MOSES LAKE — People with Down Syndrome, along with their friends and families, will gather Saturday at McCosh Park for the 11th annual Buddy Walk, hosted by the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County. The walk will be the same as in past years, but the festivities beforehand will have a little something extra.

“We are honoring caregivers and parents for the first time,” said Denise Ketola, one of the organizers of the event and the mother of a 20-year-old with Down Syndrome. “That’s kind of our theme; it’s the first time we’ve done that.”

Part of the lead-up to the Buddy Walk is a ceremony in which each person with Down Syndrome receives a medal to wear on the walk. This year, Ketola explained, a parent or caregiver will put the medal on the person themselves, and receive in turn a special keychain.

The event was started in 2012 by Daniella Bushman, whose brother has Down Syndrome. It’s a community-wide event with local businesses and organizations coming out to participate. The Home Depot will set up a craft table, and the Moses Lake Library and Goodwill will have booths as well, Ketola said. There’s music and a chance for people with Down Syndrome to rock out on the stage at the Centennial Amphitheater. And naturally, there will be goodies.

“We'll have the popcorn and snow cones,” Ketola said. “And somebody is donating cotton candy.”

Ordinarily, the Buddy Walk has a special speaker, but in keeping with the parent-and-caregiver theme, this year the program will be spread out a little.

“We have a few speakers, parents or caregivers who will talk for one to two minutes about what they do for their kids,” Ketola said. “One of them will be a doctor. He has a son with Down Syndrome, and he also has a lot of them in his practice. And then we have a mother who has twins, identical twins with Down Syndrome. And recently, she remarried and her husband has a child with Down Syndrome. So now there's three of them in the house.”

Parenting a child with Down Syndrome is both a joy and a challenge, said Melissa Kultgen, whose 3-year-old daughter Mikayla has Down Syndrome.

“It was a little scary in the beginning,” Kultgen said. “Because there's so many unknowns; you don't know what to expect. But once she's here, she is so much fun and everybody adores her. She is everybody's favorite, everyone in the family and outside the family. She's just so much fun and loving. And it hasn't really been any different, other than her mile markers are just a little later, or you don't know when they're coming.”

Mikayla just learned to walk last fall, Kultgen said, so she’ll be tackling the Buddy Walk on her own two feet for the first time.

“It’s a fun way for anyone in the community who wants to come and meet (people with Down Syndrome),” Kultgen said. “They're just normal kids that love to do things and have fun. And it's a good way for anyone who does have a child or a family member with Down Syndrome to see how many others there are in the community who are willing to help you.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

Columbia Basin Buddy Walk

Saturday, Sept. 23

Centennial Amphitheater

McCosh Park, Moses Lake

Registration 2:30 p.m.

Walk 3-5 p.m.