CHARLOTTE — Under bright spring sunshine, the sounds of rock and pop music soared into the air March 21 as people gathered on the grounds of Charlotte Catholic High School to support special needs students.
It was the first Inclusion Rocks Music Festival – six hours of music, games, fun and fellowship put together by the Inclusion Rocks Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Charlotte area Catholic schools.
Inclusion Rocks was founded by Charlotte residents Stephen and Jessica Dey to help schools implement inclusion programs. The foundation provides resources for special needs students and helps support educators and administrators who work with these students. The Deys’ daughter Avery is a student in the Options program at Charlotte Catholic.
Options is one of several programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities offered in diocesan Catholic schools.
This was the first time the nonprofit has held a music festival with multiple performers. In previous years, organizers hosted fundraising concerts at Charlotte area venues.
“I came up with the idea of doing a day-long festival partly because I can’t stay up past 10 p.m. anymore,” Stephen Dey said with a laugh. “Also, we wanted to offer a longer, family-friendly event that celebrates these kids and enables families to have fun together.”
Ticket and T-shirt sales supported the organization’s fundraising efforts. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents or caregivers were admitted free, especially because a fun day out is often a rare opportunity for them, Stephen Dey said.
Funds will go toward two of the foundation’s major goals: purchasing a van to transport students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to job interviews, internships and other community activities, and to help fund grants for teachers and administrators to learn more ways to better assist students.
“This is also a way to focus on the importance of inclusion in our schools,” Stephen Dey said. “There are many people who might not be aware of things like the Options program, and growing awareness of these students and programs is so important. These kids just want to be included and they want to belong. These programs are game changers.”
The Deys, who belong to St. Matthew Parish, said enrollment in the Options program has helped their daughter learn life and social skills and enabled her to make friends and participate in a wide range of activities. Inclusion in schools also has a benefit for students in regular education programs, he said.
“The other students gain a stronger sense of compassion and empathy by going to school alongside students in inclusive programs,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
Performers at the festival included Dead Man’s Banjo, Retro Flex, Blonde Ambition, Blue Monday and Kevin Russell and the Midnight Vinyl. Several of the acts included CCHS alumni.
The festival included a variety of family-friendly games, as well as food trucks serving up pizza, crab cakes, fried chicken, Mexican food and ice cream. A variety of booths offered information about programs for special needs students as well as Charlotte-area businesses and organizations.
Many of the bands performed well-known songs by country, rock and pop artists from the 1970s ‘80s and ‘90s that made it easy for attendees to sing and dance along. The set lists included popular tunes by everyone from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Johnny Cash to Flock of Seagulls, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Loverboy, Fleetwood Mac and Prince.
Sandra Donahue attended alongside her son Ryan, 25, who sang along joyfully into a microphone he held in his hand while Blonde Ambition and other bands played.
“I saw this on Facebook and thought this would be a fun way for us to spend a day together,” she said. “He loves music and I thought it would be great to be out here at an event that raises money for inclusion in the schools.” She noted with a smile that when they’re at home, Ryan especially enjoys rocking along to tracks from one of her favorite bands, Green Day.
Kyle Sutherland and his wife Laurie Sutherland, members of St. Matthew Parish, listened to music and played a game of cornhole with son Parker, 12, a seventh-grader who is in the Options program at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School.
The Sutherlands moved Parker to Holy Trinity after he couldn’t find classes that served his needs in area public schools.
“Parker feels like a part of life at Holy Trinity – he loves it,” Kyle Sutherland said. “That’s why we’re here. We wouldn’t have been able to see Parker succeed the way he has without the Options program, and we want to do what we can to raise awareness of these programs and the work Inclusion Rocks in doing to support these students.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy C. Hull
