Arlington Parks Wins Awards For At-Risk Girls Program, Latino Festival Marketing

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County's Department of Parks and Recreation received two state awards for a gardening outreach program and a marketing campaign that helped double attendance at Festival Latinoamericano, the county announced Monday.

The Virginia Recreation and Park Society presented the awards Oct. 27 during its annual conference in Richmond, recognizing initiatives carried out in 2025.

The Urban Agriculture Outreach Program won Best Health and Wellness Initiative. Designed to help at-risk and justice-involved girls, the program partnered with the local Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court's Girls' Outreach Program. Participants attended weekly gardening, nutrition and cooking classes, preparing meals with produce they grew.

Participants also built a 70-pot indoor hydroponic tower to grow food year-round.

The department also won Most Creative Marketing Strategy for Festival Latinoamericano, an annual fall celebration of Hispanic heritage featuring music and food.

The festival's marketing campaign used social media, local partnerships and community outreach to draw more than 1,200 attendees, twice the previous year's audience.