BUENA PARK—Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park will host a Deaf Awareness Day on Saturday, September 25. It will be sponsored by the Orange County Deaf Equal Access Foundation (OC DEAF).
The event is open to the public, but welcomes members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, along with advocates, families and friends accompanying them.
OC DEAF will be providing sign language interpreters throughout the park at selected shows and attractions.
Tickets will be offered at discounted rates, as long as they are purchased in advance. The discounted ticket rates will be as follows: ages three to 11 will be $35, ages 12 to 61 will be $40 and ages 62 and up will be $35.
VIP tickets will also be offered at a discounted rates of $43 for ages three to 11, $50.84 for ages 12 to 61, and $43 for ages 62 and up. The VIP ticket includes admission to Knott’s Berry Farm, access to a private venue (from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.), a meal service (90-minute all-you-can-eat buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) and visitation with the Peanuts characters.
OC DEAF was founded in 1979 in conjunction with the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc. (GLAD), which recently hosted a yard sale to benefit their Domestic Violence and Homeless program. Today the organization remains affiliated with GLAD, but is an independent nonprofit. OC DEAF’s mission statement, according to their website, is “to ensure equal access of the deaf and hard of hearing community to the same opportunities afforded their hearing counterparts.” The specific work that OC DEAF strives for is acting as a coordinating agency that addresses needs of deaf and hard of hearing people through direct service provision, advocacy, research and dissemination of information regarding deafness to parents, professionals and consumers.
To purchase tickets, visit www.knotts.com and enter the promo code “ocdeaf” at checkout, or contact any one of these organizations to purchase tickets in person: OC DEAF, GLAD, Bakersfield GLAD, Tri-County GLAD or Center on Deafness, Inland Empire (CODIE).
