Wonderful day for families at the Virginia Fine Arts Festival!

This year's FREE festival is packed with activities for children! (If possible please donate $5-$10 to the festival. Donation proceeds benefit year round educational and outreach programs produced by GRACE.)

My daughters love seeing the peformers from Arachne Aerial Arts. They have two performance pieces at the weekend long event:


One, called “The Beauty of Their Dreams”, is inspired by William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It includes two characters grounded by industrial reality, that dream of a more ethereal existence of beauty and grace. The performance features three aerial duets by Arachne Aerial Arts as dreams complimented by inspiring aerial theater performances by In-Flight Theater. This performance will take place on a large installation called The Tower and will occur under the Reston Town Center Pavilion.

In addition to the performance in the Pavilion, the aerialists will perform on another installation called The Flying Machine in Town Square Park. This is an aerial sculpture that investigates the integration of the human body, tools and machinery. Being huge in scale, it uses counterbalance both as metaphor and function. Contact occurs from reaching through the machine with body and spirit.

More for Kids:

Art & Science Artistically Collide in Children’s Art Tent:

This year Art &Science meet in the Children’s Art Tent where children can explore, discover and create fun, wonderful art. From kaleidoscope making, to designing your own paper bag hats, to participating in a colorful community mural, come see what happens when art and science meet and how art and science can work together to create beautiful works.

Also learn more about GRACE’s educational programs, including Art in the Schools, Explore More, Summer Art Camp, and children’s workshops.

The festival will also have full slate of musical entertainment, ranging from teen Rock sensation Margot MacDonald to Old-Time String Band innovator Scott Malyska, and from former DaVinci’s Notebook vocalist Bernie Muller-Thyme to guitar virtuoso Sol. Many outstanding songwriters are included in the lineup as well.


Event Details:
What: 19th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Who: Contemporary artwork from over 200 artists in 18 categories
Where: Reston Town Center - 12001 Market Street, Reston, VA 20190
When: Saturday & Sunday – May 15 & 16, 2010
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Rain or Shine.
Preview Night Party: Friday, May 14, 7:00-10:00 p.m. Tickets required.

Cost: Admission to the event is free however a voluntary donation of $5 is requested. In addition, $10-off certificates redeemable at a dozen Reston Town Center restaurants will be offered in exchange for a $10 donation to the GRACE.

Website: www.restonarts.org/festival/