What do you get when you combine history and Earth Day? It’s Fairfax City’s newest event, HisTree Day. Slated for Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Historic Blenheim, 3610 Blenheim Blvd., it’ll feature living-history presenters and music, plus learning and exploratory activities celebrating both Fairfax history and nature.
Admission is free, and on tap is a full day of fun and educational activities focusing on local history and the environment. There’ll be hands-on crafts, Civil War reenactors, live music, a petting zoo, food trucks and even a huge pile of hay bales where children can simply climb and play.
The history offerings include a blacksmith, a weaver, and a photographer who’ll demonstrate their crafts. People will watch how Civil War soldiers and civilians made coffee and cornbread, as well as learn about the duties of a roving reporter and schoolmarms from the 19th century.
Civil War soldiers will talk with visitors, tell them about camp life and teach them how to follow flag signals used on the battlefield. Attendees may even join them as “new recruits” to practice drills. And in the domestic-arts tent, they can make a quilt square adorned with a tree or other nature themes.
They may also chat with a tavern keeper, as well as an early 19th-century scientist, while perusing his collection of unusual, preserved specimens on display. And everyone will be able to enjoy the music of the 8th George Mason University Regimental Band, which will perform popular Civil War-era songs on 19th-century brass instruments.
Area residents will also be able to learn about the history of their home or neighborhood. Library and archival experts from Fairfax County and George Mason University will be on hand to help link them to this information.
Some highlights of the nature and environmental activities will be individual tents featuring monarch butterfly conservation, bikes, an electric vehicle and transit information. Craft projects, such as bird feeder building, are also planned.
People may meet the Fairfax City staff members who protect the local natural resources. And they’ll learn how modern, stormwater-management technology improves the health of the streams here and reduces flooding. Attendees may also enjoy Historic Blenheim’s towering trees while taking a guided walk with the City’s urban forester.
In addition, an Enviroscape is sure to be a big hit with children and adults alike, since it’s an interactive model demonstrating the impact that community development and pollution have on the waterways. This hands-on activity will teach people that protecting the environment is a responsibility shared by everyone. Fairfax City is at the headwaters of Accotink Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, so it’s important to know how to keep this critical waterway healthy.
Children may also interact with some farm animals in the petting zoo, and everyone can buy tasty treats, including Colonial Kettle Corn, from one of the food trucks on site that day. Free parking is available at Fairfax High, 3501 Lion Run, and at Daniels Run Elementary, 3705 Blenheim Blvd. Or hop on the free CUE bus shuttles at Fairfax High.