The inaugural Grass Valley Armed Forces Day Celebration took place on Saturday in downtown Grass Valley. Organized by the Greater Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce, the City of Grass Valley and the County of Nevada, the celebration honored active military service members.

All photos by Penny P. Collins for YubaNet

Representatives from military units in Sacramento, Alameda, and San Francisco, USCG station Lake Tahoe were present with Opening and Closing Colors provided by the 9th Force Support Squadron Honor Guard from Beale AFB.

There were booths from all the service branches, with recruiters handing out materials about their service branch, and of course giveaways. Many were doing fun things like chin up challenges, t-shirt cannons, and steering of large military vehicles. The Coast Guard had a ball/rope throw challenge to get the ball into a flotation device. The Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center of Bridgeport had samples of the gear they use including climbing, ski mountaineering equipment, pulk sleds and litters with a practice dummy. Flyovers, music and food complemented the action in downtown Grass Valley.