Charlestown disability advisory committee maps accessibility plans for Founders Day parade and festival

The Charlestown City Disability Advisory Committee on May 18 reviewed accessibility plans for the city's Founders Day festival, including reserved accessible parking, golf-cart transport for attendees with mobility limitations, and a shortened parade route to reduce walking and heat exposure.

The Chair, who led the presentation, said the festival will concentrate activities on the square and provide accessible parking "over at the old H&R Block parking lot" and at Life Springs, and that city drivers will run golf carts throughout the event to transport attendees who cannot walk the route. The committee discussed placing golf carts strategically so riders can be returned to the elementary-school staging area rather than forced to traverse steep streets.

Committee members noted the parade has been moved to a 3 p.m. start and the route will begin at Charlestown Elementary, run along Clark Road to Market Street and turn right to Main Street, a condensed section intended to keep the procession compact and safer for people with mobility or heat-sensitivity concerns. The Chair said organizers shortened the route and the event timeline to keep spectators and participants together and reduce long gaps that previously discouraged parade attendance.

The meeting also reviewed event programming: vendors and a cornhole tournament will open earlier on Saturday, DJs and bands will perform later in the day, and tethered balloon activities will run on Friday night and Saturday. The Chair encouraged anyone who is heat-sensitive to ride on a float or in a vehicle rather than walking, and said organizers will instruct the pace car to maintain a steady procession speed.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the meeting agenda and the March 9, 2026 minutes by voice vote, and later voted to adjourn.

The committee scheduled its next meeting for Monday, July 13, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.