{"id":28158,"date":"2023-09-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=28158"},"modified":"2023-09-21T06:42:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T06:42:23","slug":"cab-fest-2023-a-celebration-of-american-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=28158","title":{"rendered":"CAB Fest 2023: A Celebration of American Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Members of the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux community enjoy cotton candy during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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CHIEVRES AIR BASE, Belgium \u2013 The normally calm and quiet airfield here was transformed into the American Wild West for two days during Chi\u00e8vres\u00a0Air Base (CAB) Fest 2023.<\/p>\n

Filled with the sights and sounds of the American frontier, thousands of U.S. and NATO military members, Department of Defense civilians and local Belgians visited the base on Sept. 15 and 16 to celebrate American culture, cuisine and international friendship.<\/p>\n

From country music bands, classic cars and Texas barbecue to rodeo performances, cowboy hats and carnival rides, the CAB Fest offered something fun for children and adults alike.<\/p>\n

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\n Zac Taylor, a member of U.S. rock band American Authors, meets a bald eagle during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. Army photo by Libby Weiler, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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This year\u2019s CAB Fest was a unique first in that it did not focus on aircraft. Instead of a traditional air festival, the fest was based on \u201cAmericana\u201d culture with the theme of \u201cRoute 56\u201d, which highlights the air base\u2019s location near Belgium\u2019s N56 roadway and pays homage to the famous \u201cRoute 66\u201d in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur heartfelt thanks go to everyone who has helped make this an amazing event,\u201d said Col. Lindsay R. \u00a0Matthews, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Benelux. \u00a0\u201cOur teams have worked really hard to deliver a fun and safe event.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strong, enduring partnership between the garrison and local community was also a theme of this year\u2019s CAB Fest.<\/p>\n

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\n Members of the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux community learn to line dance during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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\u201cThank you to Col. Matthews and her staff for welcoming us to the base and for organizing this event for the community,\u201d said Olivier Hartiel, mayor of the town of Chi\u00e8vres \u201cSometimes the local population doesn’t always understand what Chi\u00e8vres Air Base is all about, so I appreciate the opportunity for our citizens to come see what you offer and what you do for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartiel also talked about the high level of mutual respect between the garrison and local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key words is respect.,\u201d he said. \u201cRespect for the environment, respect for the base, respect for the relationship that has been developed between the air base and the people of Chi\u00e8vres. I firmly believe that events like this reinforce the social aspect of the relationship and strengthen our friendship.”<\/p>\n

Although the theme of the fest was the American West, there was also a strong international feel to the event because of the multinational NATO community nearby at SHAPE. Military members and Families from a myriad of Allied nations attended to experience American culture in a different and more interactive way than what they see on television and in movies.<\/p>\n

One of the SHAPE visitors was Col. Jindrich Polek, from Czechia (sometimes referred to in English as the Czech Republic).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really liked the fest,\u201d said Polek. It was an opportunity to enjoy the afternoon in an international environment where there was a wide range of entertainment not only for adults, but also for children. I liked the country music production on the main stage and the souvenir shops were interesting with t-shirts, cowboy hats, belt buckles and models of American cars. The horses and horse-riding shows, together with the merry-go-rounds, were the biggest attraction for the children. This event brought a piece of America to us to enjoy for an afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

For 1st Sgt. Gorka Aparicio Sanchez, another NATO community member from Spain, CAB Fest offered his family new insight into American culture.<\/p>\n

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\n Members of the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux community learn to line dance during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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\u201cWe have never seen a rodeo style horse-riding show before and we think it\u2019s an authentic representation of the American spirit, said Sanchez. \u201cOur children also liked the horse and the birds of prey, which were really interesting for them to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Americans stationed at the air base, the CAB Fest was a refreshing taste of home.<\/p>\n

Some, like Air Force Senior Airman Timon Richardson, a Security Forces member from the 424th Air Base Squadron, visited with his wife and children for both days of the fest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really nice, it\u2019s something for people to get away and relax,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n

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\n Military Police from U.S. Army Garrison Benelux view classic cars on display during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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He said he was impressed by the variety of stunts performed at the horse-riding show and that his children enjoyed the car show with cars from different eras.<\/p>\n

In addition to the horse-riding skills and stunt show, CAB Fest also featured Wild West themed youth activities sponsored by USAG Benelux\u2019s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation.<\/p>\n

Other entertainment included a steady stream of rock and country music performances by the SHAPE International Band, U.S. band American Authors (courtesy of Armed Forces Entertainment), Garth Brooks and Bruce Springsteen tribute bands and several other local and regional music artists.<\/p>\n

USAG Benelux has already started planning for CAB Fest 2024, so the tradition of having an annual festival to celebrate the garrison\u2019s strong bonds with the local community continues in earnest for next year and beyond.<\/p>\n

View more photos on our Flickr page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux community enjoy cotton candy during CAB Fest 2023 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Belgium, Sept. 16, 2023. The two-day CAB Fest was held on Sept. 15 and 16, and featured a variety of activities and entertainment based on the American themes of \u201cRoute 66\u201d and the Wild West. (U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28160,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28158"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28166,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28158\/revisions\/28166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}