Most party goers may not even notice, but many adjustments have been made at the Paaspop festival site in Schijndel so that everyone can enjoy the party. Also people in a wheelchair or with another disability. Riens van der Raaij, chairman of the Accessible Meierijstad Foundation (STM) and an early Paaspop attendee, ensures that it is and remains accessible.
“Paaspop is now the most accessible festival in all of Europe,” says Riens van der Raaij, who is in a wheelchair after an accident with his motorcycle. Although that was different in the past.
For example, he remembers a rainy edition of the Schijndel festival in 2019. “Then I had to travel almost a kilometer to get from the parking lot to the site. I had to roll over a sandy path and almost ended up in the ditch. After a few showers, the site turned into a large mud puddle.”
That had to be different. The Meierijstad Accessibility Foundation stands up for the interests of all people with disabilities in the municipality of Meierijstad. They went to the Paaspop organization with a list full of recommendations. “We came up with about ten points that have all been eliminated over the years.”
“Hats off to us that we managed to do that.”
In the years that followed, the festival’s accessibility continued to improve. To keep Paaspop accessible, the Meierijstad Accessibility Foundation organizes a inspection every year. A few days before the party starts, they look at where the site can be made even more accessible. “We have special inspection lists for that. We check everything.”
“We start at the entrance,” says Riens. “We look there to see if we can park and if we can accommodate special vehicles. Then we look at the lockers. These were originally on a platform of twenty centimeters high. There was no sloping section to it. Now there is.”
And many more things have been adjusted over the years by experts such as Riens. There are now many more paved paths, a separate entrance for people in wheelchairs and there are sign language interpreters for hearing-impaired partygoers. “Accessible toilets are especially important.”
Previously there was only one disabled toilet. “It was also not lit. So you had to be lifted from your wheelchair into the Dixi toilet by someone in the dark. That was no fun,” says Riens. Fortunately, that is no longer the case. “Now there are several disabled toilets with guidance and a threshold that makes it easier to roll over.”
The chairman is proud of the work that the foundation has done over the years. “I think it’s wonderful. Hats off to you that we managed to do that. Paaspop couldn’t be much more accessible, but we have to remain alert that something isn’t being cut back. And we will be attending several more events in the municipality.”
“Luckily I was with Judith, who is in a mobility scooter.”
Although some things remain difficult for festival enthusiasts with a physical disability. “If a tent is really packed, it is difficult for me to get through with the wheelchair,” he says. An example is a performance by an ABBA tribute band. “They said at the entrance that I would never get through the crowd with my wheelchair.”
“Luckily I was with Judith, who is in a mobility scooter,” he says with a laugh. She made sure that they could still enjoy the performance. “She turned on her lights and sounds and drove to the stage, so I could follow behind.”
Share your Easter doll story with us!
Omroep Brabant will be there again this year at Paaspop. Do you have a nice, funny, sad or remarkable story about the festival? Are you or do you know someone who has not missed a single edition of Paaspop? Or are you planning something special at the festival? For example, are you putting a good friend in the spotlight, do you have something to celebrate, or are you thinking of someone who cannot be there? Let us know via [email protected].
Read all the stories about Paaspop on this theme page.
