“It takes but one person, one moment, one conviction, to start a ripple of change.” — Donna Brazile

One person. That’s all it takes. And that is all it took to get the organizers of the Lilac Festival to address their illegal policy regarding service dogs. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s back up to where this story starts.

Rochester’s Lilac Festival is a horticultural, music, and arts festival held in Highland Park, a fully public park owned by the City of Rochester and maintained by Monroe County. Lilac Festival attracts over half a million people from across the globe, billing itself as “the largest free festival of its kind.”

As a festival of such a large size, Lilac Festival organizers understandably have outside security and a number of strictly enforced policies for the safety of guests. Last year, Riley Schillaci found herself waiting to get into the park when she heard one of the security guards seeking to enforce one of those policies by demanding to see papers certifying that an individual’s service dog was a “real” service dog.

This blatantly illegal requirement is not new to many who require service dogs. But even though Ms. Schillaci does not require a service dog, she quickly intervened, informing the guard in question that it is illegal to ask for papers for a service dog. The guard did not care, instead, he chose to get angry with Riley.

Fast forward almost a year and Schillaci, looking at the Lilac Festival website, noticed that the festival’s policy on service dogs had not changed. Many would have sat by, she reached out to Lilac Festival organizers. The Executive Producer of the event’s response was less than understanding.

Service Dogs: …service dogs have allowance per NYS, however we are renting private space from Monroe County. Therefore, we have instituted the rule of NO pets- it’s stressful for the animal with several thousand people in one place, the heat (if we are lucky!), food dropped, small children at eye level, sanitary reasons, and other dogs. The list goes on. Unfortunately, the festival is not a place for animals. We offer complete inclusivity, including:

• ADA compliant grounds/restrooms including VIP
• Free water station
• Sensory Space
• ASL Interpretation
• Non-Alc bar (sic)
• Diverse lineup

It was clear, the festival’s policy came from the top, and the problems were numerous:

• Service dogs are not pets.
• The park is not private; it is public and run by the City and County.
• Being in a private space does not exempt you from ADA requirements.
• It is not the event organizer’s place to determine what is best for the service dog or whether the festival is a place for the animal.
• Complying with one or two provisions of the ADA is not an allowance to ignore other provisions.
• Water is a human right, not ADA compliance.
• A non-alcoholic bar, diverse lineup, and a sensory tent are not at all related to the ADA.

Schillaci, herself an autistic adult, stated that, in her opinion, the Lilac Festival was capitalizing on the recent trend of “Autism Washing”.

“Autism-Washing” is a term used to describe performative policies implemented by organizations or corporations in order to claim support of the autistic community for marketing or PR purposes, while failing to implement meaningful policies.

So, Riley e-mailed City Council members, then followed up by attending a Speak to Council session, to inform them of the problem in person, and reached out to CDR to see if we would support her in her work. After her comments to the Council in public comment, she reached out to them by email again, to follow up. To their credit, the Council had already initiated conversations with the event organizers, providing them with guidance via from the Attorney General’s office.

Unfortunately, while the Lilac Festival did change their policy, it was still not in compliance with the law. They were sure to note that only “true” service dogs would be admitted to the event, and that while they are “…not allowed to ask for paperwork” that they “…are allowed to ask what tasks they are performing and for what disability.” They went on to state that, “If the service dog is not performing said task appropriately…we will ask the handler to gain control of the dog in our presence. If they cannot, then we have the right to escort the guest out of the property.” Finally, they said “anyone with a service dog should make their best effort to visit us during quieter hours at the event.”

This time, CDR made the Council aware of the Festival’s continued lack of compliance, noting that it was clear the festival did not want service dogs, and that they had no right to ask about the nature of peoples’ disabilities or to ask that the service dog perform tasks like a trained circus animal. We also highlighted that the festival had absolutely no right to tell people with service dogs when they were most welcome at the festival.

Thankfully, once again the Council intervened. The Lilac Festival’s service dog policy now reads (emphasis is from Lilac Festival policy):

Service Dogs

Our event is held in a public park, however we rent it for private use for the festival. We do not allow domestic animals or pets into the festival grounds except for service animals. Emotional support animals are not service animals, and are not permitted. If you tell us that your animal is a service animal, we will not ask for paperwork, but we may ask (1) if the animal is required because of a disability and (2) what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. We will not ask you about your disability and we will not ask the dog to perform the task. If the service dog is showing signs of danger (e.g., growling, barking, acting aggressively), we will ask the handler to gain control of the dog in our presence. If they cannot, then we have the right to escort the guest out of the property.

Emotional support animals are not permitted.

The festival still encourages people with service dogs to attend the festival outside of the busiest hours; however, the policy at minimum complies with the law.

CDR wants to thank the Rochester City Council members; but we particularly want to thank Riley Schillaci for her unyielding advocacy on this issue. This issue does not personally affect her; but she identified it as discriminatory and wrong. Even then, it is easy to sit home, complain to friends, and put up a social media post.

She did not take the path of least resistance.

She reached out to the Lilac Festival organizers seeking change.

When that didn’t work, she reached out to the City Council and CDR.

With two new allies adding to her power as an individual, her work ultimately resulted in the change she sought.

In these times, we all wonder what we can do to be the change we want. Riley is an example for all of us – identify one issue and pursue it. Some change is big. Most change is small, and happens because one person pushes for it. Those small changes pile up to big changes.

While CDR does not have the resources or capacity for real-time rapid response, we are going to be monitoring accessibility at the Lilac Festival and will be working to address any issues that come to our attention over the course of the ten day festival.

If you have are attending Lilac Festival and have an issue with your service dog, or any other accessibility related issue, the Center for Disability Rights, email us at Advocacy@cdrnys.org. We will do our best to help resolve the issues before the end of the Festival, including pursuing legal action if they rise to ADA violations.

CDR will also be working after the festival to find out more about your experience the festival and how they overall complied with ADA procedures, including service dogs.