The Emporia Community walked, ran, rode, rucked and threw some discs Saturday all in honor of the service provided to the country by service members past and present as part of the 18th annual Freedom Fest.
Right around 300 participants turned out to the Emporia All Veterans Memorial to take part in a range of activities including a 16 mile and 40-mile bike ride, 5 and 10K walk and run, disc golf and much more. Lead organizer and Army National Guard Sgt. Major Steve Harmon says it was great to see such a turnout for the event after the format had to be altered somewhat due to COVID-19 last year.
Of the nearly 300 participants who turned out for the day’s activities, several were from outside of Lyon County and even the state of Kansas according to Harmon. This was very welcomed news to Emporia Main Street Events Coordinator Jessica Buccholz.
In addition to the numerous participants and volunteers on hand, Freedom Fest also had a myriad of sponsors for all of the activities including Gravel City Adventure and Supply who sponsored a special gravel bike ride. Aaron Apel of Gravel City says Freedom Fest is one of the cornerstone events that make Emporia such a unique place to live.
A new addition to this year’s activities was the Murph Challenge, an annual charitable endurance test named after United States Navy Lt. Michael Murphy who lost his life during Operation Red Wings in 2005. Sponsoring the challenge was Vigilance Martial Arts represented by owner and veteran Ray Baquero.
Baquero says he is pleased to be a part of Freedom Fest this year as it is something he has wanted to get involved with for some time.
Across the street from the All Veterans Memorial Dynamic Discs was hosting the annual Freedom Fest Open Disc Golf Tournament which was completely full according to tournament organizer Jackie Morris. Morris says Dynamic Discs is always ready to support the Emporia community and area veterans especially considering many of the products and staff at Dynamic Discs have deep ties to the military.
Additional activities included WWII re-enactments, a climbing wall and an opportunity for residents to get inside an Abrams Tank courtesy of the National Guard.
All proceeds from Saturday’s activities will go to support scholarships benefiting veteran families as well as the All Veterans Memorial.
Freedom Fest is just a piece of All Veterans Tribute activities that will be taking place over the course of the next week. The annual Veterans Round Table discussion featuring keynote speaker Tom Cushing will take place Monday at 7:30 pm inside the Emporia State University Memorial Union’s Preston Family Room.
The annual Veterans Day Parade will take place on Commercial Street between 4th and 12th Ave at 9:30 am followed by the annual Memorial Service at the Veterans Memorial at 11 am.
For a full list of veterans tribute activities go online to visitemporia.com/event/all-veterans-tribute-2021.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE NewsÂ
