Cheers and words of encouragement could be heard all throughout Maggie Daley Park Wednesday at the Chicago Park District's inaugural All-Star Fest.
"I climbed through and went down the slide so fast," said 15-year-old Angello. "It was fun!"
It was an especially exciting day for Ian, who said he was happy to be back downtown.
"I'm excited for being here today," he said. "It's the first time I'm being downtown since before the pandemic started."
Angello and Ian were two of more than 4,000 people participating in All-Star Fest, which celebrates children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and invites them to participate in all sorts of activities.
"We decided it was time to have a celebration of all of our participants who work so hard over the year and bring everyone together for a finale picnic and celebrate all of their hard work, efforts and showcase the beautiful city that we live in," said Eileen Guinane, Chicago Park District Special Olympics administrator.
The Fest included activities like a petting zoo, adaptive bikes, rock-climbing, inflatables and even a live wrestling show. Participants were also joined by 1,000 teachers, coaches, support staff and 700 volunteers. It was also a celebration of the 47-year partnership between the Park District and Special Children’s Charities.
Carolina GaribayGuinane said the goal of the Fest is to increase accessibility to these activities and provide a space where participants feel welcomed.
"There's so many individuals in Chicago that live with the challenges of living with a disability, and I think to have them come out and just experience what our city has to offer and do it right downtown," said Guinane. "There's so much that these guys can do and just kind of giving them the opportunity to do it is what they show that they can do all year long."
She said at the end of the day, she hopes participants have fun and feel accepted.
"I hope they just walk away excited that they had a great day and and proud of themselves that they can do so much and they have so many people excited for them," she said.
