This Festival goes under few different names: The church website calls it "Greek and East…read moreFestival", the host (Harris Pavilion) calls it "Annual Manassas International Food Festival," and earlier versions on the Facebook called it "Old World" festival. These are all good names for this Nativity of Our Lord Carpatho-Russian Orthodox church fundraiser. In a conversation with one member I learned that this is one of those orthodox churches that do not have the National denomination (Bulgarian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc...) as it caters not just to the first generation of immigrants but more to all generations and all people with the Orthodox fate, with no consideration of the national borders. I learned that they have one mass in English and Our Father prayer is recited in 7 world languages. The menu of the festival reflects the church diversity but caused a dilemma of many comers as far as what to eat because it is a long way from Ethiopia to Russia on the food road. People took longer time to figure out if they would rather have Ethiopian, Greek, Slavic, Romanian, Mexican or American food but once in line you move quickly with the food vendors winking and lifting their trays to entice you to get their food. Pierogi were very good, baked well; hard outside and soft inside so combination of dough, potato and cheese was properly melting in the mouth. While I was eating delicious plums with crème, my tongue quickly detected a harder object within the plum. I wondered why plums were not pitted like the most things in US are and to my pleasant surprise the object in question was a walnut half. Once I knew what I am eating - it all came together very nicely. Letdown was that the deserts did not offered any layered moist cake or crepes - which always make me anticipate any Slavic or Western Europe festival. Another letdown was that I could not have a Greek or Russian beer. There was just one Greek wine type but on a hot day a beer goes better with the lunch. The venue was perfect and enthusiasm of the host was energizing. I was happy to support in some way their church. The visit can be combined with a walk in the old town Manassas.

Brought the family back here for the festival of lights. First I would recommend buying the…read moretickets online as they are cheaper online than at the gate. It was a little bit of a hike as we were coming from Bethesda but we had heard a lot about it so we decided to check it out. After getting off the highway there was a lot of time on 2 lane roads that made the trip feel longer. The tickets are for specific times so we picked a time that supposedly had the most ticket availability and therefore less crowded but that ended up not being the case (not that we went 4 days before Christmas). I felt like it was bumper to bumper traffic all the way through. The light displays were pretty good but felt like there were spots where there were noticeable gaps. We prefer these drive through light shows that allow you to stay warm in the car. Now what Bull Run has that some of these others don't have is the carnival at the end. There are rides, all types of carnival food, petting zoo and camel rides. Stopped at the carnival to pick up some funnel cake for the family to munch on during the ride back home. Overall it was a good experience.

Awesome experience, loved the lights, carnival and petting zoo…read more Even open area with fire pit was awesome for s'more's and to get warmed up during cold evening. Love it.

Such a good time. Hubby and I went for a "date day" got to try so many different flavors and…read morevendors were so nice! Lots of people, but it didn't feel super crowded. Soo much coffee! And took home some good tea and, chili paste and BBQ sauce .

Very well planned and set up was better than last year-seemed more spacious. 10 rows of chocolate…read moreor coffee, salsa, jewelry, etc. We spent 3hours there today and bought bars, jewelry and dips. Definitely had a caffeine high after 2 rows of chocolates and coffee samples.

I attended this year's version of the brewfest. It was very similar to previous versions. Many of…read morethe local and VA breweries had booths. Over 50 breweries including some cider producers were present. Each booth usually offered a choice of two beers. Attendees get a glass and 6 tickets to use to sample the beers. Additional tickets can be purchased for $2 inside the venue. In addition to the brews, food was available. There were other booths selling various items such as popcorn, clothing items, home brewing supplies, jerky, and hot sauces. I got a sticker for surviving a taste of the Zombie Apocalypse hot sauce from Torch Bearer Sauces. I'm looking forward to going back again next year.

Had an awesome time Sunday June 21, 2015 from about 11-2:30. Fathers day gift from my wife who was…read morethe designated driver. Tried 12 different local breweries, 6 included in the price of admission. Awesome venue. Parking was close and easy, live music (mostly classic rock) most of the time. Great food options and huge variety of vendors but it is all about the beer. I sampled beers from, VA, MD, PA, and DE. The heat is what made us leave (95 degrees) otherwise I would have tried them all. Thanks to the main sponsor Mad Fox Brewing. Look me up on untappd to see my individual beer reviews.

Why wouldn't that have a shady area or more cooling stations…read more Non gender porta potty's - gross. Very little choices for picky kids, vegan or other diets- maybe pack your own stuff. Fair food.

