The Ferris wheel, funnel cake and carnival games are perennial favorites at the Arlington County Fair, but organizers also keep things fresh by adding new and different events to the schedule every year—and there are quite a few worth putting on your calendar this time around.
This summer, in addition to the typical pie eating contest, you can try your hand (er-mouth?) at a pizza or burrito eating contest, says Elise Moore, who chairs the marketing committee and is part of the fair’s all-volunteer team of planners and promoters. “We are also going to have a lot of headliner bands this year that are new to performing at the fair,” she adds. Visitors can look forward to an upbeat rotation of live music, including Pictrola, So Fetch and The Uptown Band, on the main stage.
Want even more fun? Here are five of the newest and most enticing activities coming to this year’s extravaganza, which runs August 14-18. (Remember, parking is tight so consider taking the free shuttle bus or a ride share to get there.)
WOW Wheelz
Aug. 15, 4-7 p.m.
The kids are always racing around anyway, so why not set them behind the wheels of their own pint-sized electric vehicle? WOW Wheelz, an electric vehicle children’s driving academy, will be setting up its inflatable course at the fair for the first time this year. “It’s a really cute setup,” Moore says, and a fun way for kids to learn about sustainability, independence and the rules of the road. This is a free event.
Children’s Entrepreneur Market
Aug. 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The fair always hosts a crafts market where local vendors sell their wares. This year you can also shop and support a market run entirely by kids. Children’s Entrepreneur Market teaches young people about the power of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership. It started in Utah and has since expanded to 24 states, including Virginia, turning kids’ ideas into reality. Kid entrepreneurs will be setting up their businesses on the upper field. Have a child who’d like to participate? Sign up here.
Tales & Hooves Petting Zoo
Aug. 17 10 a.m – Aug. 18th 6:00 p.m.
Get up close with cute animals! For the first time, the fair is bringing in a mobile petting zoo. Big Pine Tree Farms of North Dinwiddie, Virginia, will run its Tales & Hooves petting zoo, which will include sheep, goats, rabbits and a miniature horse. There will be a small fee to enter.
Portable Inflatable Planetarium
Aug. 16, 6-10 p.m., Aug. 17, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Aug. 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Want to beat the heat? Cool off indoors in a portable, inflatable planetarium. A new attraction this year, the inflatable dome is supplied by the Friends of the David M. Brown Planetarium in Arlington, along with Marymount University. Find it and learn all about celestial phenomena inside the Thomas Jefferson Community Center.
Action Jaxx Foam Party
Aug. 17, 1-5 p.m., Aug. 18, 1-4 p.m.
Love bubbles? Get crazy with an all-out foam party. Back by popular demand, this sudsy good time will take place at the Family Fun Spot, Saturday and Sunday. It’s like swimming, but without the pool. Just “swim” around, or challenge fellow fairgoers in a frothy pool noodle battle. You’ll leave soaked, so you might want to bring a dry change of clothes.