Sesame Street coming to a theater near you

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and other Sesame Street Muppets are coming to Kadena next Saturday.

Sesame Workshop and the United Service Organizations will host The Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families tour at the Keystone Theater Jan. 30 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The free tour kicks features a live Muppet performance and giveaways from Sesame Workshop and the USO.

"Seeing the faces of the children during a performance is proof that this tour is something truly wonderful," said Sloan Gibson, USO president. "Deployments are the new norm for America's military, and they're tough on those left behind. Programs like this lift the spirits of our nation's military families, give them tools to cope with the stresses of military life, and let them know America appreciates them."

For the past two years, the show based on Sesame Workshop's Talk, Listen, Connect initiative has traveled to more than 60 military installations and performed for more than 100,000 servicemembers and their families worldwide. Organizers say the program provides resources and emotional support to military families with young children coping with challenging transitions in their lives.

"Sesame Workshop is proud of its ongoing commitment to serving the needs of the military families, and we're thrilled to partner with our good friends at the USO to bring Elmo and the Sesame Street Muppets to military families overseas," said Gary Knell, Sesame Workshop president and CEO. "This is our way of saying thank you to the families in our armed forces for their commitment to all of us."

For more information, visit www.sesameworkshop.org/initiatives/emotion/uso.