MOSES LAKE — The 2020 Columbia Basin Buddy Walk, like most events, looked a little bit different this year with restrictions from COVID-19 in place. The annual walk hosted by the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County was replaced with an impromptu car parade last Saturday, Sept. 26.

Cars met up at Chief Moses Middle School in Moses Lake before heading off to their final stop at the home of Patty Jardene, vice president of the DSSGC, for pizza, snow cones, cookies and a photo op with family and friends.

Denise Ketola, current president of the DSSGC, said it was really amazing to be able to hold something this year to support individuals with special needs.

“Everyone seemed happy and excited to be there and do it, and just to be together a little bit, even if it wasn’t the typical way we do,” Ketola said. “But this year has not been typical.”

Around July or August, she said, it became more evident that restrictions weren’t going to ease up in time for the event to be held. She said it was around this time that they started tossing around the idea of a car parade instead of the walk.

Ketola said she expects they ended up bringing more awareness to the cause this year with the car parade than they have with the usual format. With the walk, she said ,the people who attend are often friends or family of individuals participating.

“I think we probably got more attention and publicity the way we ended up doing it,” Ketola said. “We had a lot of friendly honking. You could hear the horns coming from other people meeting us, and that was pretty neat to have support from them too.”

While her daughter, Benita, was maybe expecting the typical buddy walk from recent years, Ketola said she had a lot of fun with the way it ended up going.

Kerry Aronsohn is a founding member of the DSSGC and a former president of the organization. She said her family decorated their car with banners and pictures for her son, Gevin, in preparation of this year’s event. The Buddy Walk is an event she said he looks forward to every year.

“It’s his day every year,” Aronsohn said. “He looks forward to it because it’s like his day. I’m so glad that we were able to do, within the limitations we had, something that was meaningful, an event that could celebrate individuals with Down syndrome and bring awareness to the community in a different way than we normally do.”

“Gevin loved it,” Aronsohn said.

The past few months have been socially isolating for everyone, she said, making events like the Columbia Basin Buddy Walk even more meaningful to be a part of. People with special needs may not fully understand why they are being isolated socially, she added.

By making the Buddy Walk happen this year, she said, it was almost a way to show them that people are still celebrating and doing stuff, just in a different way. Aronsohn said it was heartwarming to see friends and families able to gather around their loved ones for an event that means a great deal to so many in the community.

The format this year allowed everyone to be involved without feeling like their health and safety might be at risk, including those who may have mobility issues. Grandparents and other family members who might not be able to participate in the annual walk were smiling alongside their grandchildren, or sons and daughters, in the back seats as the parade made its way through town.

One of the main goals of the Buddy Walk each year is to raise awareness and attention for those individuals with Down syndrome, Aronsohn said. The response from the community was a lot of smiles, waves and friendly honking, which she said was really cool to see.

“It was more of a casual car procession rather than being a real parade, but it was fun,” Aronsohn said. “Everyone we’d seen was reading the signs on the cars, seeing the pictures, and waving, honking, so that was great.”

Casey McCarthy can be reached via email at cmccarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.