Westport's Mia Freitas Lights Up the Times Square Jumbotron

It went exactly the way Lyndsey Freitas hoped it would.

The Westport family drove down 95 South to New York City on Friday night and staked out a spot in Times Square by 7 a.m. Saturday. It was more than an hour before the National Down Syndrome Society presentation started, and Mia and her crew were ready. They sat in the red bleachers with the jumbotron screen directly in front of them. They passed the time chatting with strangers in the crowd as they waited for Mia's face to pop up on the screen.

"She had a huge smile on her face," Freitas said. "I don't think she was fully prepared for it. When she saw herself on the screen, she was smiling. She was jumping up and down. Everyone was cheering for her."

Those strangers were strangers no more. They were Mia Freitas fans. Many in the bleachers were there from other parts of the country to see kids they knew, some as far away as Texas. Mia clapped and cheered for other children's photos that came up on the screen before and after her own.

Who Made the Trip?

Mia went with her mother, her father Richie, her aunt Lacey and family friend Jamie. The night before the presentation, Mia got the chance to spend some time in Times Square and was able to meet Spider-Man and the Hulk.

The Reaction Back Home

"Everyone was reposting, sharing, calling, texting," Freitas said. Her Flurries Unified Athletics teammates in New Bedford were among the loudest. "The kids couldn't believe that she was up there."

How to Get Your Child on the Screendd Next Year

Freitas said about 300 photos made the Jumbotron, chosen from entries across 50 states and 16 countries. Submitting costs nothing. She expects NDSS to open entries in March or April for next September's Buddy Walk.