March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day.<\/p>\n
And, this year’s theme is “together against loneliness,” highlighting the importance of meaningful inclusion.<\/p>\n
The Kern Down Syndrome Network is celebrating with a sold-out event in Bakersfield tomorrow night.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called “Once Upon a Runway,” and Kern Down Syndrome Network president Amber Ranger says it\u2019s more than a fashion show.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce Upon A Runway is all about celebrating the beauty of Down Syndrome. It\u2019s about showing the capabilities of individuals with Down Syndrome, their abilities, and all that they can accomplish,\u201d Ranger said.<\/p>\n
Adult models with Down Syndrome will strut on the runway at Legends Event Center. Creative leaders from across Kern County also come together to help the models prepare with their peers. On Thursday night, the models provided a preview of what’s in store with a rehearsal.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, last night, i think a bunch of us were in tears,” said Brittany Holland, a team creative lead at the event. “It was so much fun. Just seeing them light up on stage. Getting them all dressed up and everyone feels really nice. And when you feel pretty you act like really fun too. Everyone is having a party and we\u2019re just having a good time out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ranger also enjoyed the rehearsal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe models that we have walking the runway have so much sass, so much character,\u201d Ranger said.<\/p>\n
Ranger says Once Upon A Runway\u2019 is Kern Down Syndrome Network\u2019s signature event. It\u2019s especially meaningful because it was the catalyst for the organization\u2019s inception 11 years ago, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the event that put the mission behind the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event was dormant after the first year and was brought back for the 10 year anniversary and now it will be annual, Ranger said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just individuals with down syndrome,” Ranger said. “It\u2019s their peers. So it\u2019s really cool to see over the last four months of these teams planning the fashion show. They\u2019ve built relationships with our models, which is hitting the mission on the head.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. And, this year’s theme is “together against loneliness,” highlighting the importance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-229586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}