Fry it and they will come …. Dozens of vendors serve up carnival treats, fried, barbecued, or iced. Photo by Donna Manz.
ViVa! Vienna! Schedule
Saturday, May 28: food, rides and entertainment, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; festival shuttle service from James Madison High School/Vienna Metro starts at 10 a.m. and stops at 10:20 p.m.
Sunday, May 29: food, rides and entertainment 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Vendors 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday, May 30: food, rides, entertainment and vendors, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ride tickets sell for $1 each and rides take one to three tickets. A strip of 24 tickets is $20 and a strip of 48 tickets is $40.
What has 300-plus craft and merchandise vendors, dozens of carnival-food kiosks, non-stop entertainment on multiple stages, more than 20 amusement rides for kids, and takes over the historic Church Street corridor for three days? The annual Memorial Day weekend festival, hosted by the Rotary Club of Vienna, ViVa! Vienna! does.
Vienna’s most family-friendly, fun-filled festival, ViVa! Vienna! returns for Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 28.
ViVa! Vienna! is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Vienna, in partnership with the Town of Vienna. Three stages (main, children’s and a new third stage at Church and Lawyers Road) feature pop bands, dancers and children’s favorites -- including kiddie pop stars, Rocknoceros. There’s pop, rock, blues, dancers, martial arts exhibitions, magicians and children’s activities.
Vendors line Church Street between Mill and Center streets, and Mill and Dominion streets.
Food vendors sell traditional carnival food (read: fried candy, funnel cakes, and turkey legs), signature dishes from local restaurants, ice creams and ethnic food.
The annual Memorial Day ceremony begins at 1 p.m., main stage, across from Freeman House on Church Street.
Title sponsors are Navy Federal Credit Union and the Town of Vienna, plus a plethora of local businesses provide financial support, as well.
ViVa! Vienna! schedule is:
Saturday, May 28
Food and rides open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; live entertainment runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, May 29
Food and rides open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; live entertainment runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and vendors are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday, May 30
Vendors, rides, and entertainment run all day from 10 a.m. to 6p.m. E-waste recycling sponsored by Navy Federal Credit Union is collected on the grounds of James Madison High School.
For the detailed entertainment schedule, go to http://vivavienna.org/entertainment.aspx.
Children can receive one free ride ticket with the purchase of additional tickets by going to http://www.colerides.com/colorpage.html.
Shuttle buses leave from Madison High School and the Vienna Metro station for ViVa! Vienna.
Rotary International is a service club. One hundred percent of the festival’s net proceeds, typically in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, go to charitable, community and humanitarian organizations, the overwhelming bulk of which stays in local area.
For details of vendors, entertainment schedule, special activities, and rides, see http://vivavienna.org/.