1 April 2024
The first time Katie Najjar took her toddler son Gabriel to the Fraser Festival, she didn’t know what to expect.
As a child who has autism, many outings were too overwhelming for her son. Too loud. Too many people. Too much.
But the Fraser Festival was designed just for people like Gabriel, who is now 5, to enjoy a Disney World-like experience in a sensory-friendly environment that would support him and his family, said Najjar, who now works for the local nonprofit Fraser organization that holds the annual festival.
This year, it is being held on Saturday, April 6, at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
The idea behind the festival was to create an inclusive event that is open to people of all abilities while having additional sensory support available, Najjar said.
“Families like mine find it challenging to decide what events to go to,” she said. “How is your child going to react in a large crowd with loud noises? Most outings take more work and planning. Is it going to be too loud? Are there going to be too many people?”
For most outings to unfamiliar places, the Najjar family would have to consider whether the place they were going had quiet spaces where they could take Gabriel if he felt overwhelmed. Sometimes they would take two vehicles in case she or her husband needed to leave early with him.
The festival “takes the guesswork out of it for families,” Najjar said. “We don’t have to make a plan.”
The first year of the festival — three years ago — Najjar didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t know what her toddler son would think of the event, even though it was geared toward someone who faced some of his sensory challenges.
“At one point, he was a little overwhelmed,” she said. “And before I could think about it, before I could do anything about it, there were support staff offering him a fidget and a way for him to calm down. They were offering us assistance before I could even think about what to do. For a mom, that was so helpful and comforting. They saw him being overwhelmed and were there to help.”
Shortly after Gabriel was diagnosed with autism, Najjar became involved with the Fraser nonprofit in the summer of 2021. When Gabriel began receiving services from the organization and attended its pre-kindergarten program, Najjar began volunteering. Earlier this year, she began to work for Fraser.
Gabriel, 5, and his older siblings, who are 8 and 10, all look forward to the festival every year, she said.
“He is a kiddo that really loves to move his body, so he enjoys a lot of the sensory output with his hands, such as the therapy animals,” Najjar said. This year, the festival will have Tiptoe the seeing-eye donkey. In the past, it has had dogs, llamas, cats and rabbits, she said.
In addition to the therapy donkey petting station, the festival will also include two sensory musical performances and zones for coloring, yoga, making friendship bracelets, face painting, spin-art machines, a silent disco (headphones with sound optional), cookie decorating, and an obstacle course and rock-climbing wall.
“The community event welcomes people of all ages, abilities, neurodiversities, cultures and backgrounds,” according to a news release. “The festival is an inclusive, sensory-friendly event, offering accommodations for those with sensory processing differences. Sensory differences are common for individuals with autism and disabilities. The event’s accommodations provide support to individuals who experience discomfort from sensory stimulation like loud noises, bright lights, strong smells or crowds to ensure everyone in the community can enjoy the festivities.”
This is the third year of the festival, which was previously a walk called the Fraser Walk for Autism. The Fraser organization stemmed from the Fraser School.
In 1920, Louise Whitbeck Fraser had a daughter who lost her hearing after contracting spinal meningitis as an infant. At the time, people with disabilities were often institutionalized. With her daughter on a waiting list to attend a school for the deaf, Fraser began teaching her daughter at home. Soon other parents asked Fraser to teach their children. As a result, Fraser opened her own school in 1935. Now, the Fraser School is located in Richfield.
The nonprofit serves individuals with a variety of development needs, Najjar said. The organization provides a variety of services and care throughout a person’s life, including its education programs, occupational or speech therapy, case management, and community living homes.
Last year, more than 1,000 people attended the festival. Even though it is free, it is also a fundraiser for the organization. Opportunities to donate can be found online or at the event, she said.
“It’s a great way for families who are kind of new to planning for these types of public outings to get an idea of how that works for their families in a safe, inclusive place with support,” Najjar said.
If you go
What: Fraser Festival
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6
Where: St. Paul RiverCentre, 175 Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul
More information: fraser.org/events/fraser-festival