Celebrate Fairfax Is This Weekend

Holy crap! I just realized that Celebrate Fairfax starts tomorrow. I'm sure the festival staff, volunteers, exhibitors, musicians, county employees and many others are well aware that Northern Virginia's largest festival starts Friday, June 10th, but it sort of snuck up on me this year.

I wrote about this year's headliners a few months ago, and I'll provide ticket information below, but I want to give my annual plug for the festival here. Where you can you see a concert, particularly by Plain White T's, B-52s, or Living Colour, for $15? You can't. Ticket fees alone are usually that much. So Saturday afternoon, you decide that you want to see the B-52s. You didn't purchase advance tickets or take advantage of the deals below, but you want to get tickets at the door. $15 gets you in to see the B-52s. Oh, but there are also dozens of other performers on Saturday as well as the Silent Disco. And DockDogs Championship. And maybe you meet a chiropractor or gutter cover exhibitor that can give you a good deal on something you were already thinking of doing. And there are fireworks. And there are free kids activities. And a Donut Eating Contest. Yes, you'll have to pay more for carnival rides or food or beer (if you go to a Nationals game, they're not going giving out free hot dogs), but that's your choice on how much or little you want to spend on that. Again, all of this is $15 (or less with the deals below).

In addition, there are some new activities this year. While they are all on the Celebrate Fairfax website, I'm intrigued by team trivia on Friday night and the 5K on Sunday morning.

So here are your deals. If you visit any Northern Virginia Wegmans today (Thursday, June 9th), you can get adult tickets for $12 and youth tickets for $4. You can also purchase tickets for less than the door at the Celebrate Fairfax website. Finally, go to LivingSocial today to get a Sunday Funday Family Pack for up to 2 adults and 4 kids for only $22.

Hope to see you there!

2016 Celebrate Fairfax Headliners

Celebrate Fairfax, Northern Virginia's largest festival announced its headliners for the annual event.

Friday, June 10: Plain White T's



Yes I could have posted the video of Hey There Delilah, but I like this song better.

Saturday, June 11: The B-52s



By far, my favorite song about the NBA legend.

Sunday, June 12: Living Colour



This should be fun!

I'm sure I'll have much more about the festival over the next three months. Plus you can learn more about the festival and how to get tickets at the Celebrate Fairfax website.


Update: Here is a formal press release about the festival and headliners:

FAIRFAX, VA, March 15, 2016 –- Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide event, the 35th annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, is set to take place June 10-12, 2016 on the grounds of the Fairfax County Government Center. The Celebrate Fairfax! Festival features 25 acres of amazing concerts, family programs, exhibits, thrilling carnival rides and nightly fireworks! Among the festival's highlights are more than 130 performances on eight stages, with an exceptional line-up of national, regional and local artists. Included are three fantastic headlining performances:

2016 Headline Entertainment Schedule for the Bud Light Main Stage:

• Friday, June 10th at 8:00 p.m. Plain White T’s

The Plain White T's kicked off their career in the Chicago suburbs, playing a mix of pop, punk, and melody--‐driven rock & roll in basements and clubs across the metro area. A decade--‐and--‐a--‐half later — with several thousand shows and a string of platinum –selling singles, including the mega--‐hit "Hey There Delilah” (the 18th most downloaded song of all time), under their belts. The guys haven't stopped heading back to the basement to dream up new sounds. There's where the Plain White T's put the finishing touches on American Nights, the band's first independent album since 2001.

• Saturday, June 11th at 8:00 p.m. B-52s

It is well known that the B-52s are the World’s Greatest Party Band. And thirty years and over twenty million albums into their career, there can be no doubt as to why The B-52s remain among the most beloved rock stars ever. Any mystery concerning the longevity and ongoing appeal of the band is immediately solved when exposed to a unique B-52s concert experience. From the timeless gems of "Rock Lobster," "Planet Claire" and "Private Idaho" to the more recent classics “Channel Z," "Love Shack" and "Roam", the B-52s’ unforgettable dance-rock tunes start a party every time their music begins.

• Sunday, June 12th at 4:30 p.m. Living Colour

Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, hard rock and heavy metal. The band’s debut album, “Vivid,” was released in 1988 on Epic Records and reached #6 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It featured “Cult of Personality,” a #13 hit on the Billboard 200 Singles chart as well as the Top 40 hit, “Glamour Boys.” “Cult of Personality” went on to earn the band their first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.

In addition to the outstanding entertainment schedule, there are plenty of enhancements to the festival programming at Celebrate Fairfax!, including areas such as the popular Silent Disco, the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship, the Fairfax County DockDogs Competition, VA Tourism LoveArtwork, Celebrate Fairfax 5k Race, Giant Maze, Pop-up Playground, Flamingo Frenzy Scavenger Hunt and the Emerging Artist Showcase, plus more than 60 carnival rides, games, and attractions, and over 30 food vendors with enough variety to please anyone! These fantastic attractions are some of the many programs that Celebrate Fairfax! is so proud to host at this year’s festival.

General admission is available for all performances; shows are free with daily tickets to the event. Advance tickets go on sale April 1st at www.celebratefairfax.com and May 1st at all Northern Virginia Wegmans locations.

The 35th annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival is a presentation of Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. and will be held Friday, June 10th through Sunday, June 12th, 2016. Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. is a nonprofit, 501(c) 3 organization commissioned in 1982 by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Its mission, “The Celebration of Fairfax County and Its Communities,” is met through the production of the Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, Fall for Fairfax KidsFest, The Workhouse BrewFest, and educational programs such as Celebrate Fairfax CV+ Event Training Program. For more information call (703) 324-3247 or visit the website at www.celebratefairfax.com.