Saturday at the Fest

[Irishcoda]

Hi you guys,
Just wanted to update and let you all know that I heard back from Jim Pierson.  He apologized for what happened and also said the difficulties Ted and I had were the only ones reported.

I sent a reply back thanking him and asking him to add to the registration form a place asking for accommodations.

If anyone had a problem this year or would like to see the registration form ask for accommodations, it would be a good idea to contact him!

P.S.  I'm adding what I said in my email...

Cassie

Dear Mr. Pierson,
Thanks for responding back to me.

I was wondering if you’d consider, for future Fest events, having a place on the registration form to indicate whether accommodation is needed?  It would really help to have that information in advance, don’t you think?  Having that information would help plan for how big a section you’d need for disabled people, or if you needed a sign language interpreter for Deaf fans.  Although it might not have happened, now that the DVDs are captioned, you might get Deaf fans that want to attend.  People who don’t pre-register (like my husband and me) could be encouraged or told in a newsletter—like Shadowgram—to make their needs known.

I used to be an interpreter for the Deaf and I’m used to advocating for their needs.  I’ve learned a lot about having my husband’s and my needs met.  When we registered, we should have told the volunteers that we would need chairs to sit during the event.  When there weren’t any chairs accessible (because of being saved by friends for other people) and the volunteers weren’t helpful, we could have gone to the hotel management.  According to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), if the organization sponsoring event isn’t providing accommodation (not enough chairs), then it’s the hotel’s responsibility to do it and we could have asked them for chairs.

Would you consider this please?  I know there’s a shortage of volunteers as there is and I wouldn’t be able to help on the west coast as I can’t afford to travel there but I would be very happy to help with accommodating needs on the east coast.

My friends Cheryl and Dawn had an issue with Marcy Robin, but my husband and I did not.  It was another volunteer who told us we couldn’t sit in the reserved seats even after I told her we were disabled.  We’d left the building long before Marcy Robin came into the room.

Thanks again,
Cassie

[Irishcoda]

Uh oh, I just read your post...that's really discouraging!    Mr. Pierson told me that ours was the first complaint he'd had...

I recall people on the AOL board and others trying to voice their concerns, and even offer a few simple suggestions that might improve the dangerous situations in the future, and it mostly falling on deaf ears.  I think in some cases, people who offered to volunteer to help were blown off.

[Irishcoda]

I saw video of Jonathan Frid trying to eat at the banquet last week.  I was flabbergasted at the horde of two-legged ignorance that would not take no for an answer when he and/or those assigned to sit with him explained that he was trying to eat and would not do autographs and photos for people at his banquet table.    I would have had hotel security thrown the people out who kept pestering after being asked to leave the area and leave Frid alone but those who were with JF tried to remain polite but firm as possible.  If one approach didn't work, you could see these same fans trying some other approach around the other side of the table trying to avoid the first group of protectors assigned to Frid's table.

What the hell is wrong with some people?  You don't behave like that in the first place and in the second place, you don't make an old man's dinner difficult to enjoy in that fashion.

I don't care WHO it is, you don't treat someone in that fashion.

That's totally sickening and deplorable!  How could people do that to someone they supposedly love and admire?  And you're right, it doesn't matter who it is.  No one should be treated like that.  What happened to respect for our elders?

[Irishcoda]

I had an experience a few years ago while volunteering at the festival.  They made an announcement that handicapped could move up to the front of the line and I had a huge surge break the line and I told them handicapped first and they looked me straight in the face and said " Oh, we are handicapped"  Since I had seen them moving around fine most of the weekend I seriously doubted their claim and thought how rude to take a place in line that someone else deserves.

That is totally wrong.  Granted, these people might have problems similar to Ted and me but when it comes to waiting in an autograph line, just grab a chair and drag it along.  That's what we would have done.   It's the same thing with the chairs.  We didn't need to be anywhere near the front.  We just needed chairs.

[Nancy]

One ongoing problem has been (a) finding volunteers and (b) then finding volunteers who will actually show up and do as asked.

I have always assisted with the "security" aspects of the festival.  I can tell you that some volunteers brought on turned out to be bigger problems than fans with no manners.  Some folks choose to use the volunteer status to do what they wish, pester the actors and be rude to fans.  Most volunteers do not abuse their role.  As a consequence, there is much picking and choosing and sometimes it's better to do without volunteers who are more problems than the crowd.  Then there is the case of assigning volunteers to do this and that and they don't show up.  That leaves a hole in the overall planning for coverage and it's not always possible to find an unassigned volunteer to fill in that gap on such short notice.

Unfortunately, that translates into the festival wanting to recruit people they know to be reliable and/or have worked for the festival in the past.  Volunteers are not "blown off" so much as there being caution as to who to bring out and how much to entrust to them to start with.

Nancy

[Nancy]

I remember the fest in Tarrytown where JF made his return to the DS world and I was helping him out of his car and pulled his legs (which were cramped up from the long drive) out of the car too, helping him gain purchase on the ground.  A fan said to me after I saw that the Fridster got in "Do you chew his food for him too?"

Evidently, it's a very strange thing to assist someone in his 80s in getting out of a car after a long road trip.  I'd do that for a stranger (and hopefully wouldn't appear to be mugging the guy!)

Nancy

That's totally sickening and deplorable!  How could people do that to someone they supposedly love and admire?  And you're right, it doesn't matter who it is.  No one should be treated like that.  What happened to respect for our elders?

[nightshadows342]

I remember the fest in Tarrytown where JF made his return to the DS world and I was helping him out of his car and pulled his legs (which were cramped up from the long drive) out of the car too, helping him gain purchase on the ground.  A fan said to me after I saw that the Fridster got in "Do you chew his food for him too?"

I don't understand that.  I also can't understand why the volunteer didn't go and get a chair for you two to sit down from out in the halls.  That's what I would have done.  I guess common sense is something rare nowadays.  Doesn't sound like much of a volunteer to me.

[Nancy]

It wasn't a volunteer - just a fan who was outside the same time we were.  We would not have wanted to sit down in the halls anyway.

Nancy

[Teresa]

Wow! That is terrible Nancy.  That person showed little respect for a senior citizen and they were very rude in general.

[nightshadows342]

It wasn't a volunteer - just a fan who was outside the same time we were.  We would not have wanted to sit down in the halls anyway.

Oh, well it was still a silly thing to say.  I guess people aren't used to others actually being courteous.