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As anticipated, rain drenched the Walk grounds the night before, leaving room for concern in the minds of the Orange County Walk Now for Autism Speaks participants who are not accustomed to rain on Walk day. But with a solid plan in place, the OC Walk Committee, lead by Walk Chair, Diane Vitto and Co-Walk Chair, Lauren Christ, made sure that not only will the walk continue as planned, but it will live up to its reputation as a pillar of hope for the families, friends, and communities affected by autism in Orange County.

The 8^th annual Orange County Walk Now for Autism Speaks took place on Saturday, November 12^th at Angel Stadium. The Walk featured one of the largest autism resource fair in Orange County and a crowd of over 7,000 passionate walkers. Musical performances from The Miracle Project, Seaside Audio, and AJ Rafael entertained participants, while DJ Ricardo made sure there wasn’t a shortage of beats to dance to. ABC 7’s very own Phillip Palmer was the day’s MC and Ella Duffner gave a heartfelt rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

This year’s route allowed participants to experience walking on the warning track of Angel Stadium as OC Walk Sponsors Service Champions, Mike Bilek Racing, 8^th Continent Soy Milk, Salamirad Morrow, Coffee Bean, Pepz Pizza, Honest Tea, Aramark, Angel Stadium, Marriott, Dave & Busters, Behavioral Health Works, ABC 7, Cox, AM 830 and Jack FM showed their support on the jumbotron. “The sight was breathtaking!” said a 2011 OC Walk Participant.

The OC Walk would like to thank all of its sponsors, resource fair vendors, and most of all, its participants for helping raise over $308,000! Congratulations for bringing us one step closer to finding causes, preventions, treatments and a cure for autism!

Join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AutismSpeaks.OC to keep up on all the Orange County activities!