As a COVID-conscious, relatively non-disabled person who is in a community with many immunocompromised & disabled people, I have been very aware of how isolating it has been for those of us who are not able to go back to “normal life”. Although our governments and institutions no longer prioritize COVID-19 precautions, the virus continues to disable and debilitate many people through long COVID, and it continues to be a huge threat to high-risk folks, many of whom are queer and trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC). With this event, I wanted to create a covid-safer space where covid conscious people, who are generally quite isolated in our homes and not afforded many safe public spaces, could meet one another and experience an afternoon of connection and joy.
I chose Memorial South Park near Fraser and 41st as my location, as it was a pretty accessible park. I had one friend help me with some of the organizing and decision-making as they lived right near this park. It has plenty of parking and easy access to public transportation. I chose a wheelchair-accessible spot near the washrooms, which have gendered washrooms as well as one universal, wheelchair-accessible stall. The spot we chose had lots of shade as well as access to sunshine, far away enough from the track and baseball field where there might be more noise or people. I hosted it on a Sunday afternoon and promoted the event through social media, pre-existing covid conscious online communities and a few posters in South Van community centres.
My event took place on June 9th, 2024, and around 30-35 people showed up on event day, which was a great success! I requested for people to rapid test on the morning of, and everyone wore high-quality respirators. We had a variety of seating options, snacks, books, and art supplies. I was able to get the support of some local organizations and groups for equipment and printing. Thank you to Opera Mariposa for lending the folding tables, chairs and other event equipment! People could eat their snacks in small snack areas, several metres away from the main socializing area to add to the covid safety measures. I also created a colour-coded sticker system for peoples’ name tags in an attempt to make the event neurodivergent friendly so that people could symbolize through their name tag stickers whether they wanted to socialize and make new friends or quietly co-exist with others.
Many disabled folks of varying disabilities, including chronic illness, long covid, neurodivergence and physical disabilities came to the event. There were also some folks like myself who were not-yet-disabled or relatively more able-bodied. Most folks were in their 20s and 30s, but we had a mother come with her pre-teen child and a few elders. Most attendees were queer, trans and racialized. While I expected a good mix of socializing & co-existing, I was pleasantly surprised at how the majority of people sat around the art table to make new friends. So many people thanked me for organizing this event and bringing these people together, as covid conscious people have very few covid safer spaces to gather in, especially in-person. It was such a joyful time, and I hope to do something like this again! Thank you so much to Neighbourhood Small Grants for helping make this happen.