The Fairfax Fair is a Northern Virginia social institution!…read more Most people's first initiation into this yearly carnival is sometime around high school when they hold hands with a certain special someone on the ferris wheel or if they took the group date route, had worn matching tee shirts emblazoned with their crew's name in neon grafitti writing. Either way, the Fairfax Fair is the start of many, many blissful summer memories. A few of mine include: 1) The time I volunteered for a major sponsor of the event to dress up as the Cow from Cartoon Network's "Cow & Chicken". All of these little kids tried to pull my udders and punch me in the eye (which was conveniently located through Cow's open mouth). 2) The time my best friend performed on the Budweiser stage with her hs sign language choir. It was like an awkward scene out of Napoleon Dynamite that I will cherish in my heart forever. Whatever your age, gender, race, or socio-economic class the Fairfax Fair has something for everyone. Meat on a stick? Check. Laser light shows and fireworks? Check. Carnival rides? Check. Crazy circus carneys? Double check. Burnt out music artists from the 80's? QUADRUPLE CHECK!!! Musical guests have included eighties wonder kids Rick Springfield, Pat Benatar, Rob Base, Flava Flav, and more! I am secretly hoping that the Backstreet Boys will be hitting the county fair circuit soon so I can take care of some unfulfilled high school dreams. So anyways, what are you waiting for? The Fairfax Fair is coming to town this Friday, Saturday and Sunday!! Buy your tickets now -- the Fairfax Fair is your chance to do the Hump with Digital Underground himself. PS: If you don't know how to do the Humpty Dance here are a few rules: #1) Limp to the side like your leg is broken #2) Shake and twitch kinda like you're smokin'

It's a great traditional festival that this year 2025 celebrated its 3rd annual event. Lots of food…read morevendors, with traditional Puerto Rico dishes and a few others from the Caribbean. Music, artists, dancing, social media influencers and a day filled with culture, smiles, fun and family. Best of all? It's totally free, outdoors, with lots of parking and security. At Harris Pavillon in downtown Manassas, you don't want to miss the yearly tradition

From the owner: Join us for our Fiesta Tropical and celebrate the vibrant culture of Puerto Rico! This free event…read morewill take place in Historic Old Town Manassas and is accessible by train (Amtrak), and vehicle with tons of free parking available during the weekend. Event Date/Time June 17, 2023 from 12:00pm - 9:00pm. Don't miss out on the fun!

Punjabi Festival (Mela) 2016 was an excellent experience. The only problem was that due to the…read moreweather storm it has been moved from May to (hot) August day. The festival offered free water and that was helpful. There were probably 30+ tents (10 with food). You could buy really inexpensive amazing looking jewelry. (my top three places for inexpensive and unusual jewelry are Afghan, Armenian and now Punjabi festival). It is shame that beautiful and colorful clothing for sale is not made out of cotton but "new materials" but in todays world you rarely can have a inexpensive AND quality in the same boat. Food was great and inexpensive. I like northern Indian cuisine (Punjabi) more than I like Southern India cuisine because I do not tolerate super spicy food without crying out. Meals were between $6 and $8. I loved Mango Lassi from Silk restaurant based in Leesburg. It tastes even better and more refreshing on 90F+ weather. Puffy fried bread could be eaten by itself - it was that good. Buttered chicken with rice and lentil with fried potato dumpling were both delicious. People were so friendly - I learned the differences in Sikh headdress from a gentle gentlemen who expressed his satisfaction in sharing his culture with me. Unfortunately, busy and hot day took me away early so I could not enjoy in their cultural program so I must go back in May next year to enjoy that part as well. Important fact - convenient parking and entrance to the festival was free - which is rare at Bull Run Park Special Events venue.

Haymarket Day 2024 was a huge success! First of all, the weather could not have been more…read morebeautiful. The entire event was extremely well organized, starting with the shuttle bus that took visitors to and from Tyler Elementary throughout the day. The parade began promptly at 10 AM and was well organized. Great assortment of vendors along the parade route and a fun Kidzone was set up in the park. It was an overall wonderful, fun-filled day for all.

