These McLean girls know that McLean Day is never complete without an order of smoothies. Left to right: Hannah Carter, 11, Elizabeth Galbreath, 12, and Jackie Mazur, 12. Photo by Rachel Stone/The Connection
Friends, families, organizations, and businesses gathered festively for the 99th anniversary of the annual McLean Day, held in Lewinsville Park on Saturday, May 17. On the sunny afternoon, mazes of booths brimmed again with visitors, who collected free giveaways, entered in raffles, and learned about the opportunities and products available to them from their Northern Virginia neighbors. From the stage, each half hour was punctuated with a new performance: dog trainers, McLean High School jazz musicians, award ceremonies, and dance ensembles dazzled the crowds below.
“This is where we come to meet with our friends and other families! We organized a group, and we’ve had a great time here,” remarked Jeff and Jennifer Butler, a couple new to McLean, who were impressed with the turnout.
McLean resident Nicole Heath, sitting with daughters Zoe, 7, and Alexandra, 3, recalled that she’d “been to McLean Day every year since Zoe was 1 years old. You see a lot of people here that you know, all taking a day to spend with their families.” She pointed to a family just three yards away, commenting that her girls attended preschool with theirs. “McLean has really become a part of us,” she said, “My father-in-law was the first psychiatrist in the town, back in the ‘60s.”
McLean Day originated in 1915 as a collective opportunity for the town to vote. Today, it has grown into so much more, but the original democratic function has not disappeared. The entrance to McLean Day was again flanked by campaign volunteers for U.S. Congressional candidates and those running for the McLean Community Center’s Governing Board.
“These local elected officials keep the momentum of the community going,” remarked George Sachs, executive director of the McLean Community Center. Holding the elections at McLean Day provides the best guarantee of voter turnout, and according to volunteer Catherine Nesbitt, “There was a steady stream of voting all day.”
Whether residents came for the rides, entertainment, booth offerings, or everything on the grounds, another McLean Day has gone by nurturing a fondness for the town and its community. And while the festivities of McLean Day might have changed over 99 years, the notable unity between neighbors and friends cultivated by a day at the park certainly has not.