Culmore festival brings the community together

Dozens of people enjoyed music and dance performances and learned about community resources at Culmore Community Day on May 6.

The event, at the Woodrow Wilson Library, featured traditional dances and songs from Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Korea.

Children got a chance to do a science experiment hosted by Mad Science, paint a cardboard house with CAFÉ (Community Art for Everyone), practice recycling, touch a corn snake and turtle from the Hidden Oaks Nature Center, and select a free book from Reading is Fundamental.

The Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads is disconnected, says Wangin Bang, a community outreach specialist at the Fairfax County Department of Community and Neighborhood Services. “We’re trying to bring the community together and help people connect with county agencies, nonprofits, and local businesses.”

The Fairfax County Park Foundation gave away vouchers for food baskets to 50 raffle winners.

County staff handed out information on food, healthcare, housing assistance, family services, human rights, environmental issues, recreational opportunities, and much more.

Girl Scout Avery Cañedo promoted her Happie Nappies campaign promoting the benefits of reusable diapers.

Some of the healthcare organizations at Culmore Community Day were Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, the Culmore Clinic, Neighborhood Health. Molina Healthcare, United Healthcare, and the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia.

Other organizations at the event: the Legal Aid Justice Center, the English Empowerment Center, the Kaiser Permanente Place-Based Initiative for Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore, the FBI, the Fairfax County Police Department, the Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, the Bailey’s Crossroads Host Lions Club, HACAN (Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, and ServiceSource.