2026 EVENT Accessibility

Accessibility Statement

The Dyke March strives to make our free and all-ages events accessible. In 2023 with the support and guidance of Live Educate Transform Society (LET’S), we made a push to provide more accessibility services and promote them clearly to our attendees. Improving the accessibility of our event is a continuous effort, and we understand that better accessibility practices include building ongoing relationships with the communities that we serve.

While we are committed to accessibility at our event, we acknowledge that we may not be able to accommodate every need. We are always willing to listen, learn, and take in feedback. Thank you for helping us improve our event every year.

March Accessibility

Transit

Here are some transit routes to McSpadden Park:

Commercial-Broadway Station - 10 mins walk up Commercial Drive and east on E 5th Avenue or bus 3 mins (020 Downtown Bus-NB)
20 Downtown Bus (NB) - Get off at Commercial Drive @E 6th Ave and walk 1 min east on E 5th Ave
20 Victoria Bus (SB)- Get off at Commercial Drive @E 4th Ave and walk 1 min east on McSpadden Ave

Mobility & Access Vehicle

The Vancouver Dyke March is a 1.2km walk up the paved roads of Commercial Drive. Disabled folks and those with slower mobility lead at the front of our march every year. Our march goes at the pace of our slowest participants and nobody gets left behind.

One accessibility vehicle will be at the front of the march for those who would like to be a part of the Dyke March and may be requiring mobility assistance. Attendees must wear a face mask inside the vehicle.

Please e-mail us at accessibility@VancouverDykeMarch.com if you would like to inquire further.

Masking Section

All march attendees are encouraged to mask at our event. We will have a dedicated masks-required section at the front of our march that is kept a safer distance away from non-masked marchers. Folks in this section are strongly encouraged to wear respirators such as a KN95 or N95. Our mask marshals will have KN95 masks to hand out to those who would like one.

ASL

One of our ASL interpreters will join the march at McSpadden to interprets announcements as organizers gather folks and speak before the march heads off.

Volunteers

Volunteers will be present at McSpadden park before the march, will be scattered along the march route, and will be present at the Festival as well. Attendees can approach volunteers in high-visibility vests for help with accessibility, safety concerns, and event questions.

Water & Bathroom Access

Portapotties will be stationed on the west side of the park near McSpadden Ave. One of these will be an accessible unit. There are no water access points at McSpadden park, so please bring a water bottle.

Festival Accessibility

Festival Map for Access

Transit

Here are some transit routes to Grandview Park:

Commercial-Broadway Station - 18 mins walk up Commercial Drive or bus 8 mins (020 Downtown Bus NB)
20 Downtown Bus (NB) - Get off @Charles St
20 Victoria Bus (SB)- Get off @ Williams St

Accessible Parking

We will have accessible parking spots on Charles Street next to Grandview Park. Please e-mail us at accessibility@VancouverDykeMarch.com if you would like to request an accessible parking pass.

Mobility

Grandview Park’s terrain is a combination of concrete and grassy areas with slight inclines. There are concrete paths connecting all vendor booths. The ramp entrance to the vendor area in the outdoor rink has a gated entryway that is 45 inches wide.

The Britannia 55+ Centre is 150 meters from Grandview Park and is connected by concrete paths and a ramped entrance. The entrance is wheelchair accessible.

Washrooms

Public washrooms in the northeast corner of Grandview park (one with stalls, and one with stalls and urinals) are all-gender on the day of our festival. There is also a universal, single-user accessible washroom on the back side of that building. This year we will also have 1 accessible and 2 standard portable washroom units near the public washrooms for our event.

Additional single-user washrooms can be found in the Vancouver Public Library in Britannia at 1661 Napier St, Vancouver. And washrooms in our cooling space across from the library in the Britannia 55+ Centre will also be universal.

ASL

The main stage show at Grandview Park will have ASL interpretation all afternoon, running from 12:30-5:00PM in Grandview Park.

ASL Video transcript

Got big dyke energy? The Vancouver Dyke March and Festival is a grassroots, volunteer-driven event celebrated on Commercial Drive and Grandview Park. We envision space to celebrate and centre the experiences of further marginalized gender identities and sexual orientations within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

This is accomplished through the inclusion, empowerment and celebration of trans and cisgender women and femmes, butches, as well as other trans, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals. We recognize that not all participants identify as dykes, and may prefer terms such as lesbian, queer, Two-Spirit, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, or other terms.

We welcome Deaf community members to join us in our celebration. Our event is free, all-ages, and we continue to work to make our event more accessible. Our stage show at Grandview park is fully ASL-interpreted. Please visit our website at vancouverdykemarch.com for more information about our event details and accessibility.

Low Stim Tent

Live Educate Transform Society (LET’S) will be running a low stim tent at our festival. This tent is located across from the washrooms at Grandview Park and will include fidget toys, plushies, coloring activities, ground-seating in a quieter, shaded environment.

Masks & COVID-19

All festival attendees are encouraged to mask at our event. The Accessible Viewing Area and the Britannia 55+ Centre (cooling space) are mask-mandatory spaces at our festival. Masks will be available in these spaces and at the VDM tent.

Accessible Viewing Area

We will have an accessible viewing tent with folding chairs and open space available for watching the stage show at the top of the grassy field at Grandview Park. This tent is a mask-required space to ensure safety from airborne diseases while sharing this space. A volunteer will supply free masks for this space.

This seating area can be accessed from the sidewalk on Charles Street, but will require traveling on the grass for a short distance. Note that the grass is very dead and the ground is pretty level in this area.

Shaded Viewing Area

We will have additional shaded viewing tents with folding chairs at the top of the grassy field at Grandview Park beside the sport court.

Activities for Kids

This year, Out on Shelves will be facilitating kids activities in the sports court near the stage on the west end of the park. This tent will offer colouring activities, books and more. Please note that this service is not equivalent to childcare, you may not leave your children unattended at this tent. Grandview Park also has a children’s playground area and a small water park feature.

Vendors

Vendors will have access to a temporary drop-off and loading zone on Charles Street. Volunteers are available to assist vendors who need help with setup and take-down. Volunteers will also do rounds to check-in on vendors and offer breaks throughout the day.

Water, Heat Prevention, and Cooling

WATER STATION

The Metro Vancouver water wagon team will be at our festival to supply water for bottle refills. Staff members also bring displays and games to provide public education about our water systems.

WATER FEATURE

Grandview Park has a small water feature/park area next to the playground. Running through the sprayed water is a great way to cool off during a hot event day.

FANS

We will have handheld paper fans to hand out to attendees at our march and festival. They will be handed out at McSpadden Park before the march, and at the Vancouver Dyke March booth at Grandview Park during the festival.

BRITANNIA 55+ CENTRE

We will have an air-conditioned cooling space in the Britannia 55+ Centre. There will be chairs, tables, fans, universal washrooms, and colouring and craft activities. This space is wheelchair accessible and will be mask-mandatory throughout the day. QUIRK-E will be doing a special reading here from 3-4 PM followed by a 4-5PM facilitated talk back.

Requests or Feedback?

Prior to the event day, please contact us at accessibility@VancouverDykeMarch.com with any accessibility requests or feedback.

On the day of the event, come to the Vancouver Dyke March tent in the center of the festival for assistance or to leave any requests and feedback for our organizers.

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