Heroes and buddies: Down syndrome walk lights up downtown Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The Centennial Amphitheater at McCosh Park was wall-to-wall smiles Saturday afternoon as the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County gathered for its annual Buddy Walk in downtown Moses Lake.

Nobody seems sure just how many people were there, but Pam Hare, the event’s activity coordinator, said all 200 T-shirts that had been printed for the occasion had sold out.

There were a few hitches, said Denise Ketola, president of the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County, but there was still a great turnout.

“Between 300 and 400 for sure,” she said.

Most of the fundraising had been done in advance, Ketola said, because city rules prohibit selling things at the park. Still, there was plenty for attendees to enjoy. There was a taco booth, a raffle, and several sponsors offering activities for people with Down syndrome, referred to as “heroes,” and their families and friends to enjoy.

“It’s an emotional thing,” said Hare. “There’s kind of an automatic connection” between families of people with Down syndrome.

One highlight was a visitor from California, 12-year-old Sofia Sanchez, who has become something of a celebrity in Down syndrome circles, according to her mom, Jennifer Varanini. Sanchez, who has Down syndrome, was adopted at an early age from Ukraine, and has made a career as an actress and model at a young age. She was offering copies of a book inspired by her, entitled “You are Enough: A Book about Inclusion.” In it are illustrations of Sanchez engaged in activities like surfing and rock climbing, along with words of encouragement for kids with any sort of disability to be who they are. Sanchez recently gained some fame with a viral video in which she talks about Down syndrome not being scary.

“I say, ‘Don’t be afraid. I love my life,’” she said.

Sanchez has modeled for Old Navy ads, and has a movie in the works, Varanini said.

Eventually the crowd settled down into the amphitheater and the festivities began. Esther Roeber, Washington’s Distinguished Young Woman for 2021, sang the national anthem, and Pastor Sean Sallis, director of Youth Dynamics, delivered an opening prayer.

Next, the Down syndrome heroes were invited to the amphitheater stage where, joined by the Moses Lake High School cheerleading squad, they worked off some energy dancing vigorously to music furnished by DJ Dale Roth.

After the music subsided and the stage was cleared for a few announcements, the heroes filed up one at a time to receive medals, hung around their necks by Sanchez. Then came a warm-up exercise period led by representatives of Jazzercise in Moses Lake, to get muscles stretched and walkers ready for the actual walk.

Families and friends formed into teams, bearing signs and sometimes matching T-shirts with the name of their Down syndrome heroes, and marched one by one up the path from the amphitheater to Fourth Avenue. There they turned and walked the three blocks to Division Street, looped around to Ash Street via Third Avenue, and came back up Fourth Avenue to the park. Cheerleaders had stationed themselves at points along the route to offer encouragement, and T-Mobile had water waiting to offer tired walkers back at the park.

“My daughter is 18, almost 19, and she was so excited about the Buddy Walk,” said Ketola. “She wasn’t so excited about the walk back, but I told her, ‘that’s the only way to get back. I’m not going to carry you.’

The money raised by the Buddy Walk funds a number of other activities for people with Down syndrome and their families. Besides next month’s visit to the Country Cousins corn maze, there’s a dinner and dance around Valentine’s Day, an Easter egg hunt in April and a barbecue sometime during the summer.

But the event isn’t just a fundraiser. It’s a way to “remind the community that these people are up and coming, and some of them are already out in the community,” Ketola said.

“They may not be able to do everything we do, but there’s a lot they can do,” she said.