Oyster Bay , NY - On September 12, 2008, The ELIJA Foundation and AHA Association promotes the 1st Annual Sunset Festival. This is a 3 hour festival from 5 pm to 8 pm at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay. It will be a free family picnic which will include a resource & recreational festival for individuals and family members touched by autism from the Long Island & neighboring communities. The event is the first of it’s kind, showcasing many of the local educational and service oriented organizations in Long Island, creating a resource and networking opportunity for individuals and family members. It will also address the social and emotional needs of those in this community by providing a welcoming environment that will have live family-friendly performances, activities, food, carnival games, resource tents and bouncy houses, while creating awareness to the community of this ever increasing neurological disorder that is more prevalent than ever and affecting our Long Island schools and communities.
WHAT: The Sunset Festival will be the first of it’s kind. A free picnic and resource festival for families and individuals affected by autism. Making them knowledgeable of the available organizations , schools and agencies and the services they provide to this population. It is also a family - friendly recreational event, taking into account the social and emotional needs of individuals and family members who live with this neurological disorder. There is an anticipated 300 families who will participate. Live entertainment, performances, foods, activities and carnival games. Guests must pre register for the event go to www.elija.org/
WHEN: Friday night, September 12 2008 5 pm to 8 pm Rain date set for the following Friday, same time September 19, 2008
WHERE: Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in the Town of Oyster Bay. Picnic Areas 1 and 2
Take 106 east, into the town of Oyster Bay, when you hit East Main street/Audrey Avenue make a left onto Audrey, pass the town hall and LIRR station, an entrance to the park is over railroad tracks to the right. We are the last stop on the Oyster Bay Line of the LIRR . FOLLOW THE SIGNS TO THE PICNIC AREA which are the eastern most part of park (behind the marina)
WHO: Teaming up : The ELIJA Foundation (elija.org) Est. in 2002, one of the largest educational organizations on Long Island that services parents , caregivers and educators by hosting workshops and conferences geared toward improving the quality of educational and intervention services to those with Autism (focus on children under 21, who are moderately to severely impaired). AHA Association (ahany.org) Est. in 1988 one of the oldest groups in the Long Island area advocating and servicing the needs of those who are over 21 and have Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, educating others on this commonly misdiagnosed disorder and advocating for quality education and intervention services to this underserved and often misunderstood population on the Autism Spectrum. This event is also being sponsored by other local Autism organizations, including The Nassau Suffolk Chapter of The Autism Society of America (nsasa.org)
