Fewer children’s, cultural concerts scheduled this summer
The Fairfax County Park Authority on May 28 announced the schedule for the Arts in the Parks summer entertainment series, which includes Saturday morning shows for children at Wakefield Park and cultural performances at Ossian Hall Park on Saturday evenings.
These concerts are in addition to the eight Spotlight by Starlight concerts already announced for Mason District Park.
The following performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays at Ossian Hall Park, 7900 Heritage Drive, Annandale:
- June 27 – Korean Cultural Heritage Night, featuring Gugak music, dance, and ritual performance presented by the Korean Traditional Arts Foundation Washington.
- July 11 – Peruvian Cultural Heritage Night, with music and dance from Centro Cultural Peru.
- July 18 – Bolivian Cultural Heritage Night featuring Ballet Folklorico Boliviano Nuestras Raices.
- July 25 – Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Night, with the band Lyuti Chushki, which means “hot peppers” in Bulgarian.
- Aug. 1 – Taiwan Cultural Heritage Night, with music and dance from the Hai Hua Community Center.
- Aug. 8 – West African Cultural Heritage Night, featuring the Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band and their high-energy blend of traditional Togolese rhythms and psychedelic Afro-rock.
That’s a reduction from the 10 international shows held at Ossian Hall Park last year as part of the Spotlight by Starlight series.
Related story: Just eight concerts scheduled this summer at Mason District Park
The following children’s shows will be held on Saturdays, 10 a.m., at Wakefield Park/Audrey Moore Rec Center, 8100 Braddock Road, Annandale:
- June 27 – La Musica – A World of Encanto with JChris, featuring interactive music from Disney films like “Coco,” “Saludos Amigos,” and “Encanto.”
- July 11 – The Great Zucchini, comedy and magic with the puppet Ruffles the Rabbit.
- July 18 – Rocknoceros, a family-friendly band with infectious melodies and playful humor.
- July 25 – Shake It Up Jam, dance parties with engaging music and immersive props.
- Aug. 1 – Marsha and the Positrons, songs about science with positive social messages.
- Aug 8 – Munit & Z Love Bugs, an Ethiopian-Haitian-American family band that plays music from around the world.
In previous years, there were children’s concerts at Mason District Park, as well as Wakefield Park. Last year, there were nine children’s concerts at Mason District Park and eight at Wakefield Park.
When do these children celebrate American culture?
Sorry racical mob killings are further down south.
American culture is not equivalent to racial mob killings.
Erase the hate from your heart and thank God how privileged you are to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
If you disagree, you are free to leave and go to another country.
Have a beautiful day…. The weather is so nice!
They actively celebrate on July 4th, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, etc., and this year as a bonus, we get to hear endlessly about America 250. Additionally, living here means that “American culture” is the default. It’s great to get educated and gain exposure to other cultures, seeing as so many of our neighbors have different backgrounds and the world does not revolve around the US.
One thing Penny Gross did well was to ensure the million -dollar amphitheater at Mason District Park was used — and the three musical shows scheduled every week were extremely well attended and valuable to our community. Our new Mason district supervisor doesn’t get it. The little things matter the most. He should go! Someone needs to run against that dude. We get nothing for our Fairfax County tax dollars on this side of our county. ALL our $ is going to the western Fairfax suburbs. It’s pathetic, really. Bring back the shows. They were good.
agree! I always looked forward to the shows at Mason District and other parks but this year’s selection is disappointing except for Burke Lake–those shows are almost always outstanding. Not attending anything at Mason District this year–last years selection wasn’t real great either. Not going into my feeling about the current supervisor except he sure gets around. News letter is full of pics of him attending this and that around the district.