'Going to make the experience better': Regina Folk Festival piloting hearing loop project
The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) is increasing accessibility at this years’ event by piloting a project to help concertgoers improve their listening experience.
Josh Haugerud, executive director of the RFF, said hearing loops will be tested out at the outdoor festival to allow for better sound quality for those using them.
“What this does is gives an opportunity for those who maybe have issues with hearing or have issues with sound sensitivity, or distractions like ADD, to have the sound at the level that they want and to be able to focus a little bit better on what’s going on, on stage standing in that area,” he said during an interview.
Hearing loops are wires that are buried into the ground in a circular or squared configuration and connect to the festival’s soundboard.
“You can actually listen to the sound directly from the soundboard while you stand within that loop if you have one of the receivers or if you have hearing aids or implants that can be used with the coil technology and you can tune directly into that sound,” Haugerud explained.
In Canada, 4.6 million people have hearing loss, which is often considered an invisible condition according to Haugerud.
Through a partnership with Hearing Loops Canada and funding through the City of Regina, the RFF was given five of the receivers to test. For the pilot project this year, Haugerud said they gave weekend passes to select participants in exchange for providing feedback on the loops.
“We invited folks who have hearing aids to use it, so that we can test that as well as the implants. We also invited folks from the Autism Resource Centre to come out and try it out and use those receivers so we can get an idea of how each of the different things function within this hearing loop,” he said.
While this year’s goal is to test the project out at the summer festival and work out any issues, Haugerud said eventually, they would like it to grow year after year.
“We just want to make sure that it works as best as it can at the festival, we get all of the hiccups out of the way, so that next year when we present it to the public as they’re coming on their own, it runs smoothly,” he said.
“This is a technology that we’re going to be able to use indoors and outdoors.”
He said the technology can be used by anyone who has issues with sound being too loud, not loud enough, too muddled or any other reason.
“It could just create a better experience for anybody coming to the festival and a majority of those people that are going to use it, have those conditions that are invisible like hearing loss and mental health issues,” he said.
Haugerud said some representatives from Hearing Loops Canada will be traveling from Alberta to help set up the equipment and provide training to RFF staff.
“It’s a very technical thing but ultimately, it’s very simple. It’s just going to make the experience better for people,” he said.
He said the RFF would like to do a full accessibility audit in the future so they can understand all of the places that are not accessible to people.
“That’s our goal is everything we do is for the community and making sure that people feel welcome and can be their whole selves when they’re at the festival and this is just one more way that we can do that.”
The Regina Folk Festival will take place from Aug. 5 to Aug. 7 in Victoria Park.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bloc won't hold Liberals 'hostage' over seniors' benefits: cabinet minister
Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says the Liberals will not be 'held hostage' by the Bloc Quebecois' demand to expand Old Age Security to more seniors.
Police identify Toronto victim of alleged serial killer
Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.
Missing father, kids spotted in New Zealand wilderness 3 years after disappearance: police
A New Zealand man who disappeared with his three children in 2021 was spotted on a farm along the country's northwest coast, police say.
No jail time for man who fatally stabbed senior in Vancouver
A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.
B.C. billionaire posts third large sign criticizing NDP ahead of the election
British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.
EXCLUSIVE: 'We were privileged to be friends with our sister': Family mourns murdered N.S. woman
More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.
Hot-air balloon strikes and collapses radio tower in Albuquerque during festival
A hot-air balloon struck and collapsed a radio tower Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the city's famous festival -- the second time in 20 years that a balloon has come into contact with the tower.
Longueuil woman charged after 10-year-old boy scalded with boiling water
A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.
Deadly Old Montreal fire: police arrest two suspects aged 18 and 20
Montreal police have arrested two young adults in connection with the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that killed a mother and her young daughter.