Lafayette’s Buddy Walk Returns To Parc International This October
(LAFAYETTE, LA) - October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and Acadiana's biggest celebration of it already has a date on the calendar. The Down Syndrome Association of Acadiana is bringing the 22nd Annual Buddy Walk back to downtown Lafayette on Saturday, October 31, and if you've never been, it's one of those mornings that reminds you what this community does best.
My wife and I participated in the Buddy Walk in remembrance of her uncle with Down Syndrome who had passed away. It's a pretty unique feeling to be walking through the streets of Downtown Lafayette instead of driving down Jefferson, and it's an even better feeling when you remember why you're walking.
What To Know Before You Walk
Registration opens at 9 a.m. at Parc International, 200 Garfield Street, right next to the Children's Museum in downtown Lafayette. The one-mile walk itself kicks off at 9:45 a.m., and once everyone's crossed the finish line, Fun in the Parc takes over from there through 1 p.m. with music, food, games and just about everything else you'd want out of a Saturday morning downtown.
Cost to participate is $20 per person. It's rain or shine, so don't let a gray sky talk you out of it, and organizers are asking folks to leave pets at home for the day. Hopefully, some much anticipated Fall-like weather will make the event extra enjoyable for the stroll.
A Local Chapter Of A Nationwide Movement
The Buddy Walk got its start back in 1995, created by the National Down Syndrome Society to build acceptance and inclusion for people with Down syndrome and to give October's awareness month an actual gathering to rally around. What started as 17 walks nationwide has grown into more than 400 of them every year now, and last year alone, over 400,000 people showed up for their local walk. Nationally, those walks raised nearly $18.5 million last year, money that goes straight back into local programs and services as well as public policy and awareness work.
Lafayette's version of that is participants with Down syndrome from across Acadiana and beyond, walking alongside their families, friends, teachers, coworkers, health care providers and corporate teams who show up every year to be part of it.
Registration Information for Buddy Walk
You can register or get more information at dsaa.info, or call the Down Syndrome Association of Acadiana at (337) 234-3109.
Twenty two years running now, and it still comes down to the same thing: a whole lot of Acadiana showing up for a whole lot of good people. Hope to see you out there on Halloween morning.
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