CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Installation leaders invited Japanese families to join a festival here that celebrated children and featured games, rides, an obstacle course, live performances, refreshments and more.
Camp Zama’s Child and Youth Services and the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation co-hosted the “Kodomo No Matsuri,” or Children’s Festival, April 12 on Yano Field here in celebration of the Month of the Military Child.
Invited to join the event were families from the cities of Zama and Sagamihara, within which Camp Zama resides, as well as from nearby Yokohama. Japanese guests have been invited to other events on the installation in the past, such as the “Haunted Hangar” and “Trunk-or-Treat” Halloween celebrations in October.
Haru Inomata, 8, said she enjoyed herself at the festival. Among her favorite activities were a basketball free-throw game and a large inflatable slide rode down again and again.
“My sister and I had so much fun today,” Haru said. “We want to come back again!”
Asiel Morales, a senior at Zama Middle High School, volunteered at the event as a member of the Keystone Club. He saw “a lot of smiles” on the faces of the children as they ran around the field enjoying themselves.
“This event is a great way to show our appreciation … for the contributions of military children,” Morales said.
Col. Marcus Hunter, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, echoed the sentiment, saying the festival and other events held during the Month of the Military Child “celebrate the achievements of military children and … honor their sacrifices in our community.”
During his opening remarks, Hunter praised the military children who volunteered for the event and demonstrated their talents in various live performances.
“This festival is a great example of the values of unity and partnership [that we live by],” he said.
The following week on April 19, Child and Youth Services hosted their “Egg-Stravaganza” Easter event on Sagamihara Family Housing Area as part of ongoing celebrations throughout the Month of the Military Child. Children up to age 12 were divided into four groups and got to hunt for eggs in a large grass field.
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