At a time when everyone is celebrating America’s 250th birthday, Wednesday’s VetFest is a thank you to those who made it possible.

By Denise Clay-Murray

This year’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday has put all that is the United States front and center.

From the music and dance of Juneteenth to the all-American game of baseball taking center stage at Citizens Bank Park with the MLB All-Star Game, the country’s birthday has been a celebration of America’s continued existence.

On July 29, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the City of Philadelphia will take a moment to honor those whose sacrifice through military service made it possible during the 14th annual VetFest at City Hall.

More than 40 veterans will be honored for their service to the community and veterans from around the five-county Philadelphia area will be able to connect with resources, meet with City Councilmembers, and enjoy good music and barbecue at this eventcommemorating the contributions of the men and women who made it possible.

“Remembering to just say, ‘Thank you for your service and welcome home,’ because a lot of our veterans — especially our Vietnam veterans — didn’t get that opportunity to have the welcoming home that they deserved,” said Gregory Wright, director of the City’s Office of Veterans Affairs. “Being able to walk up to a veteran and [to] let them know, ‘We appreciate your service’ means more to a veteran than anything else that you can do for them in that moment.”

The SUN spoke with Wright about VetFest, how it helps veterans find connections, and what it means to celebrate those who have probably the greatest stake in the American experiment.

SUN: Thank you for your time, Mr. Wright. Let’s talk a little bit about VetFest. What is it, when is it, and what can people expect to see.

GW: Vet Fest is taking place on Wednesday, July 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at City Hall, in the courtyard, and on the North Apron. We are sticklers for tradition, right? So, we’re not changing up the formula that we have too much.

But the newest things that we are offering are the vendors. We’ve done a very good job of getting new vendors who have resources to offer to our veterans for free. We’re also having Mission Barbecue cater the event, so this will be the first time that we’ve had we’ve had an organization as big as Mission Barbecue donate food to our veterans for this event, and we just have more entertainment. We have three groups — the Intruders, the Blue Notes and the Urban Guerilla Orchestra — that will be entertaining us. That in itself was something that I wasn’t too sure about because I know how costly entertainment can be, but the donations poured in, and the support came in, and we were able to get everything that that we asked for. It’s the biggest Vet Fest that we’ve had thus far, the 14th annual, and I know next year is going to be bigger. I said this last year, I’m saying it this year, and I’m sure I’m going to say it next year.

SUN: How do you connect with veterans to let them know about VetFest and the other services you provide at the Office of Veterans Affairs?

GW: There’s absolutely no charge. This is a free event for all of the veterans of the City of Philadelphia and beyond. We don’t want to just close the border to Philadelphia. We’re making this an inclusive event for any veteran, for their dependents, their family members, and their caregivers to come to City Hall on July 29th and be able to watch our veterans be honored and to eat some free food, listen to some great music and to be able to take in every resource that that they need.

We have been circulating information about this through word of mouth by attending meetings at all of the [Veterans of Foreign Wars] post meetings to get it out there. We’ve been giving out our flyers to the different veteran service organizations around the city. We’ve been using our social media platform a lot more this year to put the word out that we’re here for our veterans.

SUN: You’re going into your second year at the Office of Veterans Affairs. What has that experience been like?

GW: You know, it’s been a really great experience, to say the least. I’ve been able to do a lot more things than I could have imagined, as far as being of assistance to our veterans. Council President Kenyatta Johnson has been extremely supportive of all of the endeavors that we want to embark upon. So, this past year, we’ve seen an increase of 100% of veterans who are coming into our office to file for claims, to file for different benefits like the real estate tax exemption program for those who meet the criteria. Those veterans and their caregivers have been able to get resources. We’ve been able to expand upon that and also to expand our office.

We’ve been able to add on at least two staff members since I started, and hopefully we’ll be expanding. It’s really been great. I can’t say enough good things. I was surprised at how enthusiastic the support has been.

SUN: In terms of what you see at the Office, what are your most common requests and how do you navigate them?

GW: The thing we see most often in our office are things like the real estate tax exemption for our veterans who qualify and filing claims for our veterans. Another thing that we also see are veterans who come in because they’ve read something, or they’ve heard about us, and they just come in with questions. They want to know what they qualify for. And the way we navigate that is by making sure that we have someone there to greet them, and then direct that veteran and their family, or their spouse, and a caregiver, whomever is with the veteran, or even if the veteran is alone, to direct them to the appropriate personnel to fulfill their resource needs.

SUN: One of the problems that the city has had is with the number of homeless veterans. Do you work with the Office of Homeless Services to help with that?

GW: In a perfect world, I would love to say that my office is the end all [and] be all in terms of homelessness for the veterans in the City of Philadelphia. But right now, what we do in order to make sure that our veterans are being cared for and taken care of is to connect them with services. There are several grants and assistance programs that we help them apply for. And we do a lot of work with the veterans’ multi-service center.

SUN: As you know, this is America’s 250th birthday. And a lot of why America has lasted for 250 years is because of the sacrifices of the country’s veterans. What does it mean to be holding VetFest during a time like this?

GW: That is a great question! Without this population, without these people, these brave and courageous individuals, [America] wouldn’t have made it to 250. A lot of our veterans don’t necessarily get the praise that that’s deserved, and sometimes it can feel like an alienating experience when you come home, and you have to adjust. It looks so different that it can make you feel siloed even when you’re surrounded by community. So, walking up to a veteran and [remembering] to just say, ‘Thank you for your service and welcome home’ — that goes a long way. That acknowledgement means the world to them.

SUN: Thanks so much for your time, and good luck with this week’s VetFest.

GW: Thank you.

VetFest will be held from 11a.m. -4 p.m. in the Courtyard and the North Apron of Philadelphia City Hall, North Broad Street and JFK Boulevard. Admission is free and in addition to the meals from Mission BBQ, there will also be food trucks available.