Calling Up Justice Makes Accessible, Disability Justice Infused Fun
—Online and Together

At Calling Up Justice, we take fun seriously. Joy is a survival practice, a disability justice strategy, and a form of collective care. For years now, we’ve been experimenting with how to make accessible joy possible across distances, time zones, technologies, and energy levels. And one of our favorite traditions has become the online pumpkin-decorating party.

Last Halloween, we hosted a pixel-art pumpkin-decorating event inside our Digital Encampment that let people design tiny, adorable, spooky gourds using accessible browser-based tools. It was simple, creative, and fully COVID-safe—no need to travel, no need to mask-police strangers, just a low-stress space where Disabled folks and allies could make art together. These screencaps were saved by Neurovapor and Skyriver.

This year, we leveled up by joining Garden’s Halloween celebration and integrating our pumpkin decorating into their beautifully curated Canva space. Participants entered through a simple link and suddenly had access to a shared library of templates and visual elements. The tools were easy enough for anyone to use—whether they identified as an artist or hadn’t drawn anything since elementary school. You could drag-and-drop images, layer illustrations, add text, or build your pumpkin completely from scratch.

We played music, people shared their screens to show works-in-progress, and at the end we held a joyful show-and-tell. The variety was incredible. One participant used the colors of the trans flag to honor their gender identity. Others created spooky scenes, horror-movie themes, or ultra-cute pumpkins with big eyes and soft vibes. I personally made mine using a collage of orange flowers—and loved how it turned out.

And the magic wasn’t just in the art. It was in the gathering. It was in Disabled people being able to join from bed, from couches, through assistive tech, with captions, without fear of exposure. It was in a space designed around access and pleasure at the same time. Claudia Alick had so much fun she made two pumpkins!

Why Pumpkin Decorating Works—And How Others Can Adapt It

Pumpkin decorating is a perfect group activity: low stakes, high creativity, and deeply customizable. And the digital format means you don’t need carving knives, messy materials, or the ability to physically manipulate heavy gourds. It’s a disability justice win.

Other groups can adapt this model for all kinds of holidays or cultural moments:

• Christmas / Winter holidays: Decorate digital trees with ornaments that reflect your values, your culture, or your politics.
• Easter / Spring holidays: Create digital Easter eggs, spring nests, or floral designs.
• New Year’s: Make digital vision boards or intention lanterns.
• Pride Month: Design flags, sigils, avatars, or symbols of your queer and trans joy.
• Cultural celebrations: Adapt to Lunar New Year lanterns, Día de los Muertos altars, Diwali diyas, Passover table settings—anything your community cherishes.

All you need is a shared digital workspace (like Canva, Pixlr, or any pixel-art tool), a music playlist, a video call, and a willingness to laugh and create together.

Accessible Fun Is Justice Work

At Calling Up Justice, we believe fun is not frivolous—it’s liberation. It is how we build relationships across disability, distance, and difference. It is how we practice being together in a world that often isolates us. It is how we rehearse future freer worlds.

Pumpkin decorating parties are just one example of what disability justice–infused joy can look like online. We’ll be doing more, and we hope you’ll join us—or create your own version in your community.

Because everyone deserves a little magic. And everyone deserves access to joy.