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Pulaski Park was the place to be Saturday as large crowds of children, parents and pets attended the Month of the Military Child International Children’s Festival. Members of the garrison’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, 86th Force Support Squadron and NATO hosted the free event for more than 4,000 community members.
“I think it’s important to take time to host events like this to acknowledge what these kids represent for all of us,” said Gen. Frank Gorenc, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander. “It’s a children’s event, but for us of course they represent all of our dreams, all of our aspirations and all of our hope for the future. They’re all embodied right here in these little faces.”
Gorenc and Col. Bryan DeCoster, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz commander, welcomed attendees and provided remarks for this year’s opening ceremony.
“April has really been a busy month, and we look at it as a whole month of resiliency activities. All the activities we do in terms of trying to build resiliency in the community we do in an integrated fashion,” DeCoster said. “It’s a team approach from the garrison Rheinland-Pfalz with the 86th Airlift Wing and the 86th Force Support Squadron.”
This year, several members of the NATO command provided festival goers with a taste of international fun and flare. Turkey, France and other nations shared samples of their native food, games and dancing with attendees.
“We are here to be a part of the celebration today. This is the first time that we heard of Month of the (Military) Child, and we wanted to participate. It is a very great day,” said Nafi Sene from the French air force. “The children are our future, and we need to celebrate them and show them how much we love them.”
Military children of all ages enjoyed face painting, bubble blowing, arts and crafts, free food, games, train rides, bouncy castles and live entertainment. It was also a special day for parents.
“I was a military child, and I don’t remember having anything like this when I was growing up,” said Veronica Langford. Langford and her husband Anthony both serve in the U.S. Air Force. The couple brought their 2-year-old son Gabriel to the festival. “Our children go through a lot, and sometimes we don’t realize it ourselves. So it feels good to be able to do something like this for them. We’re happy to come out and participate.”
The USO provided free popcorn, hot dogs and other refreshments to guests, and Air Force and Army community organizations set up information tables and provided hands-on demonstrations for attendees.
The Month of the Military Child is an annual observance originally created by the Department of Defense in 1986. Community members can visit www.facebook.com/army.rp and www.flickr/photos/usag_kaiserslautern to see more photos and video from the International Children’s Festival.
