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Falls Church will mark the nation’s 250th anniversary with a new community celebration featuring live music, local food and drinks, civic activities and an all-ages team competition.
Civic Jam will run from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 3, at Cherry Hill Park, 312 Park Ave. The event will take place rain or shine.
Fireworks, sparklers and other flammable items banned by the city will not be permitted. Instead, the evening will close with illuminated VA250 giveaways, glowsticks and live music.
Teams Compete for the Civic Cup
The Civic Cup Competition will send teams through races, games and activities presented by local nonprofits and community groups.
Teams may include up to four people and must have at least one adult age 18 or older. No advance registration is required. Scorecards will be available beginning at 6 p.m., with the first competition starting at 6:15 p.m.
Activities carry different point values, and teams can earn bonus points by wearing festive or coordinated costumes and winning selected events. The highest-scoring team will receive the Civic Cup, team T-shirts and commemorative items.
The competition schedule includes:
- 6:15 to 6:45 p.m.: Watermelon Roll, with two team members
- 6:55 to 7:25 p.m.: Water Balloon Toss, with two team members
- 7:35 to 8:05 p.m.: Sack Race, with one team member
- 8:15 to 8:45 p.m.: Three-Legged Race, with two team members
- 8:45 to 9 p.m.: Civic Cup trophy ceremony
Staff members at the competition area can provide accessible adjustments and alternatives.
Three Bands Take the Stage
Villains and Saints, an all-veteran rock band from Falls Church, will perform from 6 to 7 p.m. Washington-based high-energy pop group Historically Close Friends will follow from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Northern Virginia Latin pop-rock party band Ocho De Bastos will close the event with a set from 9 to 10 p.m.
Festivities opening at 6 p.m. will also include food vendors, a beer garden, a photo booth, free cotton candy, yard games, a mechanical bull, axe throwing, a bounce house and other interactive attractions. The beer garden’s last call will be at 9:45 p.m.
Community Groups Fill the Park
Local organizations will host crafts, demonstrations, games and educational activities throughout the evening.
Planned offerings include a lotus craft and meditation demonstration from the Asian Community Service Center, theater masks from Creative Cauldron, spin art from Falls Church Arts and climate trivia, an electric dollhouse and an electric vehicle from the Falls Church Climate Action Network.
Falls Church Indivisible will offer button, sign and rock painting. The Friends of Cherry Hill Foundation will present farmhouse artifacts and historic games, while the League of Women Voters of Falls Church will hold civic trivia at 7 p.m. in the beer garden.
Other activities include a library-resource edition of “What’s Your Jam?” from Mary Riley Styles Public Library, a 250th-anniversary banner-painting project from The Learning Quest, VA250 temporary tattoos from the Falls Church 250 Committee and a football-toss game from the Village Preservation and Improvement Society.
Additional participants include Bike, Walk, and Roll Falls Church; Falls Church Community Television; the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority; the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment; the Shepherd’s Center of McLean-Arlington-Falls Church; the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9724; the Victorian Society at Falls Church; and the We the Neighbors Initiative.
Parking Changes Begin at Noon
Parts of the Falls Church Community Center parking lot will close at noon July 3 and remain closed through 10 p.m.
Free public parking will be available at the Kaiser Permanente Parking Garage, 201 N. Washington St., and on the lower level of the George Mason Square Garage, accessible from South Maple at 103 W. Broad St.
Visitors may also park on many side streets but should check posted time limits. Organizers warned attendees not to use private lots marked with towing-enforcement signs, because businesses may tow unauthorized vehicles without notice.
Accessible parking will be available beside the Falls Church Community Center at 223 Little Falls St. Attendees are encouraged to walk, bike or use public transportation.