Celebrate Fairfax to focus on small events

Celebrate Fairfax Inc. will no longer host a large, weekend-long event with a carnival, nationally known bands, and dozens of activities and vendors.

Instead, the organization will focus on a series of small events throughout the year, including Culmore Community Day this Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Woodrow Wilson Library.

Culmore Community Day features live music and dance, a mini-clinic, eye exams, children’s activities, and community resources.

Celebrate Fairfax helped the organizers recruit volunteers and created signage, a banner, and social media posts, says Katie Rorer, marketing and PR manager.

Dropping the traditional Celebrate Fairfax! fair “allows us to focus more intently on our mission and our ability to truly celebrate the 1.1 million citizens of Fairfax County,” the organization states.

“While the Celebrate Fairfax festival has been great to bring people together, we looked at ways we could better serve all the communities in Fairfax County,” Rorer says. “The county is so diverse and there are so many different needs and interests. We’re focusing on placemaking.”

“It’s a permanent change for the foreseeable future,” she says.

Celebrate Fairfax hosts monthly block parties and “Shop Local Markets” at the county-owned PARC (People, Arts, Recreation, and Community) event space in Tysons. The block parties feature breweries and karaoke contests.

The indoor markets draw 20 to 30 local crafters and micro-business – selling such items as soap, coffee, dog bandanas, and gourmet food – many of them founded during the pandemic. Unlike most fairs, vendors at PARC don’t have to pay for booth spaces.

Upcoming Shop Local Markets at PARC are scheduled for April 23, May 7, June 11, and July 9. The May 7 event will feature a mural unveiling and children’s activities.

Celebrate Fairfax is working with Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw to host Braddock Bark June 12 at Lake Accotink Park. This event will include play areas for dogs, contests, performances, and food.

Another upcoming event Celebrate Fairfax is working on is a family-focused Springfield Nights-Celebrate Fairfax Kids event July 13 at Burke Lake Park.

The goal is to have at least one event in each district, Rorer says, with each one tailored to serve the needs of residents of the district.

Celebrate Fairfax is planning more events for the rest of the year and is helping organizers of the 2022 Taste of Annandale.