Dining for Down Syndrome set Sept. 16 at Mariachi in Rehoboth

Mariachi Restaurant will be hosting the Dining for Down Syndrome event starting at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 14 Wilmington Ave. in Rehoboth Beach. The restaurant will donate 20 percent of the evening’s food sales to support the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Buddy Walk.

The restaurant will be decorated in blue and gold, and there will be party favors. “Yolanda [Pineda, owner] has been a strong supporter of the Boardwalk Buddy Walk since we began in 2006,” said organizer Sharonlee Diehl.

The Boardwalk Buddy Walk, which raises awareness for people with Down syndrome, will take place on the Boardwalk and Bandstand in Rehoboth Beach starting at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 11. For more information, email dennis@boardwalkbuddywalk.com.

In 2013, the Boardwalk Buddy Walk involved 1,650 participants, including 84 Down syndrome self-advocates, from states as far as Florida and Mississippi. “People with Down syndrome enrich the world,” says Diehl. “The awareness we create from this event is growing throughout the year.”

The net proceeds from the walk are used locally to promote organizations that provide educational, occupational, or social opportunities to people in Sussex County with Down syndrome or other cognitive disorders.