Nice free festival to go to. We were able to take the shuttle bus from Herndon high school. At…read morefirst there are arts & crafts as well as other tents with food vendors. Then there's an area for drinks and enjoying the live entertainment. Further in there's a bunch of rides. Overall cute smaller local summer festival to go to if you're in the area.

Located in Old Town Herndon, this festival is usually in the beginning of June. Been here 2 years…read morein a row only because it's something fun to do on a Friday night, eat mediocre food and some live entertainment. It's free to go in but you do have to pay for the rides and food. Theres a few art/jewelry vendors that sells some cute accessories and the rest is mostly food and a whole carnival area with rides. Food is on the expensive side, I mean its everything greasy and oily imaginable under the sun. I mean yeah I can't lie deep fried Oreos is a must but theres fried cheesecake, fried reeces, fried snickers like anything you can think of. A small cup of beer is about $6 and food usually varies from $5-$12 depending on where you go. It is mostly tweens and alotta kids, but its just something fun to do and to get out. It does get crowded on Friday and Saturday nights but not overcrowded where you can barely walk. Not bad to get in for free its your discretion how much you want to spend.

I went to Celebrate Fairfax for the 1st on 6/9/17, 6/10/17 and 6/11/17…read more It is apparent that Celebrate Fairfax has grown over the past couple of years from a traditional carnival. You take the shuttle (because there is not enough parking at the festival for everyone who attends) from either Fair Oaks Mall or a nearby business park and walk right past the traditional carnival rides. I remember as a child. After the carnival rides you past vendors selling everything from coffee to Botox (agree with other Yelpers Celebrate Fairfax is not focused on crafts). After you past the vendors you are welcomed by the smells of food from everything from chicken to popcorn. After you past the food vendors, you arrive at the stage (concerts are offered on Friday and Saturday night). I was primarily interested in attending Celebrate Fairfax to see Bush (which turned out to be one of the best concerts I have experienced from the sounds to crowd) and when I looked at the ticket price I said "hey a 3 day ticket doesn't cost that much more". The concert space has chairs for anyone who wants to sit and if the band turns out to be super popular (and no chairs are left) you can either sit on the very small lawn space or stand. At the end of each concert there is a great fireworks displayed. I was impressed by the half hour show (stayed for the entire display on Saturday night). The fireworks displayed can be seen at almost every part of the festival (e.g. at the concert space or near the rides). The last day of Celebrate Fairfax the organizers tried something different this year and hosted a Brewfest. It was a really nice mixture of cider and beer. I heard from someone who attended the previous year that the organizers focused more on wine than beer. I think. Beer is better bet because I think you will attract more people because beer (in my opinion) offers more variety. I loved the concept of unlimited pours (and no tickets for tastes). If I had one compliant about the Brewfest portion it would be to have more sun umbrellas and dump buckets available. I know. It can be hard to predict the weather but Celebrate Fairfax happens every year in June and therefore rain or shine you can expect it to be hot. On that note, you can bring in Camel Backpacks into the festival. It is very helpful to have a large source of water available since all of Celebrate Fairfax (except for the restrooms and train display in the Government Center) is outside. In a nutshell, I am super psyched to live in Northern VA so I can attend Celebrate Fairfax (fingers crossed they have another great band(s) next year).

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.

A waste of money as it is a small display. Go to Meadowlark Garden instead for less money and a…read morebetter display.

Overpriced for 20mins walk. We drove about an hour and a half for what we aren't expected.read more

exceptional family fun every year - great food, authentic Arabic sweets, Arabic music and dancing,…read moreopen air seating, Kid Zone that keeps the family happy all day!

23rd Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival was a great event. I missed 22 other years but I will be…read morecoming again. The staff is incredibly organized, it feels more like an organized Japanese, not Middle East Festival. Everything is presented nicely in different and multiple formats (plates, hand brochure or large food panel with pictures) so it is really hard not to know what is available. Hosts are welcoming and asking how they can assist. The only improvement would be to place a schedule of events on the website so people can gauge what event they want to attend (dance, or roasted lamb dinner or whatever else). There are many ethnic drinks offered and they complement great food. I had a Kibbeh Platter and it was so good that I wanted to meet the lady cook. This is really easy festival to remember because it always during the Labor day weekend. There is a lot of stuff for the kids (free pony rides for example) in the large backyard or you can have a church tour. The assembly hall is large and Arabic music entertained us entire time. The Sweets table is a LONG table with any baklava that you may think off (walnuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, ...) Sweets that I tried were all very tasty. I leave this place with a satisfied belly and notion that everything was perfect and I credit the great hosts for that.

