Simplified: This Saturday marks the 35th anniversary of when the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. To recognize this milestone, the city, the Levitt and the ADA Sioux Falls Committee are teaming up for a celebration for the whole community. Here's what you need to know about the ADA Festival.

Why it matters

  • This year's celebration recognizes how far society has come in making accommodations, but it also comes at a time when that progress is at risk of moving backwards in the face of things like pending cuts to Medicaid and the removal of federal guidelines related to ADA accommodations.
  • Festival Co-Chair Tana Zwart said people don't always realize how ADA benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities. She shares the examples of curb cutouts, elevators, ramps, audiobooks, and even things like modern vegetable peelers, which were invented to help folks with arthritis or limited hand mobility.
  • This anniversary is particularly important, too, because there's an entire generation of people who've grown up only knowing what life is like under ADA, said Jamie Reindl, who coordinates the Lifescape Center for the Arts.
"I think it's important to tell the story of what came before and the struggles that people endured – to recognize how that was not OK," Reindl said. "(It's also important to recognize) the growth that we’ve made and really focus on the growth that is yet to come."

Tell me more about the festival

The event is a collaboration between the city's Disability Awareness and Accessibility Review Board, the ADA Sioux Falls Committee and Levitt at the Falls.

The festival will take place starting at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Levitt downtown.

  • Attendees will find live music, face painting, vendors, resources and a theater performance as part of a collaboration between Lifescape and the Black Hills Playhouse.
  • The night will culminate with a concert from Johnny Wheels & The Swamp Donkeys.

Zwart hopes the event will bring in a wide variety of people across the city and noted that it's not just for the 1 in 4 people who have some sort of disability.

"(Disability) is often disregarded in a lot of ways," Zwart said. "We talk about diversity and forget to mention disabilities. We need to be talking about that and incorporating that ... it's not a negative thing. It's a naturally occurring part of the human race to have a disability."

Tell me more about events marking the 35th anniversary of ADA

In addition to the festival Saturday, there are also a number of events celebrating Disability Pride Month.

That includes:

  • A screening of the documentary "Crip Camp" at the State Theatre at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23 and again Sunday, July 27 at 4 p.m.
  • A lunch & learn panel focused on employment and access for people with disabilities, as well as what business owners should know.
  • An art exhibit called "Refocus" on display all month long in Shriver Square in partnership with Rare by Design and Serendipity Studios.

You can learn more about each of these events on the ADA Sioux Falls website.