The Celebrate Fairfax! festival is an annual community-wide celebration that is held during the second weekend after Memorial Day at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...

. The annual festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

 hosts more than 70,000 visitors each year.

Prior to becoming the Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, this annual event was known as the Fairfax Fair. The Fair dates back to colonial times when the House of Burgesses

House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...

 mandated that an annual Fair be held to promote commerce

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

, economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

 and a sense of community. It existed as a for-profit corporation from the late 18th century to the mid-1940s, when it went bankrupt after three years of rain. In 1982, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, sometimes abbreviated as FCBS, is the governing body of Fairfax County; a county of over a million in Northern Virginia. The board has nine districts, and one at-large district which is always occupied by the Chair...

decided to create and host a countywide event: the "Fairfax Festival." The success of that event led to the creation of the non-profit Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. which produces the festival today. This year's 2011 Celebrate Fairfax! celebration will be held June 10-12 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).