Springfield Days Fest Is Almost Here
In the late 1950s and '60s, the Springfield community held an annual celebration that consisted of food, games, fireworks, music and lots of family fun. Most of the festivities were held in the big field at Old Keene Mill Road and Commerce Street in Central Springfield—where Springfield Plaza stands today.
In the early days of our community, Springfield’s annual event was held on the Fourth of July and organized by service organizations and local businesses. As the community continued to grow and thrive, so did our annual celebrations, local infrastructure and county services. The July event migrated away and in came Springfield Days, now held the weekend following Memorial Day.
Twenty-five years ago, the business and civic community began the new tradition—Springfield Days—connecting the business and residential community through a retail tradeshow, sidewalk sales and special events in a single weekend. That tradition has evolved throughout the years into a full-blown community-wide celebration that harkens back to the good old days. The business community, Fairfax County Park Authority and various service organizations are now teamed up to offer the very best in family fun and entertainment.
Springfield Days 2012 begins Thursday evening, May 31, with children’s rides and entertainment on the Loisdale Road side of the Springfield Mall parking lot. The rides continue through Sunday evening, June 3.
Saturday begins with the Springfield 15K/5K, followed by the grand opening of the Springfield Farmers Market and a full day of family-friendly and pet-friendly activities at South Run RECenter.
The famous Cardboard Boat Regatta will be held at Lake Accotink Park on Sunday, capping off this fun-filled weekend.
For more information about event times and locations visit www.springfielddays.com.
Sally Spangler
11:28 am on Wednesday, May 30, 2012
"Springfield" was the name of a family farm near where the community of Springfield is now. Back Lick Road used to have a bridge crossing the Southern Railroad tracks that we had to bump over the tracks themselves.. Now of course, we drive under the tracks. The other bridge, built the same way crossed the Southern tracks further west on Braddock Road, and still does, only the iron overhead parts are now gone. That bridge was a one lane affair. A nuisance to stop to let the oncoming traffic come first. Now, if you wish to wait at a guard gate for the Southern and VRE, that is in Manassas on Fairmont Road. That one is unchanged. The Manassas train station is just to the left of there. Sometimes there is a freight train putting cars off on a siding. The train will back and go forward a number of times to release their freight cars and the cars must wait. <grin> A few things do not change. In any case, if the VRE is the train of the moment, it goes through that crossing slowly as they have just picked up or dropped off passengers. No more coal fired engines, though.
Nancy-jo Manney
1:36 pm on Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thank you for this history. It's nice to hear from folks who have watched the Greater Springfield area grow.