Fall festival set for kids with vision, hearing loss

The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind’s Birmingham Regional Center is holding a fall festival at Homewood Central Park on Friday, Sept. 22.

The festival is designed for families with children who have vision and hearing loss but is open to the public as well, said Jessica Edmiston, director of the Birmingham Regional Center.

Activities will include games designed specifically for children with vision and hearing loss, inflatables, face painting, balloon twisting and cotton candy, Edmiston said.

“One of our clowns is blind, and she does balloon animals,” Edmiston said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

There usually are vendors who provide services for people with hearing and vision loss, including the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, Alabama Department of Rehabilitative Services, Disability Rights and Resources and Regions Bank, Edmiston said.

The event is designed for people in Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby and Walker counties.

This is the third year for the fall festival. The first year, the festival was held on a Friday and was well-attended, but last year’s event was on a Tuesday and drew fewer people, Edmiston said.  This year, organizers moved the event back to a Friday and expect to see 150 to 200 people there, she said.

The event is scheduled to run from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at Homewood Central Park at 1632 Oxmoor Road. For more information, contact the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind’s Birmingham Regional Center at 328-3989.