The Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities – the nation’s largest, free,one-day event for people with disabilities, both seen and unseen –returns after a two-year suspension, due to the COVID pandemic in 2021 and the COVID-19 surge in 2022. The American Disabilities Foundation volunteer committee is working to once again welcome families from across the country.
Designed as a Spring Break event for people with disabilities, along with their family members and supportive caregivers. The Bash has welcomed guests from as far away as California, Arizona, Michigan, Maine and New York. It is the only event of its kind, offering complimentary, scheduled boat rides, special access to the beach and ocean with Mobi Mats and floating wheelchairs, a Kids’ Fun Zone, Therapy workshops led by trained specialists, wheelchair yoga, a live concert, costumed superheroes and cartoon characters, therapy dogs and miniature ponies, a ‘choice’ lunch, and more.
The event will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at the Spanish River Park located at 3001 North Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Boca Raton, FL 33431. Everything is free and all activities are geared toward the guests’ special needs. For more information: info@BoatingBeachBash.com
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About the Boating & Beach Bash for People With Disabilities
The Bash was started in 2009 as a BBQ picnic hosted by the City of Boca Raton’s Advisory Board for People with Disabilities. Jay Van Vechten served on the Board for a number of years and always added new elements to the city’s Bash including Boat Rides and live entertainment. By 2011 the City relinquished the management of the Bash to Jay Van Vechten, his wife Lowell and an all-volunteer Board of directors and Planning Committee. Since then, through community support, dedicated volunteers and donations, the couple and the Bash’s planning committee have pushed the event’s growth beyond everyone’s wildest expectations welcoming more than 5,000 guests in 2020. By that point, the Bash became the largest, free, wholly disability-friendly event in the country with a full schedule of entertainment, recreation, boat rides, beach access, vendors, exhibitions, workshops and food in the nation. A true celebration of diversity, the Boating & Beach Bash demonstrates how a community can honor and salute those among us who struggle each day with unimaginable challenges. It has also become a Spring Break destination event in South Florida, drawing families from as far away as California, Arizona, Michigan, Maine and New York. Learn more at www.boatingbeachbash.com