Free festival to offer free eye exams and glasses to children 4 to 12 who qualify, plus free vision screenings, educational activities, entertainment, karaoke, comedy acts, games, giveaways and more

In an effort to eliminate poor vision and its lifelong consequences, Essilor Vision Foundation and the Kids Vision for Life Coalition will host KidsVisionFest from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, located at 2215 Ross Ave. in the Dallas Arts District. Free and open to the public, the event will offer free eye exams and glasses to qualifying children, ages 4 – 12, plus free vision screenings to all children. Note: March 15 falls during Spring Break for local school districts.

Kids will have the opportunity to participate in educational vision-related activities, karaoke and games, while enjoying entertainment, comedy acts, giveaways and more.

Vision services (including eye exams and glasses) will be provided to children on a first-come, first-served basis. Organizations bringing groups of children are strongly encouraged to PRE-REGISTER.

Parking available in nearby lots, or ride DART. For more information, go to essilorvision.org.

The Kids Vision for Life Coalition partners include American Foundation for the Blind; Boys & Girls Clubs; Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc.; The Catholic Foundation; ChildCareGroup; Circle of Support; City Square; Communities in Schools Dallas Region; Dallas County Juvenile Department; Dallas ISD; Dallas Public Library; Dallas Regional Chamber; DFW AHEC; Earning by Learning; Education is Freedom; Ferguson Road Initiative; H.I.S. BridgeBuilders; Happy Hill Farm; Head Start of Greater Dallas; Lions Sight and Tissue Foundation; Low Vision Clinic; Northern Dallas Shared Ministries; North Texas Food Bank; Northern Texas PGA; OneSight; Parkland Health and Hospital System; Prevent Blindness; Salesmanship Club; The Center for Community Health at UNT Health Science Center; The Foundation for Community Empowerment; The Legacy Center for Public Policy; United Way; Vision Regeneration; Volunteer Center of North Texas; and YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas.