It’s no secret that the arts are under attack by the Trump Administration.  From installing himself as chairman of the treasured Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to gutting funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and ordering a review of everything presented by the Smithsonian Institution museums, Mr. Trump is attempting to re-create our nation’s diverse artistic vision into one man’s notion of the American experience.  If that notion includes lots of gold and portraits of himself replacing previous White House occupants, all the better to satisfy his narcissistic and authoritarian ego.  No need for mirrors in the White House; he can catch a glimpse of his carefully-sculpted coif in any gaudy trophy on the Oval Office mantel.  

Despite Trump’s attacks, the arts are alive and well in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County, and Mason District.  For more than a year, the Mason District Arts Council has been planning the first annual Mason District Art Festival, celebrating local artists in all forms and media.  The Festival will be held this Saturday, October 11, 2025, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. (rain or shine, but the weather report looks dry and autumnal for Saturday) at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space, 7200 Columbia Pike in Annandale (just west of the Annandale Fire Station and east of the ACCA Child Development Center with the big yellow and floral building mural).  Admission is free and the festival is designed for all ages.  Seniors are encouraged to visit from 10 to 11 a.m. to enjoy a less-crowded environment.

Under the direction of council chair James Albright, whose energy and enthusiasm seems boundless, the Festival idea proved so popular that the call for artist spaces was filled in a matter of days.  The event features painting, ceramic art, jewelry-making, glass, digital and multi-media art, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, metal, textiles and wood.  You can watch some art being created on-the-spot and learn more about the techniques used to complete a project from idea to finished item.  Art also will be available for purchase from the artists themselves.  

Brief music, dance, spoken word, and theatre performances will be held on the Civic Space stage between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.  Fairfax County Poet Laureate Angelique Palmer will present original poetry and a children’s play area with appropriate arts activities for youngsters will be open, as well as local coffee and food trucks to celebrate our arts community.  The Mason District Arts Festival is supported by ArtsFairfax, Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez, the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization, and many community volunteers who serve on the Council.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Although the Civic Space stage is too small for a full-sized production on Saturday, the Providence Players (part of the Mason District Arts Council) will present Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 from October 10 through 25, with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on October 12 and 19.  A blizzard rages. The roads are closed.  There is no way out.  At Monkswell Manor, a group of strangers is trapped by the snow – and one of them is a murderer.  News of a recent murder in London and a policeman’s arrival further heighten the tension as it’s revealed that the killer might be among them.  Secrets, suspicions, alibis, then a second murder occurs.  The legendary whodunit is the longest-running play in history.  From first act to final gasp, you’ll be guessing and second guessing.  Everyone becomes a suspect!  

The Providence Players perform at the James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church 22042.  Log on to https://www.providenceplayers.org/tickets/ to purchase very reasonably priced tickets and support local community theatre. Become a patron of the arts and help ensure that art stays a central focus of society, open to all talents and ideas, regardless of who’s in the Oval Office.