VETLIFE’s Vet Fest is changing the way Veterans come together
Nearly a month after veterans and their families gathered at Cleary University’s Lake Trust Stadium for Vet Fest 2026, VETLIFE Co-Founder and CEO Joshua Parish isn’t thinking about attendance numbers. He’s thinking about the faces in the crowd — veterans laughing with one another, families spending a Saturday together and children walking up to receive backpacks filled with school supplies.
He’s also thinking about how far Vet Fest has come.
Vet Fest began in a parking lot at Mt. Brighton, where more than 1,500 veterans and their family members showed up for a day of resources, food and activities. But what Parish remembers most happened as the event was nearly over, when a veteran’s wife approached him with tears in her eyes.
“I think you saved my husband’s life,” she told him.
Parish has never forgotten those words.
“That changed the way I looked at what we were building,” Parish said. “I realized this wasn’t really about putting on an event. It was about giving veterans a reason to come out, reconnect with people and remember that they are part of a community that still believes in them.”
That idea became the foundation of Vet Fest. What started as a single gathering has grown into multiple events held in communities across Michigan each year, bringing together veterans, military families, community organizations, and service providers. Over the years, tens of thousands of veterans and their family members have participated in Vet Fest and connected with resources, opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, one another.
As Vet Fest has grown, its message has remained remarkably simple: We believe in you.
“We believe bringing people together helps us heal,” Parish said. “We believe veterans shouldn’t have to reach a breaking point before their community reaches out to them. And we believe there is tremendous power in simply creating a place where veterans and their families can show up, laugh, eat, talk and feel like they belong again.”
That philosophy was on display again Saturday, August 8, when VETLIFE’s Vet Fest returned to Livingston County at Cleary University. For Parish, some of the most meaningful moments weren’t happening at a resource table or on the stage. They were happening everywhere in between.
“As I moved through the crowd, I kept seeing smiles,” Parish said. “Then you watch veterans’ children walk up and get their backpacks filled with school supplies, and your heart swells. You realize that when we support a veteran, we’re supporting a spouse.
We’re supporting children. We’re supporting an entire military family.”
That is why Vet Fest has never been designed simply as another veterans resource fair. It is built around the idea of connection before crisis.
Veteran suicide prevention often focuses on identifying and responding to veterans experiencing crisis. VETLIFE believes communities must also work further upstream — creating stronger connections, improving access to trusted resources and helping veteran and their families build stability and belonging long before they reach a breaking point.
Sometimes that begins with something as simple as getting people together: a handshake, a conversation, a meal or a veteran meeting another veteran who understands. It can be a child watching their mother or father surrounded by a community where they feel welcomed and supported, or a family discovering a resource they didn’t know existed. Those moments can be difficult to measure on a spreadsheet, but they are at the heart of what VETLIFE’s Vet Fest was created to accomplish.
“We didn’t set out to build an event,” Parish said. “We set out to build a community. Somewhere along the way, that community became a movement.”
VETLIFE’s vision is to take the lessons learned through Vet Fest — connection, peer engagement, family involvement and direct access to resources — and continue building a broader ecosystem where veterans and their families can find support before they ever reach a moment of crisis.
Even as that vision grows, Parish still thinks about the woman who approached him at that first Vet Fest at Mt. Brighton.
“I don’t know if she remembers saying it, but I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life,” Parish said. “Because when this work gets difficult, I think about her. I think about her husband. And I think about all the veterans walking through these events who may never tell us what they’re carrying. That is why we keep showing up.”
Another Vet Fest has come to a close. The tents have come down, the tables have been packed away and the backpacks have gone home with children preparing for another school year. But the movement continues.
Because behind every veteran is a family. Behind every family is a story. And sometimes changing that story begins by reminding someone of three simple things:
We see you. We believe in you. You belong here.
More About VETLIFE - VETLIFE is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by a veteran and his wife with a mission to empower veterans and their families to become their own best advocates. Through technology, community engagement, education and connections to trusted resources, VETLIFE works to make support easier to find, easier to understand and easier to access—strengthening veterans, families and communities before challenges become crises. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation in support of VETLIFE’s mission, visit www.vetlifetoday.org.
He’s also thinking about how far Vet Fest has come.
Vet Fest began in a parking lot at Mt. Brighton, where more than 1,500 veterans and their family members showed up for a day of resources, food and activities. But what Parish remembers most happened as the event was nearly over, when a veteran’s wife approached him with tears in her eyes.
“I think you saved my husband’s life,” she told him.
Parish has never forgotten those words.
“That changed the way I looked at what we were building,” Parish said. “I realized this wasn’t really about putting on an event. It was about giving veterans a reason to come out, reconnect with people and remember that they are part of a community that still believes in them.”
That idea became the foundation of Vet Fest. What started as a single gathering has grown into multiple events held in communities across Michigan each year, bringing together veterans, military families, community organizations, and service providers. Over the years, tens of thousands of veterans and their family members have participated in Vet Fest and connected with resources, opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, one another.
As Vet Fest has grown, its message has remained remarkably simple: We believe in you.
“We believe bringing people together helps us heal,” Parish said. “We believe veterans shouldn’t have to reach a breaking point before their community reaches out to them. And we believe there is tremendous power in simply creating a place where veterans and their families can show up, laugh, eat, talk and feel like they belong again.”
That philosophy was on display again Saturday, August 8, when VETLIFE’s Vet Fest returned to Livingston County at Cleary University. For Parish, some of the most meaningful moments weren’t happening at a resource table or on the stage. They were happening everywhere in between.
“As I moved through the crowd, I kept seeing smiles,” Parish said. “Then you watch veterans’ children walk up and get their backpacks filled with school supplies, and your heart swells. You realize that when we support a veteran, we’re supporting a spouse.
We’re supporting children. We’re supporting an entire military family.”
That is why Vet Fest has never been designed simply as another veterans resource fair. It is built around the idea of connection before crisis.
Veteran suicide prevention often focuses on identifying and responding to veterans experiencing crisis. VETLIFE believes communities must also work further upstream — creating stronger connections, improving access to trusted resources and helping veteran and their families build stability and belonging long before they reach a breaking point.
Sometimes that begins with something as simple as getting people together: a handshake, a conversation, a meal or a veteran meeting another veteran who understands. It can be a child watching their mother or father surrounded by a community where they feel welcomed and supported, or a family discovering a resource they didn’t know existed. Those moments can be difficult to measure on a spreadsheet, but they are at the heart of what VETLIFE’s Vet Fest was created to accomplish.
“We didn’t set out to build an event,” Parish said. “We set out to build a community. Somewhere along the way, that community became a movement.”
VETLIFE’s vision is to take the lessons learned through Vet Fest — connection, peer engagement, family involvement and direct access to resources — and continue building a broader ecosystem where veterans and their families can find support before they ever reach a moment of crisis.
Even as that vision grows, Parish still thinks about the woman who approached him at that first Vet Fest at Mt. Brighton.
“I don’t know if she remembers saying it, but I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life,” Parish said. “Because when this work gets difficult, I think about her. I think about her husband. And I think about all the veterans walking through these events who may never tell us what they’re carrying. That is why we keep showing up.”
Another Vet Fest has come to a close. The tents have come down, the tables have been packed away and the backpacks have gone home with children preparing for another school year. But the movement continues.
Because behind every veteran is a family. Behind every family is a story. And sometimes changing that story begins by reminding someone of three simple things:
We see you. We believe in you. You belong here.
More About VETLIFE - VETLIFE is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by a veteran and his wife with a mission to empower veterans and their families to become their own best advocates. Through technology, community engagement, education and connections to trusted resources, VETLIFE works to make support easier to find, easier to understand and easier to access—strengthening veterans, families and communities before challenges become crises. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation in support of VETLIFE’s mission, visit www.vetlifetoday.org.
Children receive backpacks filled with school supplies during VETLIFE’s Vet Fest 2026.
Co-Founder and CEO Joshua Parish addresses the crowd during Vet Fest 2026 at Cleary University.
Photos by Richard Lim Photography
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