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Sweltering conditions failed to stop the festivities at the Gum Springs Community Day Juneteenth Celebration on June 21.
With temperatures above 90 degrees and feeling closer to 100, attendees danced in Martin Luther King Park as the Just Us Band performed its rendition of “What’s Going On?”
Families cooled down with snow cones, enjoyed hot dogs and watched excited children ride the Big Country Express train and a six-horse carousel.
The celebration also featured 35 vendors offering clothing, jewelry, scented car diffusers and other goods. Government agencies shared information about foster care, public safety and mental health services, along with resources including gun locks.
Founded in 1833 by West Ford, a formerly enslaved man who worked at George Washington’s plantation, Gum Springs is Fairfax County’s oldest African American community.