AccessFest comes to Toronto May 31

May 14, 2025

Organized with support from the City of Toronto, AccessFest is free, open to all and built for everyone. If you were at the EKO Spring Symposium 2025, or follow AccessNow and Maayan Ziv, you’ve probably already heard about this event that features barrier-free activities, live music, comedy and panel discussions. The day-long festival is hosted by acclaimed motivational speaker and disability advocate Spencer West.

From ASL workshops to chair yoga and visits with therapy dogs, the festival features an interactive and inclusive lineup of performances and conversations, led by top disabled Canadian musicians, comedians, creators and advocates, including: 

• Courtney Gilmour, JUNO nominated comedian and Canada’s Got Talent finalist.
• Martin Deschamps, acclaimed rock artist and advocate for disability rights.
• Mattmac, blind Oji-Cree rapper redefining the Canadian hip hop scene and winner of CBC Searchlight.
• Matt Maxey, ASL performer at Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show and founder of Deafinitely Dope, offering ASL workshops focused on breaking barriers and connecting cultures through sign language and hip hop.
• Stephanie Cadieux, Canada’s Chief Accessibility Officer.
• Taylor Lindsay-Noel, disability rights activist, entrepreneur and content creator.

Unfiltered Talks offer real, raw conversations by changemakers, artists and disrupters including 2025 EKO Tribute Award for Leadership recipient and StopGap Foundation founder Luke Anderson. Panelists will get candid about accessibility and what it really means to show up:

NextGen AF—The Future of Disability Leadership 

Bold, connected, and unapologetic—this is the next generation of disability leadership. This panel spotlights emerging leaders who are shaping the future through creativity, activism and community-driven change.

Designed AF—Inclusive Design in Practice 

What happens when we prioritize accessibility in design? This panel explores how inclusive design is shaping the spaces we move through, the products we use and the systems we rely on.

Represented AF—Disability in Media 

How we’re seen shapes how we’re treated. This panel tackles the stories told about disabled people and who gets to tell them. The conversation will explore media tropes, behind-the-scenes inclusion and the transformative power of representation. 

Hit the streets on the adventure that is the guided, interactive MapMission Tour where you explore accessibility in real time. Part discovery, part action and all impact, the tours are led by people with living experience. Map the neighbourhood, visit community businesses and talk about what accessible design really looks like on the ground. 

AccessFest happens Saturday May 31, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at David Pecaut Square (215 King Street W) in downtown Toronto. The iconic CN Tower will be lit up with blue lights in celebration of AccessFest.

Learn more at AccessFest.ca.