Diver with Cerebral Palsy will Take Part in the Great Florida Bug Hunt at BugFest
(PRWEB) July 22, 2018 -- A scuba diver with cerebral palsy will take part in the Great Florida Bug Hunt on July 25 as part of BugFest, the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea's annual lobster mini-season dive festival.
Diver Christina Ford will enter the ocean with Wilhelmina Stanton, a dive instructor with Diveheart, a non-profit that teaches people and veterans with disabilities how to scuba dive.
A Diveheart training advisor, Ford, 29, of West Palm Beach, will enter the water with Stanton from the beach between 12PM and 1PM on Wednesday, July 25 at the Datura Avenue Beach Portal (next to the Windjammer Resort and Beach Club, 4244 El Mar Drive, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea).
"This is the first time a diver with cerebral palsy has ever taken part in hunting spiny lobster during BugFest," said Steve d'Oliveira, the Town's public information officer and BugFest Dive Festival Coordinator. "Lobsters are not always easy to catch. Christina's dive is an amazing testament to how physical disabilities can be overcome with fortitude, courage and training."
Diveheart offers educational scuba diving programs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities. Over the years, Diveheart has learned that the weightlessness humans experience in the ocean provides a welcome environment for people who struggle on land.
"Underwater, we’re all equal," said Diveheart founder Jim Elliott.
Now in its seventh year, BugFest-By-The-Sea is the Town's annual lobster mini-season dive festival (July 24-29). There are several events during the week, including the Great Florida Bug Hunt, a lobster chef competition and a free concert on July 28 that benefits Diveheart.
This is the second year the Town has sponsored a concert to support Diveheart. The first, which was held in 2017, helped the organization raise $25,000.
Sponsored by Reef Safe sun care products, BugFest is giving away $20,000 in cash, dive gear, dive trips and other prizes for the biggest lobsters bagged during the two-day mini-season. The dive festival is called BugFest because Florida divers refer to lobsters as "bugs."
To ease diving pressure in the Florida Keys, the Florida Fish and Wildlife allows divers outside Monroe County to catch up to 12 bugs per day instead of six during mini-season.
"I hope Christina catches her limit," d'Oliveira said. "Even if she doesn't, we hope her dive will serve as an inspiration for others with disabilities to challenge themselves."
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida's Beach Diving Capital, is a small seaside community of 6,000 people just north of Fort Lauderdale.
For more info about BugFest, go to http://www.bugfestbythesea.com.
To arrange press coverage of Christina's mini-season dive, call the Town at 954-640-4209.
Steve d'Oliveira, Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Fla., http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/, +1 954-640-4209, [email protected]
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