Sesame Street visits Travis

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Carranza
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Approximately 1,600 Golden Bears and their cubs watched Sesame Street's Elmo and friends perform Wednesday and Thursday at the Travis Air Force Base Fitness Center.

"This really brightened my child's day," said Jeff Cornett, 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "She loves Elmo, so this turned out to be a pleasant surprise."

According to the USO's website, the Sesame Street USO Experience for Military Families was created in 2008 to help service members and their families ‪deal with the unique challenges they face, such as deployments, homecomings and frequent relocations.
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"The goal was to allow Travis' youth and deployed families to experience the excitement of Sesame Street while cheering up any child that may be sad because they miss their parent due to deployment or because they have recently moved to a new base," said Kymberley Wayne, 60th Force Support Squadron marketing director. "With an attendance of roughly 1,600 amazing family members in two days and seeing so many smiling faces, I think we surpassed our goals."

The event showcased several Sesame Street characters, highlighting Katie, a military child who was created exclusively for this tour. Katie was first introduced to military families in April 2011 by first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden at a Joining Forces rally in Columbus, Ohio.

Cornett's daughter said she enjoyed the event because she loved to dance and jump around with the other children who attended.

"It was fun," she said. "I love Elmo because he is red and beautiful. I can't wait to come back again."

Since its debut six years ago, the tour has delivered special family moments to more than 412,000 military children and their parents through approximately 735 shows at 144 military bases in 33 states and 11 countries.

"Because the tour limits its selection of bases to visit, it's always a privilege when the USO chooses our base to participate in an event," Wayne said. "I am proud that Travis was selected in 2012 and this year's tour. From the marketing perspective, our overall intent is to show every visitor or sponsor that Travis is the best and has the most wonderful children and families."

For Golden Bears and cubs like Cornett the gratitude and appreciation was expressed.

"It was really great for them to host this event," Cornett said. "We really appreciate the support."