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!

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.

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'

What a sweet and wholesome festival! I attended for the first time this past weekend and really…read moreenjoyed my time browsing the vendor booths, sampling the strawberry-infused eats, and sitting comfortably in the shade. The fair itself is huge. I'm not sure I actually covered every section. I parked on one of the side streets off Route 1 and entered kind of near the food court area. There were SO many vendors -- you could go broke! Everything you could possibly want to buy was present -- candles, honey, hemp honey, knickknacks, fudge, dog bones, dolls, soooo much jewelry....and much more. They even had a prayer booth. I was there for the strawberries, so I indulged in a strawberry-chocolate topped funnel cake from Johnson's Family Funnel Cakes (and a hot dog -- deeeelicious), as well as a strawberry lemonade from the Methodist Church stand. Ashland Berry Farm had a large booth with pints for $3, so I snagged one of those as well. Bands were playing. The air was warm and the sky was bright. Families were all over the place. It was a scene straight out of a movie. I already can't wait for next year. [But I will wear sunscreen next time.]

it can be better. the event was well run and we really like how it was laid out. everyone was…read morehaving a good time and behaving themselves. I have a problem mixing alcohol and children. It's not religious just practical. the vip area was way too large and prohibited dancing. Better bands will bring more people. We will attend again.

wonderful homemade greek specialities - meals and sweets, I drove 50 miles to be able to find…read moreauthentic moussaka at a reasonable price and I had food for several days - wish it was closer but I am likely to repeat

The weather was warm and the food was hot. We had a great time at the Greek festival the food was…read moreexcellent. The entertainment was so enjoyable between listening to the wonderful music and watching the Greek dancers this made my Sunday perfect . There was a large tent with plenty of tables and chairs to enjoy the food and entertainment out of the sun. I was delighted to find my favorite Greek pastries inside the church. There were vendors set up so you Could look around in the in the air conditioning. We had a very nice time in very good food and entertainment. I am very glad we made time to go.

I finally got to come to this fair, and I couldn't help but compare it to the MoCo Fair, which I've…read morebeen to twice. Immediate comparisons... it's sooooo much smaller! They had more rides than meets the eye, but the space and food options were noticeably far less. But unlike MoCo's $20, parking is free. And they kept it PG and had a live go-go band... gotta love that! They are next to an equestrian center, so sometimes you can smell manure, but that's just nature haha. It was like $7 to get in as an adult, and the unlimited ride wristbands are better for individuals than tickets (if you like rides). It was only around for a weekend, so for anyone seeing this... well, you'll have to wait until next year haha. If you're around, definitely go. The free parking is a huge perk!

I have been going to the fair for about 30/40 years. I've had some very good times with my children…read moreand grandchildren. There were pony rides, dancers, contests and concerts. I hope it is back to its former state. I miss the fair!

Pathetic excuse for a fair. Even a small county fair…read more I love fairs. Big and small. I knew this one was small, so I had low expectations, but you can see the entire fair in about 7 mins. And....it's costs $15 to get in. And $5 to park. So $20 bucks for the world's smallest fair. I went soon after the fair opened, and none of the rides were operating and only half the food vendors were open. What did I get for my $20? Very very little.

Amazing fun great food cute animals and lots of fun. There's a lot of rides and different options…read morefor food. I'd definitely recommend coming to the county fair over the summer.

Awesome festivities, creative lights on boats, and community engagement at its best! Amazing…read moremusics venues, Pendry Hotel tables nicely designed outdoors with a fire pit, and a Santa photo op. Various treats and freebies offered, great concert - live music. Talk about clubbing on the pier! This evening of Jack Daniels partnership on a pier at the wharf was a full on Techno, old school, pop dance party! They did not spare much...DJ sounds, free tastings of Jack Daniels apple whisky and Jack Daniels rum and coke lasted from 6-9pm. The Boat parade was demonstrated how great a community we have on the the wharf. Followed by fireworks, this 30 year celebration of the holiday boat parade could not have been a better welcoming of the holidays! Kudos to the wharf for putting on an amazing event!

My husband and I love boats and sailing (and one of the things that drew us to each other). So it…read morewas pretty humorous that we had consistently missed the Parade of Lights for the entirety of our relationship...but quite honestly, isn't that the way it seems to always go? Well, this year, we put it on our calendars well in advance, and made a point to head down for the Parade of Lights. So, first of all - if you haven't heard of it before, the Parade of Lights is on the Potomac...as in, it's a parade of *boats*. The parade starts off in Old Town Alexandria (down by the Torpedo Factory), and ends up on the DC Wharf on Water Street, where all the boats dock, and there is a big awesome after party. We opted to watch from Alexandria, as we weren't really in the mood to deal with drunken revelers (I know, so unusual for me!), and I think we were ultimately glad we did. Although the docks were crowded (seriously, get there early and stake a spot!), the view was perfect. The boats were all decked out in lights, each boat with a different theme (although there should be a drinking game...whenever a boat's theme is "Christmas", you do a shot. You'll be drunk 15 minutes into this thing). So the good: The event started right on time. The kick off was supposed to be at 5:30, and the first boat pulled into view at 5:35. Awesome. Some of the boats are decked out incredibly creatively It's not your usual parade There was a professional radio DJ (I didn't catch which one...Tommy something?) that provided the commentary and filled up the time when the boats lagged behind The not so good: The DJ that was providing the commentary ran out of material about 1/3 of the way through and he started to read off tweets...which I pretty much loathe (even though I'm a huge fan of twitter) Some of the boats really lagged, so there were periods where you would just stand there in the cold waiting for another boat to pull into view It is COLD. It's the beginning of December, on the water, at night. OMG. SO. COLD. All that being said, it's a quirky, off the wall little event, and I love the creativity that the captains put into their boats. Definitely fun and weird.

Visited during Clarendon Day and the weather was perfect after the past rain. We ate at Spice Craft…read moreand the food was awesome. Lucky the tables outside were free s we could enjoy lunch. We walked up and down visiting the booths.

This festival was amazing. I feel like we need to share our experience since we went here with our…read morekids and had such a blast. It isn't a massive festival, but has plenty of vendors all from the neighborhood. There were bouncy houses for the kids, a silent disco, cotton candy (always a hit) and so many fun activities. We spent about 4 hours at this festival with our 4 year olds. They had so much fun as did we. There are adult beverages for sale along with so many fun activities. It made us wish we lived in Clarendon!

A great (and growing) community tradition. Interesting mixture of vendors, information, and…read moreopportunity (especially if you have a child in scouting) on the site of an old and historical church. We go every year!

From the owner: The Annual Stafford County Hartwood Days Festival & Agricultural Fair is Scheduled for the weekend…read moreof the 2nd Saturday of September every year! What do we have for you to do? This Family friendly event has lots of fun stuff for kids, and interesting Exhibitors and vendors for parents. Rides open Thursday or Friday prior! The Free Teen Jam Saturday night, the Agricultural Area, the First Responders Area, Food, Exhibitors, the Living History Area, the Trailblazer Program, the Scout Badge Day, Vendors & of course Music !! Pass this page along to your friends! Tell em all! Interested in sponsoring or participating? We have several sponsorship opportunities or service opportunities for you or your business to assist the festival and give back to the community.