[community] Wheelchair-Accessible Halloween Haunt

[Pereyra, David]

Hello All,

Katrissa Singer (a Hacker participant) asked me to promote this event in our community:

Frolic’s Haunt, Toronto’s first and only wheelchair-accessible Halloween Haunt run by a passionate grassroots team of makers, is looking for volunteers. Please consult the info below, which can also be found on our website http://frolicshaunt.com/about-frolics/ For any questions, feel free to contact us at frolicshaunt at gmail.com<mailto:frolicshaunt at gmail.com> .


Frolic’s Haunt is a fully accessible, 500 sq/ft walk-through home haunt (a “home haunt” is a non-commercial haunted house on private property; a “walk-through” means a haunted house that a visitor moves through, rather than a front-yard graveyard or other static set meant to be looked at). This is a labor of love that takes a lot of time, energy, and money, as well as volunteers willing to help.
<http://frolicshaunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/nurse_square2.jpg>
Why?
Wheelchair-accessible home haunts are extremely rare, and commercial haunts (which are also often inaccessible) are almost always too frightening for children and most young teens. That’s why we started Frolic’s Haunt. We believe Halloween and scary fun should be accessible to everyone who wants it, and Toronto needs a local home haunt so both disabled and non-disabled kids can come have a great time. It also provides an opportunity for disabled parents (see ◊ footnote) who want to bring their kids to a haunt and be able to go through it with their children.

When?
We’re open on Saturday October 28th, from 5 PM to 9 PM.  Due to the fact that we’re running on one night only, demand will be high; in order to avoid disappointing people, visitors must reserve a time slot<http://frolicshaunt.com/reservations/> in order to attend.
Where?
We’re in northwest Toronto (Ontario, Canada) near Wilson and Dufferin, close to two major highways (400 and 401) and the Allen. We’re easily TTC-accessible, only a short bus ride from Wilson station. The exact address will be sent via email to groups who have made reservations.
How much does it cost?
<http://frolicshaunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/doll_square2.jpg>
The Haunt is free to attend. If you enjoyed yourself and want to give us a donation on your way out, there will be a box outside the exit. All proceeds will be used toward the 2018 Frolic’s Haunt; we have room to expand, and the speed at which the Haunt grows is only limited by funding and volunteer availability.

How you can help

If you are disabled or assist disabled folks on a constant basis and you have suggestions on ways to improve accessibility: please let us know! We’re looking to have as inclusive a Haunt as possible, so we’re not solely looking for info on wheelchair accessibility. If you have a vision disability, if you’re Deaf or HOH (hard of hearing), if you’re not neurotypical, etc., we’d love your input about things we need to consider so the Haunt is accessible to you and folks like you.

If you have skills and time and you’re willing to share them: we’d love to learn from you. There’s always more for us to learn about propmaking, special effects, construction, carpentry, acting, costume makeup, costumemaking, and any other subjects useful to a haunted house. There are many skilled folks required to run a good Haunt: actors, makeup artists, programmers for animatronics, ASL translators to accompany our Deaf guests through the Haunt and translate what our actors are saying,  etc.

If you have no skills but you have time: There are many projects where we can teach you the basics and then you can assist with the construction throughout the year. The day before the Haunt we need folks to help set up our (pre-built) temporary walls, roof, and sets; on the night of the Haunt we need non-actor staff to keep an eye on the visitors while the Haunt is running; the day after the Haunt we need people to assist with deconstructing the Haunt.

If you don’t have time or skills but do have money, we accept donations towards materials used in the Haunt. At this time we aren’t a registered charity so we can’t issue tax receipts. (I’ll be happy to send you a copy of the store receipts to show what your money purchased though!) If you wish, you (or your business) will be acknowledged as one of our supporters on our website.

If you’re a high school student looking for Community Service hours,we have lots for you to do!

If you have props, decorations, or other materials that you’d like to lend to us temporarily over Halloween or donate: we’d be happy to accept! Everyone who supports us will be recognized on our website; if you wish to put an advertisement for your business onto the site in exchange for lending or donating supplies, we’d be happy to do that.

If you’re skilled with marketing/advertising/networking, we really need to hear from you. If you have the ability to help us get the word out about our Haunt to disabled folks who will find it relevant, help us get publicity, bring in more visitors, and/or find funding sources, that would be enormously helpful. A high-resolution version of our flyer can be found at this link: http://frolicshaunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FrolicsHaunt2017final.jpg


If there’s something that isn’t listed here but you think it’d be useful to us, we’d love to know what you have in mind.


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