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Carp Fair sets aside time for visitors with disabilities

Talitha LeBlanc and her daughter Amara sit in the teacup ride at the Carp Fair on Thursday, during an hour set aside for kids and adults with disabilities.  (Sannah Choi/CBC News - image credit)
Talitha LeBlanc and her daughter Amara sit in the teacup ride at the Carp Fair on Thursday, during an hour set aside for kids and adults with disabilities. (Sannah Choi/CBC News - image credit)

The Carp Fair hushed the music and dimmed the lights for an hour Thursday, as it hosted around 100 people with disabilities and their close family members.

The "Special Needs Midway Hour," which took place from 3 to 4 p.m., was the first event of its kind at the rural Ottawa fair, which has been running since 1863.

People with disabilities, plus one additional family member per guest, were asked to register in advance to ensure the grounds didn't become too crowded.

"It's generally too loud, too busy, so they get very overstimulated," said Talitha LeBlanc, who heard about the event on social media and was quick to register her daughter Amara.

"It just ends up being really hard for them to come."

Sannah Choi/CBC News
Sannah Choi/CBC News

With children like Amara in mind, fair organizers set aside the hour so visitors could avoid the long lines, flashing lights and loud sounds that might normally deter them from attending.

'It means a great deal,' organizer says

Kids could enjoy the rides for free, and also received a teddy bear, cotton candy and a pizza lunch, said Brent Palsson, the Carp Fair's president of agriculture.

"It means a great deal, just to get out and be able to do what other kids are doing," said Palsson, whose son has a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome.

"I hope we can grow it and include more people and more families."

The 159th edition of the fair kicked off Thursday evening, shortly after the special hour concluded, and will run until Sunday at 6 p.m.

"We pretty much see infants to 100-year-olds through our grounds over the course of the weekend," said Krista Jefferies, the fair's president of home crafts.

"We just wanted to make sure we were extending that beyond and making it inclusive for everybody."

While lights and sounds will be back in full for the rest of the weekend, organizers said the fairgrounds remain fully accessible.

"It's nice and bright out, and it's just really awesome," LeBlanc said. "They're having a great time."