DSACO Festival And 5K: Supporting Down Syndrome Families

Saturday morning, thousands of people will come, to downtown Oklahoma City, to run and walk for the Down syndrome festival and 5K.

It’s a day for the families to come together to give and receive support as well as information.

“There will be a lot different resource booths here to help families that might need some information about Down syndrome,” said Sarah Soell, executive director of The Down syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma.

The day kicks off at 8 a.m. with the one-mile fun run and 5K, with race emcee Marc Bravo.

“It is a real feel-good event that also leaves you knowing that you did a lot of great things,” said Race Ambassador and Running Coach, Mark Bravo.

“This will be our fourteenth year we started when Tremayne was six months old,” said festival participant Tylicia Rollins.

This is year one for team Sienna’s Wildflowers, and they are bringing in the family for support.

“Maybe around fifty or sixty. We have a large family and only around half could come,” said festival participant, Sarah Machtolff.

“We start at eight o’clock with the races, the awareness walk takes place at 9:45, and then the Myriad Botanical Gardens opens up for our festival of activities,” said Soell.

There will be lots of vendors, food trucks, and of course bounce houses.

“We have DJ Party Man coming and so we are also featuring a talent show of our self-advocates,” said Soell.

Plus, lots of information for Down syndrome families.

“When we got our diagnosis, we didn’t know anything, we were like very scared,” said festival participant Brianna Kinsey.

But thanks to The Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma and events like the festival misconceptions about Down syndrome or being eliminated.

“If you think I can’t, I won’t, but if you think that I can, I will, it just may take me a little longer,” said Kinsey.

“The event is Free and open to the public, we invite everyone to come out and celebrate our loved ones with Down syndrome,” said Soell.

You can register up until the start of the event on Saturday morning.

For more information CLICK HERE.

To register for the event CLICK HERE.