Accessibility at Trans Pride Seattle
Disability Justice is Part of Our Work
We strive to create spaces where our Disabled and immunocompromised community members, organizers, volunteers, + partners are welcome, safe(r), and respected. We ask all attendees to familiarize themselves with this important safety + accessibility information ahead of attending:
- Masking + Event Agreements
- Accessible Seating
- ASL Interpretation
- Wheelchair Accessibility
- Spoons Tent (our quiet, low-sensory space)
Can’t be with us in-person? Enjoy the livestream on YouTube!
Masking + Event Agreements (2024)
Respecting others’ bodily autonomy—including the desire not to be exposed to virus/illness—is a basic agreement we expect everyone at Trans Pride Seattle to honor. We recognize there will always be some risk to gathering, and we aim to reduce potential harm as much as possible with the following agreements that we expect all attendees to honor:
1. Trans Pride Seattle is a mask-required event (KN95/N95+ or equivalent). This means that we ask all attendees—including tablers, sponsors, volunteers, and organizers—to consistently stay masked while not actively eating/drinking in the designated eating/drinking area
2. All attendees are asked to test before attending and to stay home if they test positive or are experiencing symptoms. We will have a limited supply of rapid tests available for attendees with limited access to them. We also recognize the limitations of rapid testing and encourage participants to get PCR tests beforehand if possible.
We will have masks available for those with limited access to N95/K95 masks, and volunteers will be making the rounds to remind people of this policy and hand out masks.
Two masked attendees interlock hands at TPS 2024. Photo by Alex Garland.
FAQs: Masking + Other Harm Reduction
Are you really requiring masks? Even though it's outdoors? Is this information outdated?
Yes, we are really requiring masks, and yes we are doing this even though the event is outdoors.
Yes, this information is up to date. Trans Pride Seattle has been a mask-required event every year since our first event post-lockdown in 2021 and will continue to be a mask-required event for as long as COVID continues to pose a risk for us all.
For information about the reality of the ongoing COVID pandemic in 2024 and the risks it poses to all of us, check out our highlight reel on Instagram (@TransPrideSeattle) titled ‘Masks required.’
How can you require masks in a public space? What does this look like in practice?
Trans Pride Seattle is advertised as a mask-required event so that more—and hopefully all—people will wear masks, making the event safer and more accessible to our community. However, because our event takes place in a public space, we cannot legally enforce a mask requirement as we cannot legally remove people refusing to mask out of the park for that reason. We can remove people who refuse to mask from inside any of the tents at the event, and anyone from the event/park if they become belligerent for any reason.
We also recognize that some people will be eating and drinking during the event. This year we have added an eating/drinking alcove to our event space and ask that people limit eating/drinking to this space only. This space will be located in front of the food trucks, with signs directing people to enjoy food/drink there.
We are doing our best to use language that communicates our expectations and hopes for the space while also being transparent about what is and is not legally enforceable, and what a mask-required event in a public space looks like in practice. We do this so that community members can have as much information as possible about the level of risk posed by attending.
What other ways do you work to reduce the potential spread of airborne virus/illness?
- We require all staff, organizers, and volunteers to rapid test before showing up to the event space, and show their team lead a photo of their negative test. We also recognize the limitations of rapid testing and encourage everyone, including all attendees, to get PCR tests before the event if possible.
- Our mask encourager volunteers will be making the rounds throughout the event to remind people to stay masked and hand out masks to those who need one. We also encourage any attendee to remind fellow event-goers to mask up—it is everyone’s responsibility to help keep us all safe.
- Signs posted around the event as well as slides and verbal announcements throughout our stage show will remind attendees to mask up as a practice of community care.
- In our registration forms and ongoing communications to all volunteers, staff, organizers, vendors, sponsors, and tablers, we clearly state our expectations and policies around masking and testing and require an electronically signed agreement that they remain masked at the event while not actively eating/drinking.
- Every year, Trans Pride Seattle is livestreamed to our YouTube page, where anyone can tune in and enjoy it virtually in real-time and beyond.
Thank you to Mask Bloc Seattle, which has consulted with us on our policies, practices, and communications around increasing COVID safety and harm reduction at Trans Pride Seattle.
William from Seattle Clean Air Collective reminds attendees why masking matters from the TPS 2024 stage. Photo by Andie Deroux.
Seating + ASL Interpretation
Seating is available in front of the stage for those who need it. If you do not need a chair provided, please leave that seat for someone else.
We invite attendees to bring their own chairs, cushions, blankets, and anything else they need to feel cozy and enjoy the show.
ASL interpreters will be present for the stage program and performances, located at the left side of the stage.
An ASL interpreter during a performance on the TPS 2024 stage. Photo by Andie Deroux.
Aerial view of the stage and crowd during TPS 2024, with seating area and ASL interpreter location highlighted. Photo by Alex Garland.
Spoons Tent: A Quiet, Low-Sensory Space
The Spoons Tent is our quiet, low-sensory (including scent-free) space. Everyone is welcome to stop by and enjoy a quiet space away from the crowds and loud sounds. The tent is stocked with snacks, water, stim toys, and other goodies, and is staffed by volunteers experienced in providing emotional and mental health support. You will never be asked to explain, prove, or justify your need to be in the Spoons Tent.
Masks are required for entry. We ask that everyone please sanitize their hands before entering the tent, and keep conversations at a low volume while inside the tent.
Four attendees and a service dog enjoy the Spoons Tent at TPS 2024. Photo by Mel Ponder.
Wheelchair Accessibility
Volunteer Park is on a slight incline. The accessibility maps following show flatter and steeper parts of the event area, uneven paths and paved paths, and wheelchair-accessible entrances/exits, seating, and parking. Each restroom area also includes a wheelchair accessible restroom.
Thank you to our super volunteer, Ezra V., who originally designed these maps that we continue to update each year!
For Questions + Concerns
For questions and concerns related to accessibility at Trans Pride Seattle, please contact Oliver@GenderJusticeLeague.org