{"id":320888,"date":"2026-06-26T17:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/320888\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:54:07","slug":"what-is-dream-day-36-children-battling-life-threatening-illnesses-to-walk-red-carpet-be-celebrated-as-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/320888\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Dream Day? 36 children battling life-threatening illnesses to walk red carpet, be celebrated as heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

A signature Jacksonville community event to celebrate local children battling life-threatening illnesses returns Saturday with Dream Day 2026, and News4JAX will be there from start to finish.<\/p>\n

The Local Station will bring you live coverage of Dream Day from setup during The Morning Show to the main event on Channel 4 and our News4JAX+ streaming app, starting at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

The magical Positively Jax event, brought to you by PRI Productions and Dreams Come True<\/a>, runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at PRI Productions headquarters, located at 1819 Kings Ave. in Jacksonville. It is free and open to the public to come cheer on the children.<\/p>\n

The community will come together to give the red carpet treatment to 36 local children, known as Dreamers, who will be honored as the heroes they are during the one-of-a-kind celebration.<\/p>\n

More than 2,000 attendees are expected to fill the festive community gathering, which features live music, nearly 100 beloved character appearances, a parade, more than 100 local food vendors, 20-plus themed performances, children\u2019s activities, and much more.<\/p>\n

More than 200 volunteers will be on hand to help make the day a success, and all individuals, organizations, and businesses participating are donating their time and resources to the event.<\/p>\n

Dream Day is a signature event of PRI Productions, created in partnership with Dreams Come True of Jacksonville \u2014 a nonprofit organization that has been fulfilling the dreams of children with life-threatening conditions since 1984.<\/p>\n

WANT TO DONATE? Ways to give to Dreams Come True<\/a><\/p>\n

Who are the Dreamers?<\/p>\n

At the heart of Dream Day are the Dreamers \u2014 this year, that includes 36 children from across Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia between the ages of 4 and 14 who are facing life-threatening medical conditions with courage and heart.<\/p>\n

Each Dreamer arrives individually as their favorite character to a cheering crowd, walks a 150-foot red carpet, and is celebrated as the true star of the day. <\/p>\n

Family members and loved ones accompany each child throughout the event, sharing in a day designed entirely for them.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event honors children representing a range of life-threatening conditions. <\/p>\n

Dreams Come True has fulfilled more than 5,000 dreams for children in its 42-year history.<\/p>\n

Getting there<\/p>\n

Kings Avenue will be closed from Vine Street to Landon Avenue beginning at 7 a.m. until noon on Saturday. <\/p>\n

Attendees are encouraged to plan for detours and arrive by 9 a.m. to secure prime red carpet viewing spots.<\/p>\n

Free public parking is available at the Kings Avenue Parking Garage at 1201 Kings Ave. Complimentary shuttles will run throughout the day between the garage and PRI Productions headquarters. <\/p>\n

Wheelchair-accessible shuttle vehicles are available from both the Kings Avenue Parking Garage and Duval County Public Schools, located at 1701 Prudential Dr.<\/p>\n

Reserved parking for Dreamers and their families is available at Duval County Public Schools. Shaded seating areas, cooling fans, and water will be available along the red carpet.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A signature Jacksonville community event to celebrate local children battling life-threatening illnesses returns Saturday with Dream Day 2026,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[502,131250,132147,51140,116,118,117,5436,12276],"class_list":["post-320888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-community","tag-dream-day","tag-dream-day-2026","tag-dreams-come-true","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-morning-show","tag-positively-jax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}