Columbus AFB hosts Patriot Fest 2018

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Beaux Hebert
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The 14th Flying Training Wing hosted Thompson Square and Easton Corbin, two American Country music bands, for a live performance at Patriot Fest 2018 July 6 on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.

The event, which was only available to people with base access, started slow due to rain, but ended up having a great turn out with approximately 1,000 people enjoying the concert.

Before the show, both Thompson Square and Easton Corbin signed autographs and took photos with contest winners and volunteers.

“The military and their families do so much to serve our country and we just want to give back,” Corbin said. “To see the joy on their faces, it means everything in the world to us.”

The rain stopped just as Thompson Square started to perform. The crowd gathered in front of the stage to cheer and sing along as they started performing. During one of Thompson Square’s songs, going with the Independence Day theme, one of the lead singers, Shawna Thompson, waved an American flag while her husband and other lead singer sang to the crowd.

After Thompson Square performed, Easton Corbin and his band came out and stirred up the crowd again. Airmen were singing along and dancing to the music.

The event was run by Air Force Entertainment, who put together the five-base tour, with the help of 85 Columbus AFB volunteers. For two days, Airmen and stage crew set up the stage and took it down after the show.

To help make Patriot Fest possible, Air Force Entertainment and participating bases agreed that base personnel would provide volunteers to assist the stage crew in setting up and running the event, said Capt. Sheila Butler, head of Patriot Fest 2018 volunteers. She also mentioned that the crew was impressed by how quickly the volunteers helped disassemble the stage so they could move to the final show at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.

“You could tell all the hard work the base and volunteers put into setting everything up,” said Emily Irving, a base spouse and winner of the Thompson Square guitar raffle. “I would definitely like to see more events like this in the future.”

Both bands said they were honored to perform for the Airmen serving our country and thanked everyone for their service.