Pilgrimage Festival more Accessible Thanks to Austin Whitney

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An article by John McBryde at Brentwood Home Page describes how the Founder of a California company is helping make the Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, TN more accessible for fans with disabilities.

According to the article, in 2007, at the age of 18, Austin Whitney was injured in a serious car accident that left him in a wheelchair. At the time, Whitney wondered if he’d ever be happy again. Now Whitney is the owner of Ten Fifty Entertainment, the leading provider of accessibility and guest services at festivals, concerts and other live events across the country.

Whitney founded Ten Fifty Entertainment in 2014 while in law school and doing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliance work at live music events. He has clients and works events of all kinds all over the country, including the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival taking place annually at the Park at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, TN.

“I’m very grateful to be doing what I do,” Whitney said, “very grateful to be able to help folks enjoy these very, very cool environments.”

The company has helped Pilgrimage become more accessible to people with disabilities and to ensure it is ADA compliant. Some of the elements of this include: 

• dedicated parking in the south lot (only staff and those who have disabilities can park there this year)

• dedicated check-in lane at gate

• ADA check-in center where they get special bands

• wheelchair and mobility device charging stations

• special viewing areas at main stages

According to the 2010 ADA Standards, concert and festival sites like Pilgrimage are considered assembly areas. The 2010 ADA Standard defines assembly areas as “a building or facility, or portion thereof, used for the purpose of entertainment, educational or civic gatherings, or similar purposes. For the purposes of these requirements, assembly areas include, but are not limited to, classrooms, lecture halls, courtrooms, public meeting rooms, public hearing rooms, legislative chambers, motion picture houses, auditoria, theaters, playhouses, dinner theaters, concert halls, centers for the performing arts, amphitheaters, arenas, stadiums, grandstands, or convention centers.”

The 2010 ADA Standards cover Title III assembly areas and events like Pilgrimage in several areas to include §36.406, Standards for new construction and alterations (f), Assembly Areas, which states, “Assembly areas that are subject to this part shall comply with the provisions of the 2010 [ADA] Standards applicable to assembly areas, including, but not limited to, sections 221 and 802 (p. 78 and 202). In addition, assembly areas shall ensure that:

(1) In stadiums, arenas, and grandstands, wheelchair spaces and companion seats are dispersed to all levels that include seating served by an accessible route;

(2) Assembly areas that are required to horizontally disperse wheelchair spaces and companion seats by section 221.2.3.1 of the 2010 Standards (p. 79) and that have seating encircling, in whole or in part, a field of play or performance, wheelchair spaces and companion seats are dispersed around that field of play or performance area;

(3) Wheelchair spaces and companion seats are not located on (or obstructed by) temporary platforms or other movable structures, except that when an entire seating section is placed on temporary platforms or other movable structures in an area where fixed seating is not provided, in order to increase seating for an event, wheelchair spaces and companion seats may be placed in that section. When wheelchair spaces and companion seats are not required to accommodate persons eligible for those spaces and seats, individual, removable seats may be placed in those spaces and seats.”

2010 ADA Standard 201.3, [Application] Temporary and Permanent Structures, states, “These [ADA] requirements shall apply to temporary and permanent buildings and facilities. Advisory 201.3, Temporary and Permanent Structures, states, “Temporary buildings or facilities covered by these requirements include, but are not limited to, reviewing stands, temporary classrooms, bleacher areas, stages, platforms and daises, fixed furniture systems, wall systems, and exhibit areas, temporary banking facilities, and temporary health screening facilities. Structures and equipment directly associated with the actual processes of construction are not required to be accessible as permitted in 203.2.”

Elements of this event site that must comply with the ADA include, but are not limited to, parking, passenger loading/unloading zones, accessible routes, toilet rooms, assembly area seating including line-of-site viewing, assistive listening systems, fixed dining tables, fixed operable parts, etc. Temporary signs, those signs installed for 7 days or less, are not required to comply with the 2010 ADA Standards.

Produced by Better than Ezra front man and Franklin resident Kevin Griffin, alongside Brandt Wood and Michael Whelan, the 2021 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival will host more than 50 acts across five stages with Dave Matthews Bands, The Black Keys, Maren Morris and Cage the Elephant as headliners. For more information on the festival, visit www.pilgrimagefestival.com. 

SUMMARY: Austin Whitney, the owner of Ten Fifty Entertainment, is helping make the Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, TN more accessible for fans with disabilities. The 2021 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival will host more than 50 acts across five stages. As a Title III assembly area, this site must comply with the 2010 ADA Standards.

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If you observe a facility or entity that is not ADA compliant and you would like to know how to proceed, please see the link at What To Do When A Building Is Not ADA Compliant or Accessible.

ADA Inspections Nationwide, LLC, offers ADA/ABA/FHA accessibility compliance inspections for buildings and facilities, as applicable to the different laws, and expert witness services with respect to ADA/ABA/FHA laws for building owners, tenants and managers. Also, ADAIN offers consulting for home modifications as a CAPS consultant for people wishing to age in place in their homes. For a complete list of services please see ADAIN Services.

Thank you.