Haymarket Day 2011 was held today - Saturday, September 17, 2011! (It's still going on as I type…read morethis). As in years past - the main route through Old Town Haymarket was closed to vehicular traffic for the all day event (Route 55/Washington Street). An awesome parade was held (pretty awesome for a small town!). Started the day with a nice cup of steaming hot delicious coffee from Cupcake Heaven, then found a spot along Washington Street to watch the parade and take photos. Lots of entertaining participants in the parade: The Battlefield HS Marching Band, cheerleaders, several local dance troops, several martial arts groups, the Fairfax County Police motorcycle officers (in precision formations), Cub/Boy Scouts, musical groups, local politicians, church groups, civic groups, local businesses, the Geico Gecko, the Chik-fil-A cows, Santa Claus, and a lot more! The parade was considerably longer with more participants than ever. There is also a large vendor area in front of Town Hall and down Washington Street with lots of vendors of all sorts, arts and crafts, games, food and beverages, stages with music, and a lot more! The weather was perfect, cool and overcast, no rain, the place was packed with local residents. It is a great event and it's so wonderful to see so many folks come out with their kids, many brought their dogs, and everyone seemed to be well behaved. I really like the small town atmosphere of Haymarket and the sense of community we have here!

What a great event for sampling beers and ciders from breweries from all over Virginia. There were…read moreplenty of food booths to compliment the beer tastings. Tickets were $25 for early birds, $35 at the gate. Price of admission included a 2 oz. glass and 6 tickets for tastings. Additional tickets could be purchased for $2 each. The mashed potato cheese balls were $6 for 4, but totally worth it. I was full after 2 and glad to split it with my husband. It went great with beer. Saw people walking around with necklaces strung with pretzels, which I thought was clever. Didn't see anyone selling them, so I assume those folks brought their own to snack on while sampling beers. Think candy necklace, only with pretzels instead of candy. Brilliant!

This annual two day event is held at the Bull Run Regional Park Event Center. It is an outdoor…read moreevent where participating vendors have booths. This year over 50 breweries and half a dozen cideries participated. The breweries included international and Virginia ones. Many of the Virginia breweries were local to Northern Virginia. Adult and Designated Driver tickets were available. Adult tickets include a 4 ounce glass and 6 tickets to obtain beer samples. Additional tickets are available for $1; I needed a few more. Most breweries offered at least 2 selections. The most prevalent selections had fall themes such as Octoberfest and Pumpkin. In addition to the brewery booths, there were booths for food, arts and crafts, political candidates, cigars, and sales of various products. There also was live entertainment. The beerfest was well attended and crowded. Some of the breweries had long lines but they moved reasonably fast. I'd recommend the beerfest to beer lovers and advise you to arrive early because some of the selections do run out later.

I've lived in Manassas for over 5 years now and somehow "Bands, Brews, and Barbecue" had flown…read moreunder my radar. I happened to see an advertisement for it on Facebook back in August and was surprised that I had completely missed this beer festival that was almost right in my backyard. I immediately ordered 2 VIP tickets to the 4th Annual Bands, Brews, and Barbecue, at $60/pop, for my father-in-law and myself. The festival was held Saturday Sept 13th 2014 at the Manassas Museum Lawn in Old Town Manassas. The festival opened at 12N, but the VIP access allowed early 11AM entry, and also came with a $10 Old Town Manassas gift card, effectively knocking down the advance purchase fee to $50. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to warrant paying for the "VIP" access. The VIP tickets were $20 more than standard admission - $10 after the gift card - and the only other perk besides early entrance was access to their "VIP Tent". And the VIP Tent was the big problem I had with this event. Yes, the tent came in handy when the rain came along, although shelter could also be found in the rain-serving tents. The problem was that the VIP section started with just tall tables and no seats. No seats for VIPs??? They made a change and brought over two tables and about a dozen seats. The problem was that two rather rude and selfish groups completely hijacked the tables for the entire duration we were there. One group decided to treat the beer festival like it was another day out at BadWolf, set up camp, and play "Cards Against Humanity." (Seriously, who does that at a beer festival?) The other group brought their teenage daughter and an EIGHT DAY OLD BABY and camped out at the table as others rotated to get beer and food. The "VIP Tent" was a complete failure, and I feel like I was totally cheated out of $20 for the two VIP tickets I bought. The beer selection here was rather ho-hum as well. Manassas showed strong, with BadWolf bringing two of their strongest and most complex brews (Oncoming Storm and You Will Not Like This IPA) and Heritage bringing a cask sour ale with some very complex funky notes. Old Busthead and Old Ox Breweries also represented well. But none of the beers featured here were new to me, and this was the first beer festival I left without having at least one beer that I hadn't tried before that blew me away. On a positive note, I did get to try some yummy barbecue from The Bone and Dyvine BBQ, although no food was included into the price. And I will admit that the rain did put a hamper on some of the potential fun. But given the poor planning and layout and lack of beer variety, I'm not sure if I'd come to Bands, Brews, and Barbecue next year. Especially when there are so many beer festivals around the same time that are competing for my dollar, and offering a much better value for the same price.