Nation’s largest, FREE, fun festival celebrating diversity and inclusion for people with disabilities–both seen and unseen– returns to Boca Raton on February 20, 2022, after a pandemic-related pause
January 25, 2022 – The Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities – the nation’s largest, free, one-day event for people with disabilities, both seen and unseen – has been postponed, due to the Omicron surge.
The Bash will welcome its audience back to an in-person event at Spanish River Park in 2023.
Presented by the American Disabilities Foundation, the event became an inclusive Spring Break event, drawing people from across the country.
The 2022 Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities was scheduled be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday, February 20, 2022, at Spanish River Park, 3001 North Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Boca Raton, FL 33431.
Organizers are still seeking sponsorships, vendors, exhibitors, entertainment and local boat captains for the 2023 event. After a two-year pause, the organization committee is working to re-establish relationships and welcome new organizations to participate.
Designed as a Spring Break festival of inclusion and diversity for all people with disabilities, along with their family and supportive caregivers, the Bash has welcomed guests from as far away as California, Texas, Canada and Rome, Italy. It is the only event of its kind, offering complimentary, scheduled boat rides, special access to the beach and ocean with Mobi Mats, a Kids Fun Zone, therapy workshops led by trained specialists, wheelchair yoga, music, magicians, costumed superheroes, an artists’ corner, therapy ponies and dogs, a BBQ lunch, and more. Everything is free and geared toward the guests’ special needs.
Returning sponsors include Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services, Boca Downtown Rotary, Collective Impact Group and Marine Industries Association of the Palm Beaches.
ABOUT THE BOATING & BEACH BASH FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:
The Bash was started in 2009 as an event hosted by the City of Boca Raton Advisory Board for People with Disabilities. The City relinquished the Bash in 2011 to the management of the late Executive Director Jay Van Vechten and his wife, Lowell. Since then, through community support and donations, the couple and the Bash’s planning committee have pushed the event’s growth beyond wildest expectations. Welcoming more than 6,000 guests in 2020, the Bash has become the largest, free, wholly disability-friendly event in the country with a full schedule of entertainment, recreation, boat rides, beach access, vendors, exhibitions, workshops and food in the nation. It has also become a Spring Break destination event in South Florida, drawing families from as far away as California and New York. Learn more at www.boatingbeachbash.com
