CAMP MOBILE, South Korea — At first glance, the 15,000 visitors that organizers hope attend this weekend’s Memorial Day Festival and Circus here might think there is little more than fun involved in the appearance of the clowns, acrobats and trapeze artists.
But Army officials say the event represents a return to the pre-9/11 days, the last time there were such military-base-area events in South Korea aimed at bringing together soldiers and members of the local community.
In addition, the family-friendly nature of the event is a reflection of the changing local military population, as the ranks formerly filled by a large percentage of soldiers on their own are now being rounded out by more spouses and children courtesy of command-sponsored billets.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday at the Camp Mobile Motor Pool, which is near the front gate of Camp Casey. Admission to the festival portion of the activities is free and will include carnival rides, live stage entertainment, a petting zoo and eating contests.
At six points during the weekend, there will be 90-minute performances by the Korea Circus Association’s Dong Choon Art Circus. Admission to the circus is $10 for adults and $5 for children.
Area I marketing director Frank DeSilva said organizers of the festival have met with local community leaders and distributed thousands of fliers about the event, hoping to draw a large number of area Koreans to Camp Mobile.
"Most of the local community does not have access to the base," he said. "It is rare that a local Korean community person can come on a military installation."
Lt. Col. Donald Meisler, commander of U.S. Army Garrison-Casey, said that is something that was made even more difficult after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when a variety of new and tighter restrictions were put in place, "to ensure that the right people have access to [military installations] and the wrong people don’t."
Festival organizers, he said, "had to work through several challenges to be able to have an event such as this open to the public."
Meisler said he hopes local residents not only have fun, but take time to check out some of the displays.
"I hope they get a chance to see what type of equipment the U.S. Army does have" and get a taste for what life is like "on the other side of the fence," he said.
In addition, DeSilva said, "Ideally, the soldiers will get to know their Korean neighbors."
Meisler said it was no accident that the circus was brought in for the first of what organizers hope will become an annual Memorial Day weekend event.
In the past, events of this magnitude were focused on the predominant population of single and unaccompanied soldiers. But future plans will take into greater account the growing number of families in Area I and all around South Korea.
U.S. Forces Korea announced in December that eventually half of all troops stationed in South Korea will be allowed to bring their families. The number of command-sponsored billets is projected to double to 4,320 by the end of fiscal year 2010.
The increase in families may be most noticeable in Area I, where only a handful of troops have been granted command sponsorship in the past, though many soldiers paid out of their pockets to house their families off post.
Stars and Stripes reporter Ashley Rowland contributed to this story.
