Family Fun at Morris Meadows to feature music, food and games

Ted Czech | FlipSidePA

If you go

What: A free event, featuring music, food, and games.

Why: To support U.S. veterans. All proceeds benefit the Fisher House Foundation.

When: 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday June 13

Where: 1333 Morris Road, Freeland, Md.

For more information: Go to www.morrismeadowscomplex.com

For Papi Fields, a U.S. Army veteran and leader of Baltimore funk-jazz band Purple Fox, the greatest gesture someone can do for his eight years of service is to say "thank you."

But he also knows that for other vets, sometimes more help is needed.

That's why when he was approached by Shrewsbury marketing guru Charles Tucker about performing at an event where the proceeds would benefit Fisher House Foundation, a nationwide organization that helps wounded veterans, he immediately said yes.

The free event, Family Fun at Morris Meadows, takes place Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., and features music, food, games, wine and military vehicles for children to climb in.

"I thought it was great, because a lot of (events) these days aren't for veterans," Fields said. "Veterans deal with a lot of things, we put our lives on the line. It's like, finally, somebody is having something for us."

Tucker said the money is going to the right place in the foundation.

"It's a pretty amazing foundation," he said. "I always hear about Fisher House and how good they are."

According to its website, the foundation maintains a "network of comfort homes where military and veterans' families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment ... Since inception, the program has saved military and veterans' families an estimated $235 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation."

Tucker said it wasn't hard to put the event together after he was contacted by Morris Meadows, who were looking to get the word out about their venue, because of his deep marketing and music connections.

"Their venue is fairly new; it used to be an agricultural museum," he said.

Because he also manages musical acts through his Blue Mountain Music Group, Tucker was able to recruit bands like Purple Fox to play at the event free-of-charge.

In addition, he was contacted by Stages Music Arts, a Cockeysville, Md. company that provides staging, sound and lighting for events.

"They said, we have this stage and we'd like to test it out," Tucker said.

The stage will be at the base of a gently-rising, grass-covered hill, a natural amphitheater for outdoor shows, he said.

At the event, there will be wine, games, including volleyball and corn hole, and U.S. military Jeeps on display, provided by Hanson Mechanical of Westminster, Md.

This will be the venue's first outdoor event, but definitely not their last.

"The venue is very involved in helping the community," Tucker said. "They're going to try to do more community events in the future."