Neither heat nor rain could put a damper on the festivities, which kicked off with a mile-long parade beginning at CVS in South Williamsport, and ending at Roads To Freedom, 24 E. Third St.

The parking lot was flooded with vendors and participants alike ready to celebrate the great strides that have been made towards providing equality for disabled persons.

Local leaders at the event included state Rep. Jamie Flick, R-South Williamsport, Lycoming County Commissioner Mark Mussina and city Mayor Derek Slaughter, as well as Roads to Freedom CEO Misty Dion.

“It was 35 years ago today that over 1,000 constituents marched from the White House to the Capitol in Washington, DC, that started this, and ADA was signed by President George H.W. Bush,” Flick said, noting that there is much work yet to be done.

“We’ve come such a long distance, but sometimes you need to put down your disability devices and use your voice, and that’s what everybody’s doing today, using their voice,” Flick said.

“I hope they know they have support,” Mussina added.

“Up to 35 years ago, and even in the last 35 years, their battle is to continue to get more and more support and more and more education on what they need and what they don’t need, and I just hope that they see that they have support from not only the local community, but elected officials and the community as a whole,” the commissioner said.

“It was landmark legislation that affirmed a fundamental truth that every American deserves equal access, opportunity and dignity,” Slaughter said in prepared remarks.

“It’s great to see folks come out and celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ADA in our community, knowing that we’ve come a long way, but we still have a lot of work to do,” he told the Sun-Gazette.

“I hope that people continue to learn about the ADA, what that means and how we can continue to improve our community, whether that’s from an infrastructure standpoint or facilities or recreational offerings and take away what that really means for folks to be able to enjoy regardless of ability, everything that our city, our community and our region has to offer,” Slaughter said.

Slaughter highlighted upcoming upgrades to Youngs Woods Park, which will see it transformed into a fully-ADA-compliant space for people of all abilities.

This was the fifth year that such an event was held, and Dion hopes for it to become an annual tradition, stressing that it was a community event.

“I met Disability Pride PA and went to a couple other events, and it was so empowering to see the community come together and show pride in who they are and demand equality, and that really inspired us to make sure to bring that to our area and keep it,” Dion said.

“It’s a great event to really honor the work of our ancestors who did the Capitol Crawl back in the 1990s in order to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, and that’s why we have access today. It’s not equal yet, but it’s been progressing,” she said.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand, so I hope people leave here today demanding equality and demanding to have access,” Dion said.

An important part of their message was reminding everyone that their voice deserves to be heard, no matter what and that ADA cannot improve without advocating.

“This is an event. It’s not a disability event. It’s an event that highlights the disability experience, but is open to everybody,” said Disability Pride Pennsylvania Founder & Executive Director Vicki Landers, who worked with Dion to organize the event.

“Disability is a beautiful part of human society, and we need to work together to make an accessible space for everybody,” she said, adding, “I want people to think about disability pride every day of the year, not just during July.”

The community was excited to see an event like this take place in their own town.

State Rep. Jamie Flick and Lycoming County Commissioner Mark Mussina help carry the Disability Pride Williamsport banner during the parade.

“It’s awesome. It is something to do, and I wish they had it every year,” said Pauline Kaminski, who said she showed up to “show support to our community.”

Caroline Balliet and Daryl Kern, attending as part of the League of Women Voters found it important to be at the event as they both “believe in supporting the ADA and encouraging people to vote in an informed manner.”

“Folks who are living with disabilities sometimes feel they do not have a voice, so by registering to vote they will have a voice,” Balliet added.

“I love it. It’s outgoing. Everybody’s hospitality is fabulous. It’s amazing, all the resources and everything is great. All the love is here and we support disability equality,” said city resident Shelia, who said it was important for her to attend because she has mental health disabilities, which often fly under the radar in comparison to physical disabilities.

“I definitely needed this, and it’s opened me up to life with everybody spreading the love,” she said.