COVINGTON, La. – Special Olympics Louisiana is taking one step towards normalcy by planning its first event since the COVID-19 outbreak.
“It was super crucial for us to start coming up with ways to include them and remind them that we are still here, and we are going to be here after the pandemic as well,” says Program Specialist Peter Hunt.
During the pandemic, Special Olympics has been sending out daily workout videos for athletes to stay active while at home.
Behind the scenes, the group was searching for a way to hold a more inclusive, virtual experience.
“We looked towards some of our other states and our other state programs and a lot of them are also doing virtual events but there were a ton of virtual events here in Louisiana. Festival International did a virtual event, Jazz Fest did a virtual event and we looked at them and saw that they still had successes in those events, and we thought that would be appropriate for our athletes,” says Hunt.
From there, the idea of SOLA Fest was born.
“SOLA Fest is going to be a virtual event to celebrate our athletes. It’s over the weekend in which our summer games should have been. So it’s a virtual festival to celebrate them and give them something to do while they are cooped up inside.”
SOLA Fest is a 3-day event that runs from June 12th through 14th.
It uses a normal summer games layout while utilizing a zoom-like platform.
Below I the full schedule of events:
The only thing missing – you.
“We would love to have volunteers and they all get to volunteer from home. For volunteering, they can go to our social media and sign up right now. There are different times for them to come in and watch, comment on our videos, talk to our athletes, and give positive messages of sport to them.”
Not just to help with the day-to-day, but to show athletes a sense of unity in times when it feels like the pandemic has kept everyone apart.
“We are really just an organization all about inclusion and so to get everyone to be a part of that movement is important to us.
For volunteer information, click here.
