Accessibility

Mobility

• Event will be held on the second floor of the community centre that can be accessed via staircase or elevator. 
• Doors into the main space are double-wide and will be propped open, we will have an “in” door and an “out” door to help with crowd flow. Doorways to the building and 2nd floor event spaces have wave-to-open buttons.
• Main 2nd floor bathroom doors are physical, push-to-open without buttons. A single stall wheelchair-accessible bathroom with a wave-to-open button is also available on the 2nd floor. 
• Outdoor space is located out the main entrance and down a sidewalk into a city-owned park with a paved walkway down the centre of the grassy space. Park includes some picnic tables and benches with some trees for shade. 

Masking & COVID Safety

• Volunteers will be stationed at the entryway to the 2nd floor to provide K/N95 masks to attendees at no cost. Masks will be required in the tabling, childcare, and food-serving spaces on the 2nd floor. 
• Why is this event masks mandatory?
  • As anarchists, we understand that under the thumb of a state and the monopolies of the rich, our solidarity with each other is a necessary act of survival. There are people in our community (including those helping to organize this event) who cannot attend events where two-way masking is not present, without risking life-altering harm due to airborne infections like COVID-19. And so we ask that others mask as a condition of sharing this space with us. It is not in judgement that we ask this, but in love and hope.
  • To read a more detailed version of this statement or to learn more about COVID-precautions and masking from an anarchist perspective see here. 
• In addition to attendees masking, we will have two Corsi-Rosenthal (CR) boxes running in the main space and one CR box in the smaller room for the duration of the event to improve air-filtration and minimize airborne contamination.
• To maintain the masked space, we will be asking all attendees to bring food/drinks outdoors/downstairs to enjoy, there is a grassy park just down the sidewalk from the community centre where folks can congregate outside. Vendors can unmask briefly for water/drinks and we will have volunteers available to cover booths if you are tabling alone and need to leave to eat/use the bathroom/look at other tables. 
• If you are feeling sick please don’t come to the event! We know there is a dire lack of anarchist events in Ottawa, but we are hoping that this will be the beginning (not the end) of more anarchist-friendly spaces in the city that you can attend when you are not contagious. 
  • If you would like to minimize your risk of sickness prior to the event, consider masking in public spaces beforehand. 
  • If cost is a barrier for you to accessing high-quality respirators/masks, Mask Bloc Ottawa (linktr.ee/maskblocott) has a request form for folks to request free mask deliveries/drop-off locally. Donate A Mask (https://donatemask.ca/) also provides online orders of K/N95 masks delivered by mail anywhere in Canada, with both free and paid options. 

Washrooms

• Single-capacity, wheelchair-accessible bathroom on the 2nd floor with a wave-to-open button and a child-sized changing table.
• Two bathrooms on the 2nd floor with gendered signs that include one bathroom with 1 urinal, 1 stall, 1 sink and one bathroom with 2 stalls and 2 sinks. Gendered signs will be covered during the event with descriptive signs indicating the facilities inside.  

Food

• Food served at the event will be free, an optional tip/contributions jar will be offered for folks who can afford to help out with food/event costs. 
• A water bottle filling station is available in the hallway on the 2nd floor, paper cups will be provided for those without water bottles.
• Exact food offerings are still being worked out, but there will be options for vegan and gluten-free attendees and a full list of ingredients for each food option will be listed for folks with other dietary restrictions/allergies. However we cannot guarantee no cross-contamination as the food will be cooked on-site in a public kitchen. 
• In order to maintain a masked space for immuno-compromised attendees, we will be asking folks to take food downstairs/outside to eat. Feel free to bring your own containers/cutlery or use disposable ones provided. 

Childminding

• We will be offering children’s activities and childminding for the duration of the bookfair. We are not a daycare, but children are welcome to come and do activities with us while you are here at the fair with us.
• All children 2+ will be asked to wear masks and child-sized KN95 masks will be provided with stickers for decoration.
• Our activities will include:
  • Drawing and zine making
  • Print-making
  • Radical storytime
  • Lego & toys
  • Quiet space
• We believe in making spaces accessible for children and the people who love and care for them. We trust kids and believe them to be our comrades in building the world we want together.

Scent & Smoke

• We are asking attendees/vendors to refrain from using heavily scented products on the day of the event for folks with chemical/scent sensivities. However, Jack Purcell has a pool on the first floor which results in a strong chlorine smell on the first floor which unfortunately must be passed through to reach the programming. The scent is less strong on the 2nd floor but may still cause reactions. Additionally, there may be other scents from the kitchen/food area due to food preparation + serving.
• Smoking can be done across the lane from the community centre or down the road in Jack Purcell Park. As other folks will be eating, doing workshops, or otherwise hanging out in the park please ask those around you before lighting up in case of sensitivities/allergies. 

Language/Interpretation

• Information and materials from the bookfair organizers will be available in both French and English. Workshops and other programming will have language(s) of instruction communicated in advance when possible. 

Arriving to the Event

• Public Transit:
  • Walking estimates are provided by Google Maps
    • 15 Minute Walk from the uOttawa O-Train (Line 1) Station
    • 9 Minute Walk from Bank Street (Bank/Lewis). Served by 6 (Greenboro – Rockcliffe) and 7 (Carleton – St. Laurent)
    • 1 Minute Walk from Elgin/Lewis Bus Stop. Served by 5 (Elmvale – Waller), 14 (Tunney’s Pasture – St. Laurent), 18 (Billings Bridge – St. Laurent) 
• Driving/Parking
  • A drop-off loop in front of the building alongside a limited number of accessible parking spots.
  • Some street parking is available across Elgin near Minto Park or in the surrounding neighbourhood, but space is limited especially on weekends. 
  • City Hall parking garage is ~10 minute walk from Jack Purcell and has $2 parking from 6am to 6pm on weekends.