Relatively speaking, it was a pretty quiet morning at the Florida Strawberry Festival on Friday, March 1.
That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of people having a good time but gone were the flashing lights, blaring music and announcements over the loudspeakers. Special Smiles Day, in its second year, brought a sensory-friendly environment so thousands of adults and children with special needs could enjoy a less-crowded, and quieter, festival experience.
The event was the brainchild of Florida Strawberry Festival President Kyle Robinson, who pitched the idea to his fellow Plant City Rotarians and the Strawberry Festival Board. “As soon as he brought it to the Rotary Board we immediately fell in love with it,” said Rotarian John Haney. “The Rotary has the ability to sponsor this event and pull in the needed volunteers, it’s a great partnership between the Festival and the Rotary.”
The event, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon and gave free gate admission to Special Smiles VIPs and one guest, free rides and food vouchers, has grown exponentially. “Before we began today we had 22 schools confirm that they were coming and we wanted to reach out to the school so they could get their tickets and food vouchers in advance so it would streamline the process of getting people in,” he said.
He’s glad they did, because the line of guests waiting to get in was long. “We just wanted them to get in as quickly as possible and let ‘em start having fun,” he said. “We also had so much of an advance response that we even added a few more thousand dollars to food vouchers so somebody in line isn’t left out and gets to have the full festival experience.”
Lissette Lopez, a teacher at The Movement School in Pinellas County, attended the event last year with her son Aiden, 13. He had so much fun that she told her principal and this year, all 13 students at the school, including its staff, attended the event. The students all wore t-shirts they tie-dyed for the occasion.
It was easy to see why the event was named Special Smiles Day. As Aiden, who has cerebral palsy and autism, rode Raptor Run with his mom, a wide smile spread across his face. “He was screaming from excitement, I was screaming from nausea,” joked mom.
Aiden, while being helped back into his wheelchair, expressed his love of rides. “That was awesome,” he said. “I was flying like Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond.”
School principal Terri Bedgood, who beamed with pride at her students, couldn’t be more appreciative for the experience.
“Sometimes just being next to a person let alone in a crowd with noise and lights, it can overstimulate them and send them to shutdown world,” she said. “To have a place where they can feel safe and be able to ride rides and socialize is amazing.”
Jenna Kriss, with HealthPRO Pediatrics, couldn’t agree more. Last year, nine students from the center attended Special Smiles. This year, that number increased to 15. “It’s great to be out in the community and practice some skills, including waiting in line, riding rides and just having a good time,” she said.
Families and school groups came from Hillsborough, Polk and Pinellas counties. “It was an incredible turnout,” said Robinson. “It’s something that we do to give back, to put other before yourself, to put service above yourself, it was a tremendous day.”
