City of Burlington celebrates National AccessAbility Week from May 31 to June 6

During National AccessAbility Week (NAAW), from May 31 to June 6, the City of Burlington and the Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee are inviting residents to recognize and celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities while promoting accessibility and inclusion across our community.  

Residents can take part in a variety of events and initiatives being held throughout the week, including: 

NAAW Flag Raising at Veteran Square, City Hall 

A National AccessAbility Week flag designed by the Rick Hansen Foundation will be raised at Veteran Square, on the north side of City Hall, on Friday, May 22 from 9:30 – 10 a.m., with members of Council and City representatives in attendance. NAAW was originally inspired by Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion World Tour in 1988.  

Residents, organizations and community stakeholders are welcome to attend this event. 

Free to Be Me Family Storytime, in partnership with Burlington Public Library 

Join us as we celebrate National AccessAbility Week with a welcoming and inclusive storytime featuring songs, stories, and a special guest reading of a picture book that explores different ways people experience the world. This relaxed session invites curiosity and questions from kids and adults alike, so everyone can learn about and celebrate diversity, compassion, and living life differently. Perfect for families with children ages five years and younger. Read more about National AccessAbility Week at BPL. 

MapMission 

Similar to a scavenger hunt, MapMission brings people together to rate how accessible places are in real-time on the AccessNow app. Users of the app can also use the information from others to plan their day to potentially avoid inaccessible, or target welcoming, areas.  

Participants just need to download the AccessNow app on their smartphone. 

Brant Street Pier Lights Up Blue for NAAW 

In recognition of National AccessAbility Week, the beacon on the Brant Street Pier will be lit in blue on May 30 and May 31. Blue is widely recognized as a symbol of accessibility, inclusion, and awareness, reflecting the City’s ongoing commitment to building a community where everyone feels welcome and can participate fully. 

This lighting serves as a visible reminder of the importance of removing barriers and advancing accessibility for all. 

Pop-up Engagements – What Does Accessibility Mean to You? 

Residents are invited to participate in interactive pop-up engagement activities at select City facilities and Burlington Public Library branches from May 31 to June 6. 

Community members are encouraged to drop in, participate, and share their perspectives as the City works to build a more accessible and inclusive community.  

Feedback collected through these activities will help identify common themes, lived experiences, and insights to support ongoing efforts and improve accessibility across City facilities, programs, and services. 

For a list of locations, dates and times, visit Burlington.ca/NAAW.  

The Green Lanyard Project in partnership with Burlington Public Library  

The Green Lanyard Project is a community initiative that helps make invisible, atypical disabilities more visible. This program provides green lanyards to patrons and visitors in the downtown to help signal when someone may have an invisible disability or neurodivergent condition and may benefit from additional time, patience, or understanding while navigating public spaces.  

Starting May 31, green lanyards are available for free at Burlington Public Library - Central Branch welcome desk, while supplies last.  

Red Shirt Day 

June 3 is Red Shirt Day® of Action for Accessibility and Inclusion. 

Red Shirt Day® is an annual event in celebration of National AccessAbility Week. Accessibility and inclusion does not end with just a one-day annual event. In order to make Burlington a truly accessible and inclusive place, it requires the constant, year-round commitment and efforts of everyone to put it into practice and to also advocate and take action to increase accessibility and inclusion. 

By wearing red on Red Shirt Day®, participants are also encouraged to make a commitment – a pledge – to educate and inform themselves on issues related to disability, and do what they can – individually and collectively – to remove physical, attitudinal and systemic barriers in their schools, workplaces and communities in order to make Canada a truly accessible and inclusive place for people of all abilities. 

For more information about Red Shirt Day, visit RedShirtDay.org.  

Burlington’s Accessible Sport and Art Fair 

Residents are invited to attend Burlington’s Accessible Sport and Art Fair, a free resource fair focused on accessible sport, recreation, and arts programs in Burlington, on Saturday, June 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Tansley Woods Community Centre.  

It brings together recreation programs, along with an inclusive recruitment for City of Burlington volunteer positions, offering inclusive, accessible and adaptive opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Enabled Talent will be hosting an information booth focusing on connecting individuals of all abilities with inclusive employers. 

Attendees can explore information tables, ask questions, make connections, and discover programs and ways to get involved. Members of the Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee will be on site with an information table and engage with the community on accessibility initiatives. 

All events and activities for NAAW can be found on Burlington.ca/NAAW.  

About the Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee 

The Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee advises on the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to people with disabilities in the City of Burlington's by-laws, policies, programs and services. The committee also: 

The committee reports to Council through the Committee of the Whole.