A sold-out Toronto event is reimagining Carnival through accessibility, adaptive programming and culturally informed supports, giving disabled and neurodivergent Afro-Caribbean people a space to celebrate without barriers.
July 15, 2026 Devon Banfield
What to know
Masabilities, a sold-out Carnival-inspired event returning July 25, creates an accessible celebration for disabled and neurodivergent Afro-Caribbean people, alongside their families and caregivers.
The event features adaptive dance, sensory-friendly spaces, accessible costumes, ASL interpretation, mobility supports and other accommodations designed around participants’ needs.
Founder Marty Lampkin says the initiative challenges the stigma surrounding disability in many Caribbean communities while ensuring people don’t have to choose between their cultural identity and their disability.
Lampkin hopes the project will eventually help pave the way for greater accessibility across Toronto Carnival, encouraging organizers to consider accommodations from the earliest stages of event planning.A Carnival event coming to Toronto is creating space for Caribbean people on the disability spectrum.
For Toronto’s Afro-Caribbean community, Carnival is more than a parade; it’s a celebration of culture, history and resistance that everyone should have the opportunity to partake in. But for many disabled and neurodivergent people, participating in these cultural celebrations hasn’t always been possible.
That’s what inspired Toronto social worker, psychotherapist and professor Marty Lampkin to launch Masabilities, an inclusive Carnival-inspired event designed specifically for Afro-Caribbean members of the disability and neurodivergence community and their friends, family, and caregivers. Now in its third year, Masabilites has officially sold out, with around 100 attendees expected to take over the Jamaican Canadian Association venue from 12-2:30 p.m. on July 25, offering a perfect way to gear up for the feting season.
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Source: Now.