DALTON, Mass. — The 10th annual Buddy Walk of the Berkshires was bigger than ever. And thanks to a high school sports scheduling quirk, its reach was a little broader than ever.
The Saturday morning walk, organized by and for the support of Berkshire County families living with Down syndrome, drew about 1,000 participants who gathered at Craneville Elementary School for the annual walk up and down Main Street.
That group included the girls soccer team from Westfield High, which had a game scheduled for 1 p.m. against Dalton's Wahconah Regional. Problem was, many of the girls on the Wahconah team are long-time Buddy Walkers, going back to their days as Craneville pupils.
Aaron Robb of the Berkshire County Arc Down Syndrome Family Group picks up the story from there.
"Wahconah Athletic Director Jared Shannon called Westfield to ask about moving the game back an hour," Robb told the walkers before they embarked. "Westfield said they wanted to come and hang out with us for the morning.
"I've been involved in education for 20 years and never seen this before."
The Westfield Bombers ended up marching as one of an event-record 31 walk teams, calling themselves Katelyn's Buddies after a student with Down Syndrome at Westfield High School.
“I think that was a really great experience, honestly,” Wahconah junior Arden McKnight said after scoring the game-winning goal in her team’s 2-1 win over Westfield on Saturday afternoon. “We haven’t really had anything like that with another team before, and I thought it was a really good way to bond with not only our team and the people in the community but the other team as well.”
Robb reminded the crowd that the Buddy Walk, which receives major support from Berkshire County Arc and dozens of sponsors, had modest roots. Just 500 people walked the first year, fewer than half as many participants turned out Saturday.
And bigger numbers were not the only change. The event added a grand marshal, a position that North Adams' Brittany Dorwin accepted in style, leading the marchers in the back of a convertible.
"The whole reason we're here is that people with Down Syndrome have dreams, and they want to make it happen," said Dorwin, a 2014 graduate of McCann Technical School.
Dorwin talked a little about the dreams she has fulfilled so far, including dancing with Berkshire Dance Theatre, cheering on the McCann cheer squad and passing her MCAS to earn her diploma.
"Basically, I've done a lot of things," Dorwin said. "So thank you and enjoy this beautiful day."
More photos here from this event.
