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Veterans Festival In Forest Park will be held Sept. 3-5
Labor Day Weekend Event Benefits Veterans
Sporting competitions, amusement rides, game booths, musical concerts and arts and crafts are all part of the Veterans Festival in Forest Park to be held Sept. 3-5, 2011 to benefit Missouri veterans. Concurrently, special events will be held at the Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Science Center and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The festival, which will be free, will be presented by the Missouri Veterans Foundation.
The Veterans Festival in Forest Park will incorporate a wide range of sports, arts, games and family-oriented events in honor of the men and women who have nobly and selflessly served our nation overseas. The grand-scale event will spotlight numerous activities throughout the 1,293-acre jewel of the St. Louis metropolitan area.
“The goal of this Veterans Festival in Forest Park is to bring our community together in honor of all Missouri veterans who have served their country so courageously in numerous wars and conflicts,” said Bob Hermann, who founded the VP Fair and is now the founder of the Veterans Festival and a Navy veteran of World War II.
It’s expected that more than one million celebrants who visit the festival during the three days of celebration will enjoy an exhilarating array of games, booths, arts and crafts, a smorgasbord of ethnic and popular foods and a variety of spectacles. Throughout Forest Park, from the St. Louis Zoo to the renowned St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Science Center and the nearby,Missouri Botanical Garden, Forest Park will be
brimming with exhibits, events and festival
fare guaranteed to enthrall festival visitors.
A parade will welcome festival-goers to the inaugural event as it winds through Forest Park. Hundreds of vintage automobiles will be displayed in a special viewing area. A golf tournament will be hosted on the renovated Forest Park golf course and a tennis tournament will be highlighted at the Dwight Davis tennis courts.
Amusement rides will thrill the children, while dozens of local and regional artists will display their creations. A special “Veterans Village” will offer displays of equipment dating back more than 100 years. A number of local bands will be on site, entertaining audiences with rock, country, bluegrass, jazz and other popular musical styles. A softball tournament will feature dozens of local teams at the park softball diamonds, while the walking trails in the park will host the first Forest Park Veterans Festival 5k run.
Transportation will be provided within park boundaries for a nominal fee. Various festival events and fare will be offered at family-friendly prices.
With a stated objective of “Building a Tomorrow of Community Service Today,” the Missouri Veterans Foundation seeks to provide unique and urgently needed services that improve the lives of veterans, military personnel and their families.
MVF programs include financial grants for military families in need to help pay for rent, mortgage, utilities, medical treatment and food; assistance for veterans in filing of claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and patriotic student essay contests that award scholarships for college to America’s youth.
