Play is now Adventures!

Adventures Expansion

ACCESS is growing! Due to increased interest and participation in our programs, we have decided to merge Play and Adventures into one expanded Adventures Program.

ACCESS of Wilmington’s Adventures includes an adapted sports program for all ages! Summer Events - Play Days at Miracle Field, Adaptive Cycling, Kayaking, Surf Camp, Basketball, and so much more, as well as holiday events!

Join us for accessible sports and special events year-round!

Program Director: Casie O’Rourke-Shepard

Text/Call 910.530.5883 or Email Casie@accessilm.org

For each event:

Some events will require registration/sign up, others will not.
We ask that family/guardians/caretakers remain present during all activities.
All participants and family/guardians/caretakers will need to sign a liability waiver to be present on the field which can be done using the link below.
Waivers only need to be signed once a year. Any participant that was enrolled in Fit or Miracle League during the spring 2026 season already has a waiver on file and does not need to complete this again.

Click Here to Sign the Waiver

Summer 2026

From May to mid August, ACCESS Adventures served 90 unique participants with 72.5 hours of free programming! Activities included a Cape Fear Ghost Crabs game, basketball, bowling, play & cycle days on the Miracle Field, water activities with Ocean Cure, visits from Paws4People, kickball, home run derbies, water activities on the Miracle Field and movie nights!

Stay tuned as we continue our movie nights at the Miracle Field into the fall as well as host our seasonal Fall Festival & Holiday Dance events!

Movie Nights at the Field

No sign up required. Bring your own chair and enjoy a movie on the Miracle Field. Additional family and friends are welcome to join! Everyone in attendance will need a liability waiver signed to come onto the field which can be done the night of.

Where: Miracle Field

When: Movies will start around sunset.

Movies:

June 26th - ET the Extra Terrestrial
July 17th - How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action)
July 24th - Freakier Friday
August 7th - Karate Kid Legends
August 21st - Zootopia 2
September 12th - Hook
October 10th - Hotel Transylvania

ACCESS is Eliminating Barriers to Adventure!

OUR ACCESS COMMUNITY ASKED FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET OUTSIDE, AND ACCESS OF WILMINGTON DELIVERS!

The benefits of hiking include: lower stress levels and blood pressure, reduced risk for heart disease, improved mood, and enhanced mental wellbeing. Much of the beauty of our coastal area difficult to access by those with impaired mobility. So, ACCESS of Wilmington brought (2) TerrainHoppers to our area to increase access to the outdoors for our ACCESS community, the broader Wilmington community and visitors to our beautiful coastal region.

WHAT IS THE TERRAINHOPPER?

The TerrainHopper is an electrically powered off-road mobility vehicle that can traverse through deep mud, soft beach sand, snow, rocks, steep hills, and many other obstacles. Check out how the TerrainHopper operates below!

2025 Summary:

Summer 2025:

From the end of May to mid August, ACCESS Play served 113 unique participants with 71 hours of free programming! Activities included kayaking, a petting zoo, basketball with the Wilmington Fire Department, play & cycle days on the Miracle Field, water activities with Ocean Cure, ice skating, a visit to Paws4People and Wilmington Shark events!

We can’t wait for next summer! Look for the summer 2026 calendars toward the end of the Spring season.

Fall Festival 2025:

Held in October, we had a blast celebrating the Fall season with pumpkin painting, trunk or treat and games on the Miracle Field!

A big thank you to Amber Dale’s Pumpkin Patch for donating the pumpkins and bringing a little piece of their pumpkin patch to the Miracle Field. We would also like to thank the New Hanover County Fire Department, GLOW Academy and New Hanover County Students for making our trunk or treat such a hit!

Holiday Dance 2025:

There was no shortage of holiday cheer at our dance party! A huge thank you to 828 Church for hosting us in their beautifully decorated winter wonderland and to DJ Sammy Figgs for keeping the dance floor alive. And a special shout out to the iconic trio, Homer, Santa, and Buddy the Elf, for making the night unforgettable!

It was the perfect way to end an amazing year of ACCESS programming. We can’t wait to see what 2026 brings!