A variety of free events and activities aimed at raising the profile of inclusion in the Macleay was seen and enjoyed at this year's Big Day Out event.
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The Big Day Out was held at Riverside Park today (December 2) to celebrate the International Day of People with Disability.
Aisha Spokes, Community Projects Officer at Kempsey Shire Council and member of the Macleay Disability Inclusion Group, said the Big Day Out is an important event in the community.
"It's not just about getting everyone of all abilities and ages together, it's also about people connecting with the huge range of services that are around the Macleay to support people," she said.
"Sometimes it's really hard to find out about these systems, so it's great for everyone to come down and see what is available to them."
Despite the rainy conditions in the morning, people from all ages had a great time in the laser tag arena, jumping castles, petting zoo and at the silent disco.
There was also food, drink vendors, music and a live interactive reptile show.
Ms Spokes said the goal was to have a line-up of fun activities to suit people of all ages and abilities.
"It can be challenging for people with disability to come to any old event because it might not be catered for them," she said. "When people think of disabilities, they just think wheelchairs but it's more than that.
"There's so many invisible disabilities; there's deafness, blindness, autism and intellectual disabilities, and we have lot of that in our community.
"This event is really important as it's all about inclusion, and we want to make sure that we continue to cater to all different sorts of disabilities in the community."
Macleay Disability Inclusion Group chairperson Lisa Reed said she is "very passionate" about the Big Day Out and what it brings to the community.
"Kempsey is awesome at showing inclusion in the community and this event shows us how much they support us, which is wonderful," she said.
"It's imperative that the community has accessible places for people with disability and that we include them in everything we do because they are capable if we make those allowances for them."
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