Lowellville's Mt. Carmel Festival is underway for its second day.

The festival opens to the general public at 6 p.m. but an event Thursday morning gave people with special needs time to join in on the fun.

The Ladies Mt. Carmel Society hosted the event featuring rides, clowns, games and delicious food for more than 150 people with special needs.

The organizer said she's held the event close to her heart for decades.

"In 1970, my brother was born with a hearing deficit and after that, my father started this day in 1974 to have visitors from different schools with different needs," Barb Donatelli Jamis said.

The festival opens Thursday at 6 p.m. and the iconic Baby Doll Dance is scheduled for 10 p.m.