Falls Church leaders are feeling bullish on the city’s upcoming celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday.
A mechanical bull, music, food and festive competitions are all in the works for the upcoming “Civic Jam” celebration, set for July 3 from 6-10 p.m. at Cherry Hill Park.
The bull-riding idea came from Corey Payne, special-events program supervisor at the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks, who laid out plans at the May 7 meeting of the Falls Church250 Committee.
“It’s a fusion of summer backyard Olympics meets summer fun,” Payne said of the planned competition.
Teams of four, with at least one adult, will compete in a variety of events, expected to include a water-balloon toss, three-legged race and, if they have the fortitude, trying to tame the bucking mechanical beast.
Teams will get bonus points for coming in patriotic attire, and for visiting the dozens of booths to be staffed by community organizations at the event.
The winning team will receive a “large, dramatic Civic Cup trophy,” Payne said, although the full details remain a work in progress.
Jim Coyle, who chairs the Falls Church250 Committee, embraced the idea of a community competition.
“This, to me, is much more fun” than more staid options, he said.
City officials opted not to compete with the larger national 250th-birthday celebration to be held in D.C. the following day. But they hope their festival the night before will attract both large attendance and media coverage.
“It’s all going to be incredibly positive,” said Mary Catherine Chase, the city’s director of communications.
City Council member David Snyder serves as the Council’s liaison to the committee organizing 250th-birthday events. At its May 7 meeting, he declined to commit himself or any of his colleagues to riding the mechanical bull, but embraced the overall vibe of the plan.
“It’s great — keep it up,” Snyder said.
At the moment, city officials are gearing up for Falls Church’s large Memorial Day event and parade, which will include a visit from the state government’s Virginia250 mobile museum.
Local residents had an earlier chance to check out the rolling museum at Arlington’s May 9 HistoryFest, put on by the Arlington Historical Society in collaboration with the county government.
The mobile museum received its largest single-day attendance to date during the May 9 event. More than 1,200 people visited it, the historical society said.
Chase said once Falls Church’s Memorial Day event is passed, planning will take “a really big pivot to promote Civic Jam.”
