Reston Multicultural Festival Celebrates 25 Years Of Bringing People Together

RESTON, VA — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recognized the 25th anniversary of the Reston Multicultural Festival during its meeting Tuesday morning.

The board unanimously approved a resolution congratulating the festival and thanking the Reston Community Center, its partners, volunteers, performers, sponsors and visitors for sustaining what the resolution called a “cherished community tradition.”

The 2026 festival will be held Sept. 19 at Reston Town Center. Reston Community Center and the Reston Town Center Association will present the event in partnership with BXP and Reston Association.

Festival Grew From Two Residents’ Idea

The festival began after Reston residents Ellen Graves and Margaret Boyd approached the late Hunter Mill District Supervisor Catherine Hudgins with an idea for a community celebration honoring Reston’s diversity, according to the resolution.

Over the ensuing 25 years, the festival has celebrated cultural traditions from around the world through music, dance, arts and crafts. It also has hosted National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows, recipients of the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who read the resolution Tuesday, said the festival gives the community an opportunity to celebrate Reston’s history as an open and multicultural community.

“It really is and has become a cherished tradition,” Alcorn said. “So, glad we’ll be able to get to 25, and let’s keep going and do another 25 at least.”

Board Chairman Jeff McKay said the festival attracts visitors from throughout Fairfax County, not only Reston. He credited the volunteers, sponsors and organizers whose work takes place largely outside public view.

“We’re celebrating 25 years of people who have made this a priority and, as a result of that, a community that has benefited from this festival for 25 years,” McKay said.

Reston Community Center Executive Director BeBe Nguyen said the anniversary represents more than the completion of 25 festivals. It also recognizes the community and the people who believed in bringing residents together.

Nguyen said the festival reflects Reston founder Robert E. Simon’s vision of a community where people of different ages, incomes, cultures and backgrounds could live together.

Also See ...

• Tysons Back-To-School Bash Brings Outdoor Movie, Supply Drive To The Boro
• Reston KidsFest 2026 To Bring Free Family Fun To Town Center
• Leopards, Parrots And Gold Leaf Fill A New Reston Art Show

She recalled how that commitment was tested following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Festival planning committee member and Reston resident Norma Khan was killed at the Pentagon, Nguