COLORADO SPRINGS — The Tokyo Games Fan Fest kicked off on Thursday at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in downtown Colorado Springs. There are plenty of fun activities and events the whole family to look forward. It's also an opportunity for the community to come out and celebrate the big games in Olympic City USA.
"It's a great place to bring the whole family, from the little one all the way up to the oldest one," said Greg Stephens, who went to the fan fest with his family. "We came out here for fan fest and we want to support the Olympics. We are Olympic City USA."
Among some of the things you can except are sports demonstrations in judo, karate, and taekwondo, a unique twist on golf called golfopotamus, a prize tent, Team USA merchandise, a photo booth to take pictures or selfies with life-sized cutouts of athletes, an outdoor 50-foot video screen airing the Tokyo Olympic Games, and autograph signings from Olympians and Paralympians.
"You can talk to them, (and ask) how do they show up, how are they handling the pandemic, and going through this? How are they going to compete?," said John Register, a two-sport Paralympian who's also an emcee for the event.
Meanwhile, the Jeffs siblings traveled from Iowa for a family vacation and spent their day at the fest enjoying some of the activities.
"I'm really lucky to come and watch all of this because not a lot of people get to. It was a 10/10 experience," said Gavin Jeffs.
The fan fest will take place every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and run through Sunday, August 1. Admission is free to the public.
More events and activities will be taking place throughout the weekend. For example on Saturday, an ice skating rink will be built on the plaza and people can get the chance to learn how to figure skate from athletes. There will also be a show in the sky as hot air balloons will be seen when spectators look up, as well a trampoline acrobatics team taking to the skies.
For more information about Fan Fest and what to expect, click here.
