A Penny For Your Thoughts

In early 1980, a Mason District Park jogger discovered that staff at the newly-created park on Columbia Pike needed a weed whacker to help tend the park trails and flower beds. Apparently the Park Authority budget didn’t stretch far enough in those days to cover the cost of a weed whacker, so the jogger contacted then-Mason District Supervisor Tom Davis who contacted some PTA and civic association presidents, to see what could be done to help the park. A few meetings later, and the Friends of Mason District Park was created.

That was the beginning of an extraordinary partnership between the Friends volunteers and the Fairfax County Park Authority. The first Mason District Park Festival was held in October of 1980, and we raised enough money from the festival to buy a weed whacker and a John Deere tractor for the Park. In the early 1980s, the Friends were advocated for the construction of the amphitheatre at the Park, now the site of the very popular free summer concert series, Spotlight by Starlight. Corporate sponsors of the concert programs include Cox Communications, Goodwin House West, the West*Group, ExxonMobil, Magill’s Restaurant in Annandale, the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, and McDonald’s Family Restaurants. The amphitheatre is named for, and dedicated to, Newton Edwards, a former Mason District representative on the Park Authority. The late Mr. Edwards was instrumental in obtaining the former pony farm that is now the 121-acre Mason District Park.

The 25th Annual Mason District Park Festival will be held this Saturday, September 18, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Park, 6621 Columbia Pike in Annandale. The rain date is the following day, Sunday, September 19, same hours. We have had to use a rain date only three times in 25 years, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for this weekend!

The Mason District Park Festival features craft and food vendors, live entertainment on the Showmobile stage, children’s rides, a free hayride sponsored by Goodwin House of Bailey’s Crossroads, and police and fire demonstrations. This year’s entertainment includes the Bull Run Cloggers, Blue Sky Puppets, Federal Focus Jazz Band, Russikye Musikanti, Duende Cameron, and the Potomac Brass Quintet.

The Mason District Park Festival is a wonderful family day, with activities for all ages. I look forward to seeing you there. Think dry!