RÁK afterhours

Accessibility

RÁK afterhours is a late-night event series at RÁK, Downtown Market Grand Rapids (435 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503). We want everyone to be able to use this site and enjoy the night.

Our commitment

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA on this site, and we keep working on it. Here's what we've done so far:

Keyboard. You can reach every link, button and form with a keyboard. The first stop is a "Skip to content" link, and the entry forms open in a window you can close with the Esc key.
Screen readers. Every form field has a label, optional fields say so, and event photos have text descriptions.
Reduced motion. If your phone or computer is set to reduce motion, the moving lights, the scrolling banner and the logo flicker stay still.
Readable text. We use light text on a dark background and aim for strong contrast.

What still needs work

Some small text on the event card sits over photos and moving stage lights, so it can be hard to read.
There's no button on the page yet to pause the moving lights and the scrolling banner. Turning on Reduce Motion in your device settings stops them.
When the page first loads, the logo flickers quickly. If flashing light bothers you, turn on Reduce Motion in your device settings before you open the site.
When a form shows an error, screen readers don't yet read the message as you move to that field.
On very narrow screens or at high zoom, the edge of the event card and some menu links can be cut off.
With a screen reader, the text message checkbox reads its whole consent notice as its name. It's long, but nothing is left out.
Links to Google Maps and Instagram go to sites we don't control.

Getting to and around the venue

RÁK is on the first floor of the Downtown Market. These details come from the Downtown Market's accessibility page unless we say otherwise.

Parking

The Downtown Market says its gated lot has seven accessible parking spots, west of the building near the wheelchair ramp. The lot gates are on Ionia Ave. and Logan Street.
A guide to Rák from Disability Advocates of Kent County places them a little differently: five on the west side near the ramp and two near the north entrance.
The same guide notes that the gated driveways on Ionia and Logan aren't accessible routes from the sidewalk. The best way in from the street is the sidewalk in front of the north entrance.
The McConnell city lot is directly across Ionia Ave. The City of Grand Rapids says all its lots have clearly marked accessible parking. The city says those spots can't be reserved, are first come, first served, and need a valid placard or yellow sticker.
The city says street meters are free with a State of Michigan disability placard that has the yellow free parking sticker.

Getting in

The wheelchair ramp is west of the patio on the north side of the building.
The Disability Advocates guide says the main north entrance has a short set of steps. The ramp is narrow, and the way from it to the main entrance runs through the outdoor dining patio, which can be crowded.
The north entrances have power-assisted doors, and all doorways have low thresholds.
The elevator is in the center of the building, near the main entrance.
For help with the lot, the parking gate or getting into the building, the Downtown Market's help line is 616-805-5308.

Inside

The accessible restrooms are on the second floor, across from the Administration Office. From RÁK, take the elevator up.
The Disability Advocates guide says these are the only public restrooms: a men's room and a women's room, with full-size accessible stalls and grab bars.
The Market lends a wheelchair from the Administration Office on the second floor.
Only service animals are allowed inside the Market.
Emergency alarms have both lights and sound.
The Market's hearing loop is in its Banquet Room, not at RÁK.
The Market is near Rapid bus stops on routes 1 and 2 and the Silver Line.

Ask us first

Our night runs 10 PM to 2 AM, later than the Market's usual hours. We haven't confirmed these yet. Ask us and we'll try to find out before you come:

Whether the elevator, the second floor restrooms, the wheelchair loan and the help line are open during the event.
Whether the lot gates and pay stations work late at night, and whether a placard changes the price in the Market's lot.
A place to drop someone off near the door.
Seating, including lower tables.
A single-user or family restroom.
Music volume, lighting effects, and a quieter place to take a break.
Captions or a sign language interpreter.

Requests and accommodations

Tell us what would make the night work for you and we'll see what we can do. Email [email protected]. Writing a few days ahead gives us time to check with the Downtown Market. We reply as soon as we can.

If something on this site doesn't work for you, email us too. It helps to tell us the page, what you were trying to do, and the device, browser or assistive technology you use.

Other ways to enter

The official rules let you enter the VIP drawing without the website. Email [email protected] with your full name, email, mobile number and the words "VIP drawing". You must be 21 or older, and entries close Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.

If the costume contest form doesn't work for you, email us at the same address and tell us what went wrong.