Tag: Accessible

Categories
Health

Accessible Parks for Children and Households

Accessible Parks for Kids and Families

Not much is normal for children (and indeed for all of us) this year. A constant? That nature is just as great as always. And many federal and state parks and organizations are working to expand affordable access for children and their families.

Yes, we know it’s cold and dark very early these days. If anything, it’s even more of a reason to purposefully go outside, said Kate Siber, author of the recently published book “50 Adventures in the 50 States,” a book about kid-friendly expeditions. At this time of year, “You can almost feel like the world is approaching when you spend all the time inside,” said Ms. Siber, adding, “When you are outside, you are reminded that the world is a world Much bigger place than you’d think. “

When the 10 month claustrophobia hits you at home, it’s time to bundle up and go. Here’s how to do it and keep your already overloaded December budget intact.

Since 2015, all publicly accessible federal states have been free of charge for fourth grade students and their families, and in 2019 the congress reintroduced the initiative as the Every Kid Outdoors program. According to Chelsea Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, the agency selected fourth graders based on research that showed that age was particularly receptive to learning and appreciating nature.

“By focusing on this age group for years, we want to ensure that every child in the US under the age of 11 has the opportunity to visit their states and waters to create a lifelong connection and protect our American heritage outdoors,” she wrote in an email.

To participate, children can register at everykidoutdoors.gov and complete a short interactive activity. Parents can download and print out the parking permit. Passes are valid in more than 2,000 locations administered by the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, the US Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In October, the Home Office temporarily expanded the Every Kid program to include fifth graders as many parks closed during the spring closings.

If you don’t have a fourth or fifth grader, there are still plenty of ways to enter national parks or recreational areas, mostly for free. While Yellowstone National Park and other “Crown Jewels” areas of the National Park Service have high car entrance fees, other lesser-known locations like Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma have free bonuses to attract less crowds . Information on fees and operating times can be found on the Park Service website. Some parks or facilities may be closed due to the coronavirus.

There will also be six days in 2021 when areas managed by the National Park Service are free for everyone. The entire list can be found on the National Park Service website.

Many state parks also offer free entry for children or, like New York, honor the Every Kid Pass. Dan Keefe, a spokesman for New York State Parks, added that many parks stop charging parking fees in the winter, making this the perfect time of year to get out.

Other states have low admission fees: In Maine, children under the age of 5 get free entry to state parks, and children between the ages of 5 and 11 pay just $ 1. In Vermont, kids ages 4-13 are just $ 2, and kids under 4 are free.

Ms. Siber, who lives in Durango, Colorado, makes a point of going outside every night to see the stars. “You can see the stars almost every night, but even if you can’t, you can still connect with the vastness of it,” she said. At a moment like this, it can be comforting to know that there is more out there.

If your garden is too urban for star gazing, a short drive might provide you with a full buffet of planets and passing satellites. The International Dark Sky Association certifies dark sky parks and urban night sky locations around the world. In many parks, such as New Mexico’s El Morro National Monument, there is no entrance fee or nightly fee. Some, like Rappahannock County Park in Virginiaeven, partner with local astronomy clubs to get free nighttime programming. However, double check before you set off.

Categories
Entertainment

Sundance Goes Digital With a Extra Accessible 2021 Lineup

Sundance Goes Virtual With a More Accessible 2021 Lineup

The movies still feel like Sundance. But without the snow, parties and all the full premieres, will Sundance still feel like Sundance?

That is the question hanging in the air Tuesday after the Sundance Film Festival announced a 2021 program that will feature intriguing independent film titles, including the racial drama “Passing,” starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, the documentary “ Rebel Hearts, “And Sundance’s only curiosity,” Cryptozoo, “a bizarre animated film about a zoo inhabited by mythological creatures with the voice of Michael Cera.

But the sprawling festival, which usually winds up over a cold week and a half in Park City, Utah, had to go largely online this year amid a still raging pandemic. This is a unique challenge for Tabitha Jackson, who this year became the festival’s new director after six years as director of the Sundance Institute’s documentary program.

When Jackson took the position of outgoing director John Cooper last February – a promotion that made her both the first woman and the first black person to lead Sundance – she wondered what made her the most revered independent film festival in the world World could bring. “I looked at an incredible machine that is almost 40 years old,” she said in an interview, “and thought,” What role will I play in it? “

Just a month later, it was clear that Jackson’s opening year was going to be far from typical. In March, the rapidly growing Covid-19 pandemic forced the South-by-Southwest Festival to be canceled just days before the planned event. Cinemas across the country soon closed, and some of the most talked-about titles from Sundance 2020, such as the rough-and-tumble comedy “Zola,” have been removed from the calendar with no release date.

By June, Jackson knew that she had to schedule a Sundance, which was mainly played on the Internet. “The core of the festival, being digital, seemed necessary only to our public health and our health, so that we could have some certainty about what we were up to,” she said. And much to the surprise of the programmers, the flood of submissions largely kept up with the previous year.

Program director Kim Yutani said, “The difference was negligible, which was really scary and very encouraging.”

Even so, Jackson was determined to downsize the sometimes crowded Sundance cast: the 2021 program consists of 72 features, down from the usual 120, and the festival has contracted a bit and now runs from January 28th to February 3rd. “Other festivals have chosen to go longer – we have chosen to be shorter and more concise,” said Jackson. “It’s a more intense burst of energy.”

In addition to an online platform that will make these films more accessible to audiences outside Park City than ever before, Sundance will add a virtual hangout where viewers can talk to each other and recommend things they’ve seen. That sense of excitement, Jackson said, “is such a value that we have at the personal festival where people in shuttle buses talk about movies they have just seen and liked. We wanted to recreate that. “

High-profile films designed to make people chat include the suicide pact comedy “On the Count of Three” by actor-director Jerrod Carmichael, “CODA”, a drama about a young woman with deaf parents, and “Land”, the directorial debut of actress Robin Wright from the “House of Cards”. (Of the films selected for the festival’s two narrative competition lineups, 50 percent are made by women.)

Sundance has a robust documentary series too, and Jackson is particularly high in “Summer Of Soul (… Or When The Revolution Couldn’t Be Televised),” a musical documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an event celebrating Africa – American music that took place the same summer as Woodstock. Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.

Jackson even put together a contingency plan for in-person premieres: depending on the curfew level and public health guidelines in late January, some of these Sundance films could also be seen at drive-in screenings in major cities and in independent cinemas across the way the country. “We still hope that audiences across the country can go somewhere to see a movie together,” she said. “We’ll plan until we can’t anymore.”

However, if that plan fails, Jackson hopes a virtual Sundance can still convey the same magic from a laptop or TV in the living room. And if the audience is really eager to simulate the Sundance experience, they can always put on a woolen hat or thick coat before they hit play.

“We want people to get dressed for Sundance, whatever that means,” Jackson said with a laugh. “So if you want to be wrapped in warm winter clothes, take a picture of it and we will put it on the online platform.”

The full list is available at sundance.org.