Sesame Street comes to D-M

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cheyenne Morigeau
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Military Children on D-M were given a chance to meet a special group of furry monsters, Aug. 26.

The Sesame Street USO Experience for Military Families continued its stateside tour and stopped at D-M for a two day performance.

The show was created in 2008 to help service members and their families ‪deal with the unique challenges they face, from deployments and homecomings, to frequent relocations.

The show's main character, Katie, a six year old military child, learns how to deal with the sting of moving to a new place. With the help of her Sesame Street friends Elmo, Grover, Rosita, and the Cookie Monster, Katie is given fun ways to cope.

"Katie comes in and is very nervous about moving," said Nicole McClendon, Sesame Street USO Experience for Military Families tour manager, "but while talking to Elmo and her friends, they teach her new songs and dances to show her how to stay in touch with old friends, as well as how to make new ones at her new base."

The tour is scheduled to host more than 200 shows at 69 military installations in 32 states by late October.

"We visit all over the world," McClendon said. "Anywhere that there are military families, we try to get there."

The cast sees these performances as a way to give back to those who make a family sacrifice in order to protect the nation's freedom.

"I like to think of it as hand delivering a live singing and dancing thank you card to all of our military families," said McClendon. "This show is our way of letting them know that we're here for them and that we understand."

To get more information on these performances visit www.uso.org/sesame.