This like most of the other Greek festivals in the US, is a fundraiser for the local church (in…read morethis case, the Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox church) in Sterling. (Currently, their church is in a warehouse.) The festival is usually over the Presidents' day weekend beginning at 4pm Friday and 11-9 Saturday and 11-7 Sunday. (webpage: https://www.facebook.com/TasteOfGreeceAshburn ). Traditionally, in Greece, festivals center around the church on important church days, and are day long outdoor events for the whole family that go late into the evening. Taste of Greece is held in the old Ashburn firehouse until they can get land and have a more traditional and larger outdoor festival. There is free parking with attendants to help. The atmosphere is warm, lively, the music traditional, there's a stunning collage of pictures of Greece on a screen, the decorations very tasteful and give a feel for the warm friendly culture. Go with friends and family, to spend several hours, relax, drink coffee or beer and have a good time There are 100-150 families trying to raise money to build a traditional home for the church, so the number of people that plan and execute the festival is very small. For such a small community this festival is amazingly well done and will certainly grow. It has become so popular that they are outgrowing the firehouse, so go and help them get their church built sooner so they can make the festival even better! The operation is very well planned, efficiently run, the food is plentiful, the dishes authentic, the music, costumes and dancing uplifting and festive. There is a raffle with multiple prizes. Local greek restaurants provide the kitchen services and cook staff and the church members serve their guests. The menu includes 3 tradition dishes gyros (pronounced YEE-ro not gii-ro) which is meat roasted on a spit and sliced into a pita with lettuce, tomato and thick tzatziki (or cucumber yogurt garlic dip); moussaka ( pronounced moo-sa-KA) which is potato, eggplant and ground meat, baked under a bechamel (white) sauce. Pastitsio (pronounced pas-TI-tsi-o) long hollow pasta in a lasagna like sauce, also baked under a bechamel layer. Both dishes are rich and flavorful. There's Baklava and Greek coffee for dessert. My personal favorite is the spinach pie (spa-na-KO-pita) Food can also be taken to go, an option if you go during peak lunch and dinner hours, when it's so crowded it's hard to find seats. The church has other fundraisers just before Thanksgiving where the women's group makes and sells pans of spanakopita and tiropita (cheese pie) and another before Christmas when they sell tsoureki ( pronounced ts-oo-REK-ee) a sweet bread with a lucky coin somewhere in the cake for new years.

To understand the Taste of Greece, one first has to understand the location of Ashburn in Loudoun…read moreCounty. About 40 years ago it was mostly the farmlands. Its population doubled in last 20 years. Ashburn is a part of Loudoun County, which is a wealthy county and about an hour away from Washington, DC (on a good day). Out of over hundred local ethnic festivals I have visited, this is the first one that was held in Loudoun County! The 8th Annual Taste of Greece was a rare opportunity to have an ethnic festival where the houses came well before schools, churches and recreational centers. It was held in the county firehouse, nestled among thousands of (over 2,000SF) houses. It is a fairly new church community (most of the things in Ashburn are fairly new) fundraiser and it is easy to understand how in this neighborhood the Taste of Greece can charge $12 for Gyro or $5 for a small piece of baklava. Good for the church, I say! The energy and desire of the "Greek Ladies" was contagious. They are kind and willing to talk about anything, and very agreeable. The space was too small, especially when the families started coming (after soccer games) with their children. The plastic forks and knives were positioned in the furthest possible spot to reach; wait for food was 10-15 minutes, parking was not available and seats were scarce. The food was good but not the best ever. There was music and dance. The crowd was diverse (like the county) and they took this rare opportunity to have a true ethnic food in the form of ethnic food festival in their county - without a long drive that they probably experience every working day. Taste of Greece is certainly a big deal for Loudoun County and I was happy to support the Greek American community with my Gyro meal and Mythos (Greek) beer. I hope they will grow and that many other ethnic festivals will follow soon.

The Thai New Year's Day is 13 April every year. If your New Year resolution did not pan out as you…read moredesired, you can always start new one with the Chinese, Vietnamese, Persian or Thai New Year. The Songkran, Thai New Year in Sterling temple exceeded my expectations. I did not expect that it will feel like you are on the street of Bangkok. Food and smiles everywhere! There is a food that you can find in a Thai restaurant and the one that you may not find in a Thai restaurant. I had grilled squid and Beef noodle soup that was made right there in front of me. Choice of noodles - noodles get dipped in the boiled water and 30 seconds later your noodles are done. Choice of meat - liver and other parts get put in. Green plants (lemongrass), salt and been sprouts and sauce is added and then another scoop from another boiling pot and your broth is poured over your ingredients with peanuts and spices on top of it all. I could not find Thai doughnuts and tasty curry puff was under $1 (6 for $5). At least 30 different meals (including a lot of fish) were offered. Besides eating Thai delicacies, you could listen Thai music, buy clothing or jewelry or get inspired by the Buddhist monks in orange clothes. Free parking, affordable food cost and jovial surroundings makes it an enjoyable festival.

Good social media marketing, poor experience. My toddler did…read moreenjoy the 2 minute light walk through. There was misinformation on the website about the ages required to pay and their platform that they used fever refused to refund my money because they said it was up to the vendor. The manager on site acted like they would do it and showed me a QR code . The vendor said it was up to fever. It was just a back-and-forth of neither of them wanting to refund my money.

Great holiday Chinese light show! Inside there is dumplings…read moreand hot chocolate! enjoyable walk on a cold evening Wish there were Elotes

The 10th Anniversary Vietnamese Festival at Tysons Corner Plaza was a fun event. Good food and…read moreperformances. We especially enjoyed watching the pho and crawfish eating contests.

Viet Fest was fun. The only thing that was not cool was hot sun on the fine summer day at…read morebeautiful Tyson's Plaza. Most people do not know about the plaza or festival. You can reach it via metro or park in a huge garage at the Mall. Food is very good and reasonably priced - between 3$ and $8. Sandwiches(banh mi) , soups(pho) and egg rolls are available. Cultural dance and music performances going on while you are eating.. Even Psychic readings is available - same shop was at the Bolivian Festival week later which proofs how our hopes are the same, no matter how we look or talk. No entrance fee - just open yourself to a different culture and food. Kids playground available - Lions dance - ice cream...kids friendly