Patch Guide to Second Annual Chantilly Day Festival 2013

The Chantilly-Centreville Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the Westfields Business Owners Association, is launch the second annual Chantilly Day Festival Saturday.

The free community event takes place in the Kmart and Babies R Us parking lots of the Sully Place Shopping Center on Metrotech Drive from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The chamber is thrilled to welcome area businesses and residents back to this fantastic event,” said Eileen Curtis, president of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, the parent organization for the Chantilly-Centreville Chamber, in a news release. “It is our privilege to facilitate a day of family fun where people can meet their neighbors and celebrate this dynamic community.”

This year’s event is presented by Kaiser Permanente and the Westfields Business Owners Association.

“Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to improving the health of people living and working in Northern Virginia, and we are thrilled to support the Chantilly Day Festival in celebrating our community, its people, and its employers,” said Kaiser Permanente Sales Manager Matt Chubb.

“Just like maintaining good health, building a healthy and robust community takes effort, but the rewards are immeasurable, and through community and corporate support, Kaiser Permanente is proud to do its part to ensure that Chantilly, and all of the people who live and work here, continue to thrive,” Chubb said.

Opportunity in Chantilly

Westfield Business Owners Association President Bill Keech, Jr., hopes the day encourages the Chantilly community to see the success and opportunities in its own backyard.

“The Westfields Business Owners Association is a large part of this community and we hope we can show people that Chantilly has a lot to offer as far as a place to live, learn, work, shop and play,” said Keech, whose company represents the largest employment base in Chantilly. 

“There is more than meets the eye when it comes to great companies creating and innovating great things, and families and communities that work hand-in-hand with their elected officials, schools and civic leaders,” Keech said. “The businesses and residents of Chantilly have a can-do attitude that makes this community a warm and welcoming place for all.”

Expanded Children's Fair

Now in its second year, Chantilly Day has doubled in size to include an expanded Children’s Fair.

The Children’s Fair, sponsored by Wholesome Campus, offers numerous free activities ranging from gymnastics to face painting.

Other free children’s activities include a bounce house and a trackless train provided by the chamber, as well as a rock wall climbing experience sponsored by F3 Tactical. This year’s event also includes special theatrical performances on a children’s stage sponsored by the Elden Street Players.

“The Chantilly area doesn’t really have a city-center, plaza, or town center where residents can gather as a community,” said Staybridge Suites Assistant General Manager Carl Brown, co-chairman of the organizing committee for this year’s festival. “Chantilly Day gives the community a place where they can come together, have fun and celebrate Chantilly.”

According to Brown, there are plenty of activities for young and young-at-heart. 

“There will literally be something for everyone at this year’s Chantilly Day,” Brown said.

Chantilly: Air and Space Capital

Raising the bar even higher than last year, Saturday’s event has been rebranded to incorporate a proclamation by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors minting Chantilly as the “Air and Space Capital of Virginia.”

In keeping with that theme, organizers are excited to welcome former NASA astronauts Carl Walz and Frank Culbertson as co-chairmen and guests of honor at Chantilly Day.

Both Walz and Culbertson have an extensive history with NASA that includes incredible space flight experience. It was Culbertson, at the time the sole American aboard the International Space Station, who took the picture many saw depicting the plume of smoke he witnessed 200 miles above the surface of the earth on 9/11.

The two men are currently employed at the Dulles offices of Orbital Sciences Corporation, a company that develops and manufactures small-and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers.

“As the ‘Air and Space Capital of Virginia,’ the astronauts add a huge exclamation point to Chantilly’s place as a business location for industry leaders in space and aeronautics,” said Shak Hill, owner of Shak Hill Insurance and co-chairman of the festival’s organizing committee.

“Their presence at this event punctuates the overall spirit of Chantilly as a giving community,” Hill said. “Chantilly is enhanced not only through their industry expertise, but also through their participation as citizens who recognize the value of giving back to this community.”

Music, food, pets, awards

In addition to the astronauts’ appearances, business expo and children’s fair, Chantilly Day will also feature onstage performances by a Westfield High School Jazz Combo, local musicians, a “Taste of Chantilly” restaurant celebration, pet adoption, business and community awards, and much more.

With last year’s festival drawing more than 15,000 attendees, the second annual Chantilly Day is anticipated to exceed expectations once more as an annual celebration for residents and shoppers.

Describing this year’s festival, Hill called it “a first class event” that is sure to make residents proud and impress the Dulles Region.

“Every community has a business pulse, and the stronger the pulse, the stronger the community,” Hill said. “The Dulles Regional Chamber has a very strong pulse in this community and the needs of the businesses here – if not for the chamber, this event and others like it would not be available to enhance the lives of those living here.”

A detailed schedule of events for Chantilly Day includes:

• Opening Ceremonies and Awards (9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.)

• Business Expo (10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

• Children’s Fair and Rides (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

• Pet Adoption (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

• Children’s Stage (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

• Taste of Chantilly (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

• Stage Entertainment (10:15 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

Shuttle bus service

Shuttle bus service will be available every 15 minutes from 9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. for satellite parking at 3900 Skyhawk Drive (at the corner of Skyhawk Drive and Centreville Road).

Presenting Sponsors Westfields Business Owners Association and Kaiser Permanente are joined by the following businesses in supporting this event: Beatty Management, Virginia Heritage Bank, Sandy Spring Bank, Western Federal Credit Union, Systems Furniture Gallery, Wholesome Campus, Connection Newspapers – Centre View, Chantilly Youth Association, Inova Fair Oaks, F3 Tactical, 110 RPM, TriVision Studios, the Goddard School, Chantilly Animal Hospital, FASTSIGNS of Herndon, and the Loudoun Hounds.

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