Fully accessible New Year's Eve celebration planned in Halifax

This year, the largest New Year's Eve celebration in the Maritimes will be fully accessible.

The event at Grand Parade in Halifax's downtown will feature live music, an LED video wall, fireworks, as well as some new features to ensure everyone can have a good time.

"In the past … we've had some language interpreters near the stage, but I wanted to see if we could make the entire event more accessible," said Paul Vienneau, Halifax's accessibility consultant.

Vienneau, who uses a wheelchair, said he's helped organize other accessible music events in the past, so he used those experiences to help make an accessible venue for the New Year's Eve festivities.

"There's a little area set aside near the front of the stage for wheelchairs and their guests, and deaf citizens could also come in there too, or, for that matter, anybody else who needs to not get jostled," he said.

"And from Barrington Street up to the accessible reserved spots, there are no cables in the way so it should be a straight shot."

Vienneau said they will also have latex-free balloons on hand for deaf people, so they can still enjoy the music by feeling the vibrations.

He hopes these changes will encourage more people to come out and participate, especially if they have avoided similar events in the past because they weren't accessible.

"Any amount of people is a success," said Vienneau.

There will also be more signage, as well as interpreters and volunteers on-site to help people find their way around the event.

Billy Comer, civic events co-ordinator for the city, said Halifax has hosted accessible events in the past, but Vienneau was a big help in making it as accessible as possible.

"All of our sites are accessible for our main events, but this is the extra detail that Paul has really helped us with," he said.

"It's just that extra touch … having volunteers greet people and really guide people to these zones. We haven't had the ability or the resources in the past to have these extra touches to really enhance it."

Making the city accessible

Vienneau said there's a great need for better accessibility not just in Grand Parade, but at Halifax's city hall in general.

He said it was one of the first issues he identified when he first signed on as the city's accessibility consultant.

"At the moment, the only way into city hall for me is through a side door on Argyle Street. But all citizens should be able to enter through the same doors," he said.

"The city's values have been changing over the last while as they become more aware of these types of things. So what we need to do is sort of make the physical manifestation of our democracy match our values."

He said he'd like to install a wheelchair ramp at the front entrance, as well as put up both visual and tactile signage so people with hearing or visual impairments can find their way around more easily.

Vienneau doesn't know how long these changes will take, but he said there's support for them on a municipal level.

"There's a rights revolution happening in the world right now with disabled folks, and Halifax is not lagging behind," he said.

"Historically, this province tends to lag behind on things, but we're willing to be a part of what's current, and even set the pace for some things. And I think our city hall, by doing this work, could be a leader for other city halls."

Snow, ice pellets, wind expected

A mix of wintry weather is expected to hit the province on Tuesday.

Comer said the city still plans to hold the New Year's Eve celebration and has taken extra steps to prepare.

"We got ahead of it, luckily, knowing that it was coming," he said.

"What we're doing now is a lot of the detail work where we're really harnessing things down, adding extra weights, and really making sure that we're secure."

In an email, city spokesperson Erin DiCarlo said winter operations crews are on standby in anticipation of the weather.

Any changes to the event will be posted on the Halifax Civic Events Twitter page.

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