Fort McCoy holds successful family-fun event with ‘Lil Firecracker Fest 2023;’ more than 300 attend

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Community members attend Lil Firecracker Fest 2023 on July 8, 2023, at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area at Fort McCoy, Wis. The event, open to the public, included food, games, bounce houses, a large water slide on the ski hill, a climbing wall, a visit by Brutus the MiniPig, a display with wild turtles with Endangered Species Biologist Jessup Weichelt, paintball target practice, a miniature horse, and more. more than 300 people attended. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

07.10.2023

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                         

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Fort McCoy held its 2023 Lil Firecracker Fest on July 8 at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area in the Pine View Recreation Area and more than 500 people attended during its four hours of operations.

The fest opened at 10 a.m., and right away there were nearly 50 people there ready to have fun, officials with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR) said. And as the event went on, more and more people arrived and departed as they partook in the many different things to do at the event.

The event included food, games, bounce houses, a large water slide on the ski hill, a climbing wall, a visit by Brutus the MiniPig, a display with wild turtles with Endangered Species Biologist Jessup Weichelt, paintball target practice, a miniature horse, and more.

DFMWR Business and Recreation Division Chief Karla M. Rynes said the event was very successful.

“The Outdoor Recreation team did a magnificent job putting the event together and executing the event,” Rynes said. “All of the guests who I spoke with said they were having a great time and that they loved that we put on this type of an event for the families.

“We had lots of people from the campground, the surrounding communities and even some past employees who worked at Pine View Campground eight to 10 years ago and remember working a similar event that we called Family Fun Days,” Rynes said.

DFMWR Recreational Specialist Alex Karis with Outdoor Recreation added, “It was great event with good teamwork. A lot more people came than we were anticipating but the staff did a good job to rally around each other and make it very successful. There were a lot of happy folks and we are definitely looking to expand upon it in the future.”

Weather during the event also was nearly ideal as was sunny and in the 80s.

“It worked out great,” Rynes said.

The event was not only open to the Fort McCoy community but to the general public as well.

Learn more about Fort McCoy DFMWR and Pine View Recreation Area by visiting https://mccoy.armymwr.com.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.

• Date Taken: 07.10.2023
• Date Posted: 07.10.2023 18:18
• Story ID: 448856
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US