ADA celebrates 20th anniversary with Dr. Blues

Interest in music, art and civil rights brought Bloomington community members together Thursday for Boogie-Woogie, Blues and the Arts: A celebration of 20 years with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The City of Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility coordinated the anniversary celebration in a ballroom in the Fountain Square Mall on West Kirkwood.

Event supporters included Ivy Tech Community College, WFIU, WTIU, WFHB, Fourwinds Resort & Marina, AccessAbilities, Inc. and the City of Bloomington Office of the Mayor.

“When we were planning this event, we didn’t want to focus on people with disabilities necessarily,” said Joshua Paul, CCA events chair and executive director of AccessAbililies, Inc. “We wanted to focus on people who were doing extraordinary things who happen to have a disability, which is really exciting.”

The event’s main attraction was the blues piano, guitar and vocal team, Liz Pennock and Paul Shambarger, aka Dr. Blues. The married couple have been playing music together since 1983, typically at festivals, concerts and clubs. They said this was the first ADA concert they’ve ever done.

“It’s great (playing this celebration),” Pennock said. “(There are) really nice people. It’s a fabulous cause and a good thing to celebrate.”

Craig Brenner, CCA special events coordinator, said during the event planning process he thought the band would be a wonderful example of how people should not be limited by their disabilities.

“In fact, Liz’s biography talks about that she was born missing two fingers on each hand — and I mean, she’s not hiding anything, but she’s also not getting by on that because she’s an excellent musician,” Brenner said. “So she’s a perfect example of an artist to showcase during the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities
Act.”

During intermission, Pennock and Shambarger were selling T-shirts as well as their DVD and six albums ranging from 1986 to 2008.

To include everyone in the celebration and keep within the ADA focus, two sign language interpreters worked throughout the speeches and songs.

“We’ve got braille programs, we’ve got sign language interpreters, so it shows everybody that you can include everybody regardless of whether they have some kind of physical disability,” Brenner said.

Also grabbing attention were 17 handmade posters hanging on the wall, all part of the poster contest. Each poster highlighted accessibility or disability issues and was colorfully decorated with glitter, paint, markers and foam letters. The contest started in April and was open to the general public.

Guests voted on paper ballots handed out during the start of the event. Sarah Collins was voted the competition winner with her poster titled “Just Me.” Collins won a framed certificate and a Barnes & Noble gift certificate.

Local artist Jan Branam showcased her own art. Her oil, watercolor, pastel and pencil paintings were available for purchase.

The Stone Belt Arts Program had a table as well, featuring Stone Belt artists’ sculptures and framed art.

One World Catering & Events provided food and drinks throughout the event on a long buffet table.

An abundance of pamphlets allowed people to learn more about the subject of disability and available support services. For all this information, food and entertainment, admission was free.

“We had a great turnout, and really what we were hoping to do was highlight a lot of the work about disability and accessibility that’s going on in Bloomington, which is really progressive in comparison to a lot of other cities,” Paul said.