The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors proclaimed the Reston Multicultural Festival’s 25th Anniversary during their meeting on Aug. 25.
This annual event honors Reston’s founding principles that embrace arts, culture and inclusivity as cornerstones for the community. It’s become a premier, regional event, drawing thousands of visitors to experience music, dance, traditional crafts and cultural traditions from around the world.
Supervisor Walter Alcorn brought forward the motion for the Board to recognize the event’s Silver Jubilee.
“It doesn't seem that long ago when this first got going, but this is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and to celebrate Reston's heritage and tradition as an open community, as a multicultural community.” said Supervisor Walter Alcorn.
Reston Community Center Executive Director BeBe Nguyen accepted the proclamation, along with Reston Community Center Board of Governors Beverly Cosham and Paul Thomas and staff
As a refugee to this country, Nguyen said the festival’s mission to celebrate diversity and build community connects very personally for her.
“I know what it means to leave one home and to be welcome into another,” Nguyen said. “I know the power of belonging, and I believe deeply that community is not something we simply inherit. It is something we choose to nurture and to build together.
From the beginning, the festival aimed to honor Reston’s diversity as a source of its strength. Residents Ellen Graves and Margaret Boyd identified a need for this celebration, bringing their request to the then Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins. She encouraged them to work with Reston Community Center to create this event.
Over the years, the festival deepened its connection to traditional cultural arts through the participation of National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows. These recipients of the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts showcase their artistry on the festival stage.
Last year, NEA Heritage Fellows Shaka Zulu, a master of New Orleans Black Masking traditions, and Peniel Guerrier, a master dancer and drummer preserving Haitian cultural heritage, performed.
For many years, Reston’s first village center Lake Anne hosted the festival, but in 2022, the celebration moved to Reston Town Center, marking a new chapter with expanded opportunities for performances, vendors, civic partners and public participation.
This year’s festival will take place on Saturday, September 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Reston Town Center. It will feature more than 20 performances on three stages, along with interactive street-level programming and the popular Market Street Stroll showcasing traditional crafts, handmade goods and local community organizations.
Reston Community Center presents the festival in partnership with Reston Town Center Association. It is co-hosted at Reston Town Center by BXP with volunteer coordination provided by Reston Association.
“Ultimately, this festival belongs to our community,” said Nguyen. “It belongs to the child discovering a new culture for the very first time. The family sharing their food and their family traditions. The performer who proudly shares their heritage. And the neighbor who leaves knowing a little bit more about their neighbors or someone that they may not have ever gotten to meet. That is the gift of the Reston Multicultural Festival.”