Freedom Festival

Last year’s festival built on its reputation as one of Lake Como’s most anticipated annual events, drawing crowds from across the globe to celebrate military veterans and all those who support them.

Lake Como’s Voices of Freedom Show on Friday evening in the world famous Butt Hutt was dedicated to original cast member and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dan Hall, who passed away this past year. The cast and crew are all Lake Como members and volunteers who worked for months to produce the show. Each performance was met with enthusiastic applause and lots of happy tears.

The Veterans Parade started at the Sandy Beach on Saturday morning led by the Lake Como Drum and Bagpipe Corps and included a Color Guard with the flags of each of the six U.S. service branches, the Honor Guard carrying the U.S. flag and the POW/MIA flag among others.

Following the Parade the Military Tribute Ceremony at the pool included a ceremony to honor Lake Como’s Veterans Parade Founder, the late Phil Jacobsen, a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Navy. This was followed by a presentation of two Quilts of Valor by Como resident Barb J/T, quilt maker and longtime member of this organization. Como resident Darryl Luther, a U.S. Army veteran and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic efforts to save the crew and soldiers aboard his Blackhawk helicopter that crashed in Vietnam from enemy gun fire received the first Quilt of Valor.

Como resident Deb Hedding, a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm during her 25 year career received the second Quilt of Valor for her dedication to Lake Como, taking on the organization of the Lake Como Military Veterans Corps, organizing annual veterans events and providing support and guidance to Lake Como veterans in need for more than twenty years.

This year’s Freedom Festival also included a two-day Lakeside Community Fair and Veterans Charity Raffle. Fourteen Como clubs and vendors set up tables under the trees to showcase their mission and products. Each donated prizes that were raffled off to raise funds for K9 Partners for Patriots, a local organization that pairs rescued dogs with disabled veterans and trains them together at no cost to the veteran. The raffle netted close to $1500.00 to be donated to them in recognition of their vital mission.