Special Olympics Athletes Visit Zoo, Attend Party

Photos courtesy of the Living Desert

By City News Service

Special Olympics athletes and coaches from Portugal and Bahrain will visit The Living Desert and attend a dinner and dance Thursday, during a second day of community events in the Coachella Valley before the 2015 Special Olympics World Games start Saturday in Los Angeles.

The 94 athletes, their coaches and numerous relatives arrived Tuesday and Wednesday in Palm Springs, which has been designated an official host city for the event. The teams are staying at the Hilton Palm Springs Hotel.

On Thursday morning, the contingent will head to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, where the teams received a tram tour, feed giraffes, participate in other animal encounters, then have lunch.

They will be the guests of honor at a Host Town Soiree, billed as a vintage Palm Springs community dinner and dance. The 5 p.m. event, sponsored by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, will be held at the Indian Canyons Golf Resort and is open to the public.

Tickets to the soiree are $25 per person, with proceeds going to support the Special Olympics World Games.

The teams are scheduled to leave for Los Angeles on Friday.