The 20th annual Beach Fest, May 23-26, 2008 is expected to attract thousands of people to Cocoa Beach over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Musical performances presented by Savings Safari will headline this fun beach event. Many corporate partners annually sponsor this family event which includes a wide variety of family activities including sand sculpture demonstrations, military exhibits and the Beach Sports Championships.

Over 500 military personnel, sheriffs, firefighters and lifeguards will compete in twelve beach contests including the tug of war, a 5-K run, a beach relay race, a “hands of stone” contest, an ocean relay race, a human carry contest, a human pyramid stack contest, a volleyball tournament, “hang time”, and a paddleboard race around the one thousand foot ocean pier. Teams of competitors from the U.S Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Brevard County Sheriffs Department, Brevard County Firefighters and Brevard County Lifeguards will compete in the events. The team with the highest number of points from the events will be crowned as the Annual Champion. The Brevard County Firefighters will be back to defend their Championship which they won in 2007. The Air Force won the Championships in 2006.

There will be numerous displays, exhibitions and demonstrations from the armed forces during Beach Fest. Visitors to the Pier will see the Marines Obstacle course, the Air Force Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team and robot, a Coast Guard Air to sea rescue, a rescue line pull by the Lifeguards, land to sea track vehicles and martial arts by the Marines, a ladder repel by the firefighters, a Brevard County Sheriffs Office Canine Demonstration and a take down of a vehicle and repel from the Pier by the U.S Army. The Navy’s 40mm canon will be on display and will fire a special tribute to the military on Memorial Monday of Beach Fest.

The Kite Club will display a wide variety of beautiful kites in the skies over Beach Fest on Saturday, May 24. The Festival village with the restaurants and bars on the Pier will feature a wide variety of foods and beverages to suit every taste.

Over 20 musical performances will entertain the Beach Fest crowds on the Cocoa Beach Pier and beach stage during the four-day holiday weekend.

Radio personalities will be at Beach Fest on Monday to sponsor all of the day’s activities. Popular radio personalities from Cumulus Broadcasting will emcee the always-popular $5000 Miss Beach Fest Bikini Contest on Monday at 2pm.

There will be a “Rally for America” on Memorial Day Monday at 3pm on the main beach stage. There will be special guest speakers who will talk about the recent conflict and successes that the U.S.A has achieved in the Middle East. Cocoa Beach officials will introduce the military pageantry ceremony on Memorial Day Monday from the main beach stage. The U.S Air Force Color Guard will present a twenty-one gun salute followed by a round from the Navy’s 40mm canon. A bugle rendition of Taps will highlight this patriotic event after the formal flag folding ceremony (copy attached) at 3pm on Monday afternoon.

Military exhibits including a free climbing wall presented by the U.S Army will be on display in the vendor’s village.

There will be something for everyone at the 20th Annual Beach Fest at the Cocoa Beach Pier over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Flag Folding Ceremony to be held at Beach Fest on Memorial Day Monday, May 26, 2008 at 3pm:

The flag folding ceremony represents the same religious principles on which our great country was originally founded.

The portion of the flag-denoting honor is the canton of blue containing the stars representing states our veterans saved in uniform. The canton field of blue dresses from left to right and inverted only when draped as a pall on the casket of a veteran who has served our country honorably in uniform.

In the Armed Forces of the United States, at the ceremony of retreat, the flag is lowered, folded in a triangle fold and kept under watch throughout the night as a tribute to our nation’s honored dead. The next morning it is brought out and, at the ceremony of reveille, run aloft as a symbol of our belief in the resurrection of the body.

- The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

- The second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life.

- The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks and who gave a portion of their life for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.

- The fourth fold represents our weaker nature; for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as times of war for his divine guidance.

- The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, “Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right, but it is still our country, right or wrong.”

- The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stand, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

- The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all enemies whether they are found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

- The eighth fold is a tribute to one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor our mother, for whom it flies on Mother’s Day.

- The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood, for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great have been molded.

- The tenth fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since he or she was first born.

- The eleventh fold, in the eyes of Hebrew citizens, represent the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

- The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost.

When the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, “In God We Trust.”

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under Captain John Paul Jones who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the right, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today.

UNITED WE STAND.