that from 2022, we will be working with Attitude Is Everything to improve accessibility in all areas of the festival. Plus, we have now signed up to their Live Events Charter, set to achieve their Bronze Award accreditation!
With their support and guidance, we’ll be sure to just keep getting better year after year.
Learn more about Attitude Is Everything, and find out who we’ll be joining on the charter.
This is just the beginning of Wychwood’s accessibility journey, so be sure to stay tuned for more news and updates by signing up to our mailing list below!