15TH Annual Boating & Beach Bash For People with Disabilities Welcomes Back Singer Kendra Erika
Nation’s largest, FREE, one-day event for people with disabilities– both seen and unseen —
returns to Boca Raton on March 2, 2024
Boca Raton, FL – The 15th Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities – the nation’s largest, free, one-day event for people with disabilities, both seen and unseen – will again welcome back families who love the beach, boat rides and great musical entertainment. Presented by the American Disabilities Foundation (ADF), the Bash returns to Boca Raton’s Spanish River Park, which is conveniently located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway to give guests easy access to the beach and free boat rides.
Always a highlight are the free boat rides, safely held by volunteer boat captains who donate their vessels for a day of fun. On the other side of the park, special MoBi mats are laid on the sand and assistants are on-hand to give everyone access to the water.
- The 15th Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities will be held from
- 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 3001 North Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Boca Raton, FL 33431.
Also returning to the Bash is #1 Billboard recording artist, songwriter and actress Kendra Erika. Erika shared her talent with Bash audiences for multiple years starting in 2012 and is coming back to the stage as a rising star with multiple top ten hits on the Billboard Dance and UK music charts. Tone deaf as a child, she was determined to do the work necessary to overcome this challenge. She spent years in classical training to learn how to sing on key. Today, her songs are streamed across the globe on Amazon, Spotify, and Apple with hits like, “Self Control.”
Most recently, Erika, along with Ralph Johnson and Myron McKinley from Earth, Wind and Fire, won the award for Best Producer/Production from the Hollywood Independent Music awards for their remake of Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft”. Erika currently splits her time in Los Angeles and South Florida. Other local musical acts are currently in the works.
The 15th Annual Bash will also welcome personality Michele Wright, who will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies. Wright is founder of What’s Trending in Palm Beach (@whatstrendingpb), a Lifestyle & Entertainment TV host, and a former local news anchor and NFL cheerleader.
The committee is currently accepting applications for volunteers, sponsors and vendors at www.BoatingBeachBash.com.
Designed as a Spring Break vacation for all people with disabilities, their family members and supportive caregivers, the Bash has welcomed guests from around the world. It is the only event of its kind, offering complimentary, scheduled boat rides, special access to the beach and ocean with Mobi Mats, a Kids Fun Zone, therapy workshops led by trained specialists, wheelchair yoga, music, costumed dance parties, therapy ponies and dogs, a BBQ lunch, and more. Everything is free and geared toward the guests’ special needs.
The Bash was started in 2009 as an event hosted by the City of Boca Raton Advisory Board for People with Disabilities. The City relinquished the Bash in 2011 to the management of the late Bash Executive Director Jay Van Vechten and his wife, Lowell. Since then, through community support and donations, the couple and the Bash’s planning committee have pushed the event’s growth beyond wildest expectations. The Bash grew to become the largest, free, wholly disability-friendly event in the country with a full schedule of entertainment, recreation, boat rides, beach access, vendors, exhibitions, workshops and food in the nation. It has also become a Spring Break destination event in South Florida. Learn more at www.boatingbeachbash.com
- IF YOU GO:
15th Annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities
10 a.m.-3 p.m. | March 2, 2024
Spanish River Park, 3001 North Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Boca Raton, FL 33431
www.BoatingBeachBash.com; 561-715-2622
The Bash, is the nation’s largest free festival for people with special needs – both seen and unseen – their family members and caregivers. Festivities include boat rides, beach access, sporting events, ponies for petting, costumed action heroes, wheelchair yoga, a Kids Fun Zone, food, music and dance parties. The 2024 Bash will welcome singer, songwriter and actress Kendra Erika and TV personality Michele Wright, who will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
