Community organizations, such as McLean Baptist Church, provide friendly greetings and a bounty of free information and goods to festival goers. Photo Courtesy of MCC
The McLean Community Center’s (MCC) annual community festival McLean Day 2012: "Celebrating Our Hometown" is on Saturday, May 19. MCC district residents are invited to come out and bring every member of the family for a fun day of outdoor activities. The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road. Admission is free.
A Rich History
The McLean School and Civic League originally sponsored the festival in 1915 as a way to raise funds for a host of school and community projects. The first McLean Day was held in a field adjacent to Franklin Sherman School. Over the years following, various community organizations kept McLean Day going (with varying degrees of success) until MCC began producing it in the mid-1970s. As it grew and became more popular, it soon outgrew the capacity of the Center’s Ingleside Avenue address and in 1988, MCC relocated it to its current location, Lewinsville Park.
Read more about McLean Day's history here.
Board Elections: Vote in the MCC Governing Board Election, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Residents of Dranesville Small Tax District 1A, who support the Center through a special real estate tax, can cast their votes to elect members to the 2012-2013 MCC Governing Board at the festival. The election will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a booth just inside the entrance to the park. Onsite parking is not available; however, residents can use the free shuttle bus
service to and from the park. Residents also may vote by absentee ballot if they will be unable to attend the festival. To be counted, completed ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16. Voting instructions and candidate information are available online at the Center’s Website: www.mcleancenter.org.
Find out more about the candidates here.
Carnival Rides: The Game’s the Thing
The young and the young-at-heart will find lots of fun options this year. Games 2U of Huntingtown, Md., returns for a second year of field games, such as laser tag, archery tag and a cannon. Reithoffer Shows is bringing the Orbiter and a number of large carnival rides. Full Tilt, The Ring of Fire, Pharaoh’s Fury, Starship 3000 and bumper car rides are also returning. Ticket sales for the large rides will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will end at 4 p.m. Tickets must be purchased with cash only. Most large rides cost $4 (or two tickets). An unlimited ride bracelet can be purchased for $20. Riders are encouraged to arrive early to get tickets as long lines develop. Other attractions include a rock climbing wall, carnival games, pony rides and face painting. A special area called the KidZone Midway features a variety of small, mechanical rides and bounces that toddlers and small children can enjoy.
Find out more about the fun here.
Food, Glorious Food
Four new food vendors are coming to McLean Day this year and they will expand the food offerings significantly on Eatery Row: Pepper Creek Shellfish Farm, Suya-to-Go and Dee’s
Concessions, along with the popular Tysons area food truck,
Something Stuffed (http://www.somethingstuffed.com ) will join other favorites such as The Tender Rib (http://www.thetenderrib.com), Minute Man Kettlecorn, Brad’s Concessions and Domino’s Pizza. As always, bring your appetite to McLean Day.
See a complete list of food vendors here.
Music, Martial Arts and More
The McLean Day Stage has something for everyone in the family. The children will love the antics of the talented dogs in the Mutts Gone Nuts Dog Show (http://muttsgonenuts.com/
index.html), the energy of the demonstrations by Mount Kim Tae Kwon Do students and the funky tunes of Bach to Rock bands. Proud parents and grandparents love the Joy of Dance performances by students enrolled in classes at MCC. The headlining act this year will be New Orleans style band Scott Ramminger and the Crawstickers (http://www.crawstickers.com/
home.cfm). In addition, the McLean Citizens Association will present its annual Teen Character Award at 3 p.m.
See the full list of performances here.
Parking and Free Shuttle Service
Parking is not available at Lewinsville Park on the day of the festival, so MCC strongly encourages participants to use its free shuttle service. Starting at 9:30 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, shuttle buses will run from the park to McLean Baptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Rd., Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 1545 Chain Bridge Road, and MCC, 1234 Ingleside Avenue. Parking also is available at the Lewinsville Senior Center, 1609 Great Falls Street, and the Center will run airport-style shuttle carts from Evers Drive, located at the rear of the building, to the park all day.
Read more about parking here.
Serious Sponsors
Each year, MCC seeks to partner with civic-minded businesses in the community to enrich the quality of the festival. Long-time festival supporters, Drs. Luposello & Marzban, DMD, PC., are sponsoring the Octopus Slide inflatable for children again this year.
Zero Tolerance
Alcohol, cigarettes and other controlled substances are not permitted on the grounds. Political candidates and other vendors must contain their activities to their assigned booth spaces.
Soliciting is not allowed outside of the booth areas or on the grounds of Lewinsville Park during McLean Day.
For festival updates, driving directions, shuttle bus stop locations and a festival area map, visit: www.mcleancenter.org/special-events/mcleanday.asp or call the Center at 703-790-0123/TTY: 711. The Center’s telephone will be answered from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the day of the festival.