Junefest Recognizing & Celebrating Deaf-Blind Awareness Month June 18 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

JuneFest - an annual awareness festival recognizing and celebrating Deaf-Blind Awareness Month in Ontario. 

Wednesday, June 18, 2014
12:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Mel Lastman Square (Toronto)
5100 Yonge Street at North York Centre subway

TORONTO -
RCH and CHKC are proud to present the 12th annual JuneFest, an awareness festival that recognizes and celebrates June as Deaf-Blind Awareness Month in Ontario.  This year’s event is on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto.

Starting at 12:00 p.m., there will be information booths hosted by various organizations and agencies to raise awareness about the dual disability of deaf-blindness, the latest technology and devices, and the services and resources that are available.  Many deaf-blind consumers will also be in attendance.

The public, local business community and media are invited to attend JuneFest with friends, families and colleagues to learn about deaf-blindness while enjoying music, a charity barbeque, games and activities, free samples and more.

Over 200 students in grades four through eight from across the Greater Toronto Area will participate in JuneFest for the second year in a row.  Youth-oriented programs and games will provide them with opportunities to read Braille, learn other alternate forms of communication and interact with people who are deaf-blind.  They will also enjoy performances by local pop-punk sensations Crash! Radio, which is fronted by award-winning singer-songwriter Ivy James, recently named Best Young Songwriter by the Toronto Independent Music Awards.

ABOUT DEAF-BLINDNESS

Deaf-blindness is a disability in which an individual has a substantial degree of loss of both sight and hearing, the combination of which results in significant difficulties in accessing information and in pursuing educational, vocational, recreational and social goals. Deaf-blindness is a unique and separate disability from deafness or blindness. An individual with the combined losses of hearing and vision require specialized services including adapted communication methods.

A variety of different types of music throughout the day will be available for everyone to enjoy. Music will be provided by As You Like It DJ Entertainment & Event Planning and include:

Crash! Radio plays catchy pop-rock music with a punk twist. The band is fronted by award-winning singer-songwriter Ivy James and features Aidan Robson and Brad Dekker on guitar, Derek Osborne on bass and Ben Lee on drums.

Maracatu Baque Bamba is an upbeat Afro Brazilian percussion group that specializes in performing and teaching the spirited cultural tradition celebrated as Maracatu de Baque Virado. Through its lively rhythmic synergy the troupe channels the raw force of the drums to create a dynamic percussive sound. Facebook
ASL Storytelling    

Storytelling in American Sign Language
by Christopher Welsh. Chris trained with National Theatre of the Deaf in Chester, Connecticut and also studied improvisation at Second City in Toronto. He performed at Canada Clown Carnival, Winnipeg International Storytelling and Shakespeare Living Willow Theatre in Wales, U.K. Christopher was the first Deaf comedian to perform before a hearing audience at Yuk-Yuks in Toronto. He has also performed with the Show of Hands Theatre Company.

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