Special Day for Special People brought participants from more than 20 senior centers and local schools across the West Georgia-East Alabama region to Rocky Point Park on West Point Lake. The annual gathering gives seniors and children with learning disabilities a day of music, lunch, boat rides and wildlife encounters.
This year’s event took place Oct. 1 and was hosted by the West Point Project Management Office, according to LaGrange Daily News. Registration opened at 9 a.m., with the program starting at 9:30, the outlet reported in earlier coverage. DJ Paul Story played music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
From a Small Picnic to a Regional Tradition
The event traces its roots back to 1977, when organizers described it as starting out as just a small picnic, according to a report from DVIDS. By 2022, the 43rd annual gathering drew more than 500 people to Rocky Point. Attendance then reportedly doubled by 2024, when the 45th annual event was described as hosting more than 1,400 participants, though accounts of that year's exact turnout vary across sources.
Boat Rides, Lunch and a Floating Classroom
Lunch and time on the water were among the day’s main activities. LaGrange Daily News reported that a Publix crew served hot dogs, hamburgers and baked beans, while participants boarded Riverkeeper’s floating classroom and four smaller pontoon boats from the Rocky Point boat ramp’s floating dock. The boats traveled on the lake before returning to the dock.
Access at Rocky Point Park
The Corps Lakes Gateway says Rocky Point Park’s public fishing piers provide access for persons with disabilities. That listing concerns the fishing piers; it does not describe accessibility for the event’s floating dock or boat rides.
A Skink Named J.J. and a Sassy Macaw
Wild Animal Safari, the Pine Mountain drive-through zoo, brought a red frontal macaw originally from Bolivia, which drew laughs by announcing “Shut up!” The exhibit also featured a blue-tongued skink from New Guinea named J.J., a fully grown specimen close to a foot long, and a 14-year-old ball python carried among the crowd by handler Jordan. Ostrich, turtle and rhea eggs were displayed alongside antlers from an elk, a fallow deer and an axis deer, species native to Texas and the Southwest.
Children rode the Party Plus Express miniature train as the afternoon wound down, and participants boarded buses to go home at the end of the program. The event’s combination of music, animals, food and lake activities has continued across its annual gatherings; past years have also featured bouncy castles, hayrides and a DJ stage.
