Cities throughout San Luis Obispo County will participating the Special Olympics World Games Host Town program from July 21 – 24. Before the Special Olympics World Games begin on July 25, 2015, more than 7,000 athletes from 177 countries will be welcomed to Southern California through the Host Town program. One hundred communities from San Luis Obispo County to San Diego will have the honor of being selected as an official Host Town.
Area cities participating in the event include Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Pismo Beach.
The festivities begin at 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. at the Rotary bandstand Heritage Square Park, 205 Nelson St., Arroyo Grande. The City of Arroyo Grande and the Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach Chamber of Commerce will host 100 athletes and their trainers for a picnic lunch at Heritage Square Park in the village. The event is free to attend.
Later that evening, the City of Pismo Beach and Grover Beach are joining forces to host more than 80 members from the United Arab Emirates Special Olympics Team on the evening of Wednesday, July 22, for a celebratory dinner and beach party for the athletes and their trainers.
“The City of Pismo Beach is honored to be chosen as one of the host towns for the Special Olympics World Games 2015,”says Gordon Jackson, newly appointed Executive Director of Pismo Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau. “We are looking forward to welcoming the United Arab Emirates Special Olympics Team and extending our Central Coast hospitality to them.”
Donated by Bruce Van Vort of Fin’s Seafood Restaurant & Bar in Grover Beach, dinner will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pismo State Beach Golf Course. United Arab Emirates Special Olympics Team athletes and their trainers will enjoy sumptuous 100 percent halal dishes, inspired dignitary speeches, and festive music.
After the dinner, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., the public is invited to join everyone seaside to for a Classic California beach party. Four bonfires will light up the night and decadent halal ingredients to create s’mores will be provided for all attendees.
Other San Luis Obispo County communities participating in the Special Olympics World Games Host Town program from July 21 – 24, 2015 include Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
With 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing 177 countries, along with 30,000 volunteers and an anticipated 500,000 spectators, the 2015 Special Olympics World Games – being staged in Los Angeles July 25 – August 2 – will be the largest sports and humanitarian event anywhere in the world in 2015, and the single biggest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games. The 2015 Special Olympics World Games, with the unparalleled spirit, enthusiasm, teamwork, joy and displays of courage and skill that are hallmarks of all Special Olympics events, will feature 25 Olympic-style sports in venues throughout the Los Angeles region. The Opening Ceremony, to be held July 25, 2015 in the historic Los Angeles Memorial.