Some children with disabilities and their parents are unable to find places to go out because of their children’s needs.
At the special needs school where I used to work, I also saw families struggle to find ways for their children to spend their free time and places where they could do so.
This fall, Kurashiki City’s certified NPO Parent Support Step, which supports parents of children with disabilities, will hold an “Autumn Festival” in the Bikan Historical Area, inviting vendors who share its philosophy of “bringing joy to children with disabilities and their parents.”
We spoke with the organizers about what the “Autumn Festival” will be like, recommended ways to enjoy it, and the hopes behind the event.
The information here was accurate when this article was published in October 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Usagi Cafe?
Usagi Cafe is a cafe-style consultation center run by certified NPO Parent Support Step, which supports parents of children with disabilities.
It is for parents of children and adults with disabilities, and of children with developmental concerns. Usagi Cafe is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., providing a place where visitors can talk with staff and other guests, read the books available, and enjoy lunch or sweets.
The “Autumn Festival” at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents
The “Autumn Festival” at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents (hereafter, the “Autumn Festival”) will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Achimachi Plaza in the Bikan Historical Area. It is organized by certified NPO Parent Support Step.
The event will feature the following vendors and performers, all of whom share the common philosophy of “bringing joy to children with disabilities and their parents.”
- Five food and drink vendors
- Seven retail vendors, workshops, and relaxation services
- Five performances
There will also be vendors who are interested in getting involved in disability support, as well as organizations already supporting people with disabilities.
See the images below for details.
Interview with a representative of certified NPO Parent Support Step
We interviewed Ando Kiyoko, chair of certified NPO Parent Support Step (hereafter, Step), about how the “Autumn Festival” came about and what visitors can enjoy on the day.
Could you tell us how you came to hold the “Autumn Festival” as an event for Usagi Cafe, a place for parents?
Ando (honorific omitted)
The aim of this “Autumn Festival” is “to bring joy to children with disabilities and their parents.” So we decided to hold it by inviting vendors who support that goal.
The event that preceded the “Autumn Festival” was a “Handmade Market” held about five times at Funao Winery and Mizushima Ai-ai Salon. The number of children with disabilities and their parents who took part kept growing with each event.
The original purpose of the “Handmade Market” was to let more people know about the support available to parents. But when we actually held the event, we saw many children with disabilities and their families enjoying themselves before heading home. It reminded us how few places there are to take children with disabilities for an outing.
That’s when we realized that the “Handmade Market” was not just a gathering for people who enjoy handmade crafts. Because it was our event, children with disabilities and their parents would come, and it also provided an opportunity to go out.
That’s why we decided to hold the “Autumn Festival” at Achimachi Plaza in the Bikan Historical Area, where visitors can also explore the surrounding area as part of their outing.
We gave it a seasonal name, “Autumn Festival,” and hope it will become an annual event that people associate with fall: “When autumn comes, it’s time for the Autumn Festival at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents.”
What kinds of vendors and performers are planned for the day?
Ando
We invited people to apply to take part if they supported the goal of bringing joy to children with disabilities and their parents, regardless of whether they currently work in disability support.
There will be 17 vendors and performers, but 48 applied. That makes us very happy.
It was difficult for us to decide whom to invite, but the Step members, including the board members, voted to make the selection.
Those who weren’t selected this time are also people who we believe will support children with disabilities and their parents, so I hope we’ll have another opportunity to work together.
Could you tell us about the main attraction at the “Autumn Festival”?
Ando
We’ll hold a “Sudden Rock-Paper-Scissors Prize Challenge” once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
When people with and without disabilities compete or play games on equal terms, people without disabilities tend to go easy on the other person. But rock-paper-scissors is a simple game where you can’t really go easy, so I hope people with and without disabilities will take part equally, together, and with all their heart to win prizes.
Achimachi Plaza is a place where people with and without disabilities, local residents, and tourists all come and go. I hope this event will give people who don’t usually interact with people with disabilities a chance to learn about us.
