This is part 3 of a series on Milena Khazanavicius, a Halifax woman who is blind and is working to make the city more accessible for others who are blind and partially sighted. In this story, we learn how Khazanavicius makes fun and entertainment accessible for herself and others.

The day I interviewed Milena Khazanavicius was also her last day with the circus.

Several weeks before we met, Khazanavicius started a weekly program with LEGacy Circus, a troupe founded by Vanessa Furlong and Erin Ball, who describe themselves on their website as a “contemporary circus arts duo combining the use of leg attachments, mobility aids, traditional and non-traditional circus apparatuses.”

For Khazanavicius, this circus program — and some of her other adventures — are a reprieve from fighting to make everyday life, like navigating the city sidewalks and the health care system, accessible.

“Just about anything and everything is accessible, especially when it comes to life’s adventures,” Khazanavicius  said. “And with this, I don’t have time to think about construction [in the city] because I am thinking of hanging on for dear life so I don’t fall on my head.”  

Khazanavicius first met Furlong when Khazanavicius was on the board of the Friends of the Public Gardens, where they ran a Pose as Diana contest during the first summer of COVID. Through casual conversation, Furlong told Khazanavicius about LEGacy and Khazanavicius told Furlong about seeing she and Ball perform at the Halifax Fringe Festival. Khazanavicius then told Furlong she wanted to learn how to talk on stilts, which Furlong does as part of her circus act and training. Furlong took on the challenge to teach Khazanavicius.  … Link to Full Length Article at the Halifax Examiner.