A disability pride celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 31, in Central Park.
It will begin with a parade around the park, starting and ending at the Rotary Stage, followed by speakers and performers at 9:30 a.m.
Organizers say they hope to “strengthen the pride, power and unity of people with disabilities, our families and allies” and “challenge the way many people think about and define ‘disability.’ ”
Davis High School and UC Davis graduate Sara Granda will serve as grand marshall for the parade. Paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident in 1997, she made headlines last year during her successful fight to take the bar exam. Granda has since been appointed special assistant to the chief counsel for the State Department of Health Care Services.
Confirmed speakers for the event include Lucinda Talkington of Outa Sight, a support organization for the visually impaired, and Tom Mentkowski of Hear! Here!, a support group for the hearing-impaired. Volunteer sign language interpreters will be on hand.
Also planned: a service dog demonstration, lawn games, board games adapted for the visually impaired, an ADA birthday cake and performances by folks musicians Duval Speck and 89-year-old tap dancer George Hinkel of Davis. Natalie Wormeli and Will Arnold of the Yolo County ACLU will serve as emcees.
Among the events other co-sponsors are Californians for Disability Rights, Clarity Sound, The Davis Enterprise, the Davis Food Co-op, Davis Senior Center, the Davis Vanguard, General Technologies, Nugget Markets and Team Davis Special Olympics.
For more information or to help co-sponsor the event, call (530) 756-1900
Event Date:
July 31, 2010 - 9:00am - 11:00am
