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Fallfest Success

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sergio A. Gamboa
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Tyndall's 325th Force Support Squadron Youth Center hosted its annual Fallfest event Oct. 30 outside the Youth Center to boost Airmen and family morale and bring the base community closer.

An estimated 1,300 attendees, dressed from scary zombies to princesses, came to join the festivities that included food booths, carnival games, face-painting, a fire pit for making s'mores and a spooky haunted trail.

"The vast majority of the base community embraced it," said Matt Kuhl, 325th FSS Youth Center director. "The families had a fun and entertaining event that allowed for participation of all ages including the parents. Our community organizations that participated in making the event more fun made some meaningful connections with the families."

One of the highlights of the event was the costume contests. Children displayed their costumes to a large audience and had the chance to show off their creative poses while they "walked the runway," Kuhl said.

"The costume contests during the event were hands down my favorite part," Kuhl said. "The kids were so proud to show off their costumes.  If you missed it, then you missed some of the best moments of the night with these hilarious and creative kids showing off their personalities and style.  It was by far the most entertaining event of the night."

With a line of a few hundred feet, the most popular event was the haunted trail that Tech. Sgt. Garry Lewis, 101st Air and Space Operations Group, helped organize.

"This facet of our event would not exist without the extreme time commitment and dedication from Lewis, his wife and two daughters," Kuhl said. "He puts on this annual haunted trail which has become a fan-favorite and an exceptional partnership with the center."

People said they were glad they came out to take part in the event, and also glad to see an organization provide a great event like this to the community, Kuhl said.

"The even had a great turnout and it was very fun," said Andrea Wistrcill, a military spouse.
"It is a great way for families to enjoy time together and get to know and meet new people."