A country picnic open to individuals with any type of disability is set to be held on Saturday at Rocky Fork Lake.
“It’s a fun time,” said Kim O’Madden, community leader of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC) for Brown, Adams, Clinton and Highland (BACH) counties.
DSAGC-BACH sponsors the picnic, which is in its third year, according to O’Madden. The event is “free to anybody who comes out and their families,” she added.
O’Madden said that there is a “large population of people with Down Syndrome” in the community and surrounding areas, but that awareness is limited.
Saturday’s event, O’Madden added, is for individuals with any disability, not just Down Syndrome.
Event material states, “It is our desire to spread awareness to our rural communities that there is support, education, and information available to them.”
The picnic will include “all the food you would find at a normal picnic,” O’Madden said. Event material describes the meal as a “pig roast with all the fancy fixins you would find at a good ole country style picnic.”
Attendees will be able to enjoy music, fishing, swimming, corn hole, Frisbee golf, and bouncy houses, event material adds.
Two bands will be at the picnic, including Won Peace, who performs acoustic music. A photographer will also be available. Local author William Roller will give a reading from his children’s books. O’Madden said Roller’s books are “adorable.”
She added that “usually tons and tons of people” come to the picnic, with 247 attending last year.
Numerous businesses have donated to the event, O’Madden said, including Rick’s Hometown TV & Appliance Center, Single Office Stop (SOS), 73 Drive-Thru, KMR Accounting/Woodmen of the World, Holtfield Station, Mike and Dr. Deborah Blackwell, Cisco Systems, Hillsboro Inflatables, Snow Hill Country Club, McDonald’s, Adena Greenfield, HDH therapy services, GTM Food, Bob Evans, Kelch Family Woodworking, Polstra/Winters family, KFC, Ponderosa, Ohio Tents, Francis Marina, Cosco, and Buckeye Health Plan.
The picnic will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the South Beach of Rocky Fork Lake from 1 to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact O’Madden by calling 513-293-2651, or by emailing [email protected].
Additional information about the DSAGC organization can be found at www.dsagc.com.
Reach Sarah Allen at 937-393-3456, ext. 1680, or on Twitter @SarahAllenHTG.