I heard there will also be a joint promotion with “Login Kurashiki.”
Ando
That’s right. We’re planning a discount for people who shop at “Login Kurashiki” with a flyer handed out at the event venue.
“Login Kurashiki” is diagonally across from the “Autumn Festival” venue. Inside it, “Tsunagu Kurashiki” regularly hosts handmade Usagi, Step’s handmade-goods business. They’re also planning to set up a stall in early December, so we hope people will take this opportunity to visit and get to know the location.
I hope this will make Login Kurashiki one more option for outings for children with disabilities and their families.
The more partners we have, the more options parents and children have for places to go. I believe this will help grow the community of people connected to families of children with disabilities.
Did you also have “growing the community of people connected to us” in mind when choosing the location for the “Autumn Festival”?
Ando
Yes, we did.
Markets organized by welfare service providers or facilities that promote disability support are often held on the facility grounds, and tourists and local residents rarely attend. These markets have the advantage of bringing together people who understand disabilities, but we have always been committed to holding markets in public spaces.
Part of the reason is that we want to increase the options for outings for children with disabilities and their parents. We also want to create opportunities for people with no connection to disability support to learn about us—in other words, to grow the community of people connected to us.
In fact, there was a time when we didn’t try to connect with people who had no involvement in disability support. That was because we strongly wanted to protect children with disabilities and their parents.
But gradually, we realized that more people knowing about us meant more people willing to help.
As those of us organizing the event came to feel that we wanted to “let more people know about us,” we began hoping that local residents and tourists would drop by the “Autumn Festival” and become “people who have interacted with someone with a disability.”
Also, since Achimachi Plaza is close to the Bikan Historical Area, children with disabilities and their parents may have the positive experience of making it to the “Autumn Festival” and then exploring the Bikan Historical Area. Children with disabilities and their families enjoy shopping and eating out, too.
So I’d be happy if this also gave people in tourist areas like the Bikan Historical Area a chance to understand that “people with disabilities are consumers too” and to think about how to make a town “where people with disabilities can easily enjoy sightseeing and dining.”
What would you like attendees to take away from the event?
Ando
I hope children with disabilities and their parents enjoy it as an opportunity to go out.
For vendors and other attendees, it’s enough if they simply enjoy the day wholeheartedly. I’d be happy if, at some point, they think of a child who needs support and their parent—perhaps a family nearby, and think, “I’d like to invite them to this event,” or a relative’s child and think, “They might enjoy this event.”
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Ando
As organizers, we think of the people who come to Usagi Cafe and feel full of ideas about what we’d like to do. But on the day, I hope everyone will set aside any complicated thoughts and simply enjoy a pleasant autumn day at the “Autumn Festival” we’ve planned, regardless of whether they have a disability. That’s what we want.
We look forward to welcoming you.
From the Writer
I also have a hearing disability, so I know firsthand that we cannot live in a world made up only of people with disabilities and those who support them. Through Kurashiki Tocotoco, I want to share information that presents people with disabilities and their supporters as fellow citizens living in Kurashiki. That’s why I actively shine a spotlight on the activities of people with disabilities and their supporters.
That is exactly how I feel about what Ando said: “I want to grow the community of people connected to us.”
I work to build that community by sharing information online, while Step does so through the “Autumn Festival.” During the interview, we also talked enthusiastically about how we can work together to make the city a little easier to live in for people with disabilities and their supporters.
On Sunday, October 27, why not stop by Achimachi Plaza on your way to vote, enjoy the market among vendors who want to bring joy to children with disabilities and their parents, and spend the day cheering on the contestants in a spirited game of sudden rock-paper-scissors?
“Autumn Festival” at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents Information
| Name | “Autumn Festival” at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday, October 27, 2024, 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Location | 2-23-4 Achi, Kurashiki City |
| Admission (tax included) | Free admission |
| Website | “Autumn Festival” at Usagi Cafe, a place for parents |
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