Special Needs Fair and Expo coming to Bethel Park
The Pittsburgh Emperors ice hockey program was represented last year at the first Southwestern Pennsylvania Special Needs Fair and Expo.
The Bethel Park Fire Company showed equipment at last year’s event.
“Angels of the Heart” returns this year.
Planning outdoor activities in the spring comes with a certain necessity.
“Of course, we were all checking the weather,” Meghan Johnson recalled, as she and other organizers were preparing last year for the inaugural Southwestern Pennsylvania Special Needs Fair and Expo in Bethel Park.
And of course, reports called for rain.
“We all came here and started setting up,” Johnson said about the venue at Pathfinder School, “and it was sunny. It stayed sunny the whole event, so we were thrilled. And right when we closed down and were cleaning up, it became overcast and started to rain.”
Afterward, a meteorologist whose wife is a speech therapist at the school sent along a satellite image of the region.
“That whole day, if you watched the weather pattern, it was rain everywhere else,” Johnson explained. “In Bethel Park, and it was no rain, no clouds. And it was in the shape of a heart. We couldn’t believe it.”
The fortuitously localized blue skies helped bring in about 300 people, and the organizers are hoping for more at the second annual fair and expo, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 29 at Pathfinder, the special education facility at 50 Donati Road.
The idea for the event came from teacher Tom Kelton, who serves as chairman.
“Over the years, he’s fielded various questions from parents about what resource providers are out there,” Johnson said. “There is nothing else in the area like this, so he thought, Why not make an event of it at our school?”
Principal Nick Fratto agreed to allow the use of the Pathfinder buildings and grounds, and although the event is not directly connected with the school, several staff members – Johnson is senior secretary – agreed to serve as volunteer organizers.
The fair and expo, which is free and open to the public, is geared toward children and young adults with special needs and their family members, caregivers and guardians. The event is held both inside and outside the school, and will take place even if rain does appear in Bethel Park this time around.
“There is so much available to you, and these groups want people to utilize their services that are already in place,” Johnson explained about the more than six dozen vendors that will be present.
Most will provide activities for children while adults have an opportunity to discuss the availability of resources. An example is Fine Art Miracles Inc., a Greenfield nonprofit organization offering art and music therapy along with other services.
“They’re going to bring a robot called Romibo,” Johnson said. “I saw him last year, and he’s really cute and fuzzy. Kids can do an interactive game and talk to him while their parents are finding out more information.”
Event sponsors are Evey True Value Hardware and the Bethel Park Community Foundation, with Tobii Dynavox, manufacturer of speech technology devices, joining this year to provide gift bags for those who attend.
For more information, visit Special Needs Fair & Expo on Facebook, email specialneedsfairpa@gmail.com or call 412-394-5514.