First ‘Special Me’ event happening Sunday for families, children with special needs

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — There is a family friendly event happening this weekend for families with children with special needs.

Holly Westcott with Alabaster Case Management is organizing the first ever Special Me event on Sunday at Olsen Park.

“We are really hoping to have just a fun community event geared towards special needs, medically fragile children as a way to just kinda get some families together, build community, build relationships and just give them a fun day where they can enjoy being out in the park and enjoy some of the other events we have planned,” Westcott said.

Westcott said this is their way of getting out in the community as a new business, meeting people, and making those connections.

Westcott says they going to have the Wilmington Fire Department out with the firetruck display. The kids can come up and touch and see the truck and the firefighters can show them around. Paws4People will be bringing some puppies out to play. They will also have some interactive games from a pediatric physical therapist and prizes. They will have some food trucks including One More Bite, Poor Piggies, and the Donut Bus. She also said they will have other games, some face painting, and photo props.

Westcott said anyone can come. It’s open to the public. It’s free.

“We are geared towards the special needs community, medically fragile children especially, but anybody that wants to come out, we would love to meet them,” Westcott said. “I’ve been a case manager for a long time in this role, and I just feel like people don’t know the services that are available, and they don’t know each other. So I would love to educate the community on ways that we can help them in their homes, and also just create those bonds that families really need to do life together, and to meet each other and build those friendships.”

Special Me is going to be at Olsen Park in Wilmington on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.