Eagles Autism Foundation event in Lansdale powers through weekend storms

A weekend nor’easter wasn’t enough to stop two moms from having their highly anticipated fundraising event Saturday in Lansdale.

The Eagles Autism Foundation event, slated to take place outside Panico’s Neighborhood Grill & Sports Tavern, was at risk of being cancelled because of extreme rain and wind — until organizers Lauren Fisher and Meghan Eveland came up with a plan the day before. They brought some vendors inside the tavern, and owner Rob Panico utilized the space next door for tattoos, piercings, and tie-dye.

They couldn’t let an event that took four months of planning get scrapped at the last minute, they said. And it turned out to be a risk worth taking, with the rain stopping at just the perfect time.

“The fact that the rain held out was definitely the highlight of the day,” said Fisher, who manages the grill and sports tavern.

Guests, who packed the space from 1 to 5 p.m., were in close proximity to one another, but the pivot resulted in more conversations and new friendships, Eveland said.

“It came together in a way that made everybody be able to be closer together,” Eveland said, adding, “I saw complete strangers who didn’t know each other and started a conversation and ended up talking for a long time.”

Nearly 100 people attended the event throughout the day, the organizers estimated. Inside, adults sat around the bar catching up with friends and grabbing a drink, kids ran around playing with balloons, and other guests lined up at tables to get their face painted or make a custom bracelet.

In the corner of the tavern, a vendor with candles that smelled of lavender and eucalyptus brought a comfortable feeling to the space. Jennifer Perez-Sanchez, who owns Philadelphia-based Li’Vere Candles & Co., was selling wax melt jars containing mini rainbow-colored puzzle pieces, a symbol for autism.

The name of her business is a combination of her children’s names, Liana and Severe. Liana, who has autism, inspired Perez-Sanchez to create candles with “warm” and “smooth” scents that didn’t overstimulate her daughter and others who may be sensitive to certain smells. She said she has more than 100 scents for her candles, room and linen sprays, and odor eliminators.

Perez-Sanchez, who recently celebrated the business’s first anniversary in August, said organizers found her at another event and asked her to participate.

“There’s nothing more heartwarming than knowing that you can be involved in something so special,” Perez-Sanchez said about Saturday’s event, adding, “The fact that you can be surrounded by parents that have kids on the same level as my child, it makes you feel like you’re not alone.”

In the building next door, tattoo artists gave both real and fake tattoos to guests. Stephen Ross, who runs Needles Art Studio in Doylestown, was tattooing a design on a woman’s arm of a child with headphones on and wearing a sweater with an autism puzzle symbol.

“Some things are better when you stumble upon them in real life,” Ross said while working on the design at the event. “It keeps it more sacred that way.”

(Hannah Nguyen/Fideri News Network)

Outside, Dave Rohall, a Souderton resident who used to work at Panico’s, was getting his mohawk cleaned up by Correy Perry, a barber at Abalon Hair Studios at the Montgomery Mall.

“I feel great doing something for the community,” Perry said about participating in the fundraising event, adding that cutting hair at an event like Saturday’s was a new experience.

Special guests also appeared throughout the day, including Eagles cheerleaders, Eagles mascot Swoop, unicorns, a T-rex, and the Lorax.

Courtesy of Lauren Fisher

The Eagles Autism nonprofit raises funds for innovative autism research and care programs and hosts one large annual event at the Lincoln Financial Field. It’s where Fisher first got involved with the program three years ago.

She and her son Raymond met Eveland and her daughter Lexi last year, and the two moms created a team of 20 people. Next weekend, the team representing “Team One Mission, Many Wings,” will host another fundraiser event at Poppy’s Tavern in Hatfield on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

At 4 p.m., an hour before the event closed, guests waited to hear the raffle results. Grasping tickets tightly in their hands, they listened to find out whether they won a $100 gift card to Spatola’s or a signed football from the 52 raffle baskets — many of which were donated that morning by local business owners and residents.

The fundraiser raised more than $6,000, but organizers said Saturday did more than just raise money: it brought the community together to celebrate the kids.

“We want people to see that these kids are no different than anybody else,” Eveland said.

To donate to the team, visit https://fundraisers.eaglesautismfoundation.org/teams/one-mission-many-wings

Eagles Autism Foundation event in Lansdale powers through weekend storms

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