PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) – Students at Escambia Westgate School celebrated Mardi Gras with their own parade designed specifically for children with disabilities who cannot attend traditional downtown festivities.
The special center school, which serves students ages 3-22 with disabilities, hosted its 33rd annual Mardi Gras parade with accommodations tailored to each student’s needs.
“A lot of our students do have sensory overload so they are unable to go to the parades downtown like the majority of us are able to so for them to be able to participate and get to be part of it just like the rest of the community, the community gets to come to them,” said Sabrina Brown, teacher and Mardi Gras coordinator.
The parade started with just a wagon in the hallway and has grown into a full parade with around 30 entries this year. Participants included first responders, UWF cheerleaders, the Blue Wahoos and several Mardi Gras krewes who brought their floats for the event…