Upcoming Festival, Farm Day Canceled in Falls Church

Due to COVID-19 precautions, the annual Falls Church Festival and Farm Day events are canceled.

The City of Falls Church announced the change of plans today, saying that public health concerns prompted the decisions.

The 45th Falls Church Festival was originally set to offer live entertainment, amusement rides, food from local eateries and pony rides on Sept. 12. Last year’s event attracted roughly 12,000 visitors, according to the city’s website.

Meanwhile, the 27th annual Farm Day would have featured horsedrawn hay-rides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making and other fall activities in October.

“We are committed to helping our resident, visitor, and business community stay safe,” Danny Schlitt, the city’s recreation and parks director, said. “We don’t see a way to safely hold large crowd events like the Falls Church Festival and Farm Day.”

The announcement said that the rest of the city’s events for 2020, including Sunset Cinema, Halloween Carnival and Holiday Craft Show, “will take place if a safe event format can be created.”

“We are looking into ways to create a safe Sunset Cinema, Halloween Carnival, and Holiday Craft Show,” Schlitt said. “We also want to build on the success of the wildly popular Springtime Bunny car parade and the Independence Day Scavenger Hunt — we are continuously looking for ways to bring fun and togetherness (if socially distant) to the community!”

People looking for virtual events can check out the Virtual Community Center newsletter.