FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The Fort Irwin community celebrated the summer season at an event held on July 8 at Army Field here.

Over 2500 community members attend the annual Summer Jam event hosted by Fort Irwin Family Morale, Recreation and Welfare directorate. The event featured games, giant water slides, vendors, food and beverages and carnival rides.

The highlight of the evening was a live performance by American Idol winner David Cook.

Before the concert, Cook took time to meet community members and pose for photographs. Long lines didn’t deter people from waiting for the chance to get a “selfie” with Cook. He stayed for almost an hour allowing anyone who was willing to wait the chance to meet the star.

The carnival rides were a first for the Fort Irwin Community and they were a huge success.  The rides ran from opening to closing and were enjoyed by kids and adults, according to Carla Averill, event coordinator for FMWR.  “The giant tilt-a-whirl ride was the most popular adult ride and the swinging elephants was the most popular among the children,” she said. 

Averill, who worked for FMWR from 2003-2010 recently returned to Ft Irwin when her husband was reassigned to the NTC.

This was Averill’s first event since returning to work at FMWR after being gone for several years. “It was a lot of work to pull everything together in such a short amount of time; but MWR is a great team of people they got it done,” she said.

Averill and the FMWR team are already planning for the next big event, Octoberfest, which will be held on Oct. 6.