When Sheletta Brundidge hosted her final live broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair on Sept 5, she attracted a crowd of her fans who made a point of coming to see her and other fairgoers who simply enjoyed the experience of watching a live show while strolling the fairgrounds.
In addition to the guests of The Sheletta Show who shared her microphone on the 830 WCCO Radio front porch, Brundidge also welcomed Nathan Tucker and Ali Pritchett, two ASL interpreters from Keystone Interpreting Solutions.
“It was amazing to watch how they interacted with the crowd! When I got excited, they got excited,” Brundidge said. “I have fans who can’t hear; I run into them in community. The Minnesota State Fair is for everybody. I wanted them to be able to get in on the fun and laughs, too.”
In honor of September’s designation as Deaf Awareness Month, Brundidge used profits from ShelettMakesMeLaugh.com, her media and marketing company, to pay for interpretation for the often overlooked and underserved group.
For generations, Minnesota broadcasters have enhanced the State Fair experience for their fans by offering them the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite personalities and watch them at work. Sign language interpreters have seldom if ever been present during their presentations.
Brundidge said recent media coverage highlighting the generosity of Dolly Parton motivated her to expand her outreach to a deaf and hard-of-hearing audience.
“I looked at how Dolly lived her life and went out of her way to use her blessings to bless people who could do nothing for her,” Brundidge said.
The State Fair provides ASL interpreters for many of its events but Brundidge admitted that she didn’t ask in time to access a reserve interpreter for her show, so she used her own money for Tucker and Pritchett to join her for her program from noon to 3 pm on Saturday.
State Fair marketing and guest services supervisor Blaire Huneke said that the fair adds to accessibility and guest services ever year, pointing to inclusivity updates like sensory-friendly spaces, blind and low vision services, and adult-size changing.
“When (others) get on board with this mission and also provide accessibility services, it only helps enhance this mission even more,” said Huneke said.
Brundidge said she wants other broadcasters who bring their programs to State Fair audiences every year will take steps in the future to become more accessible to their deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.
“I hope this inspires other broadcasters to follow my lead and book interpreters at their shows so all people at the fair can experience a live show. We are missing this audience,” she said. “Broadcasters can level the playing field. It’s up to us.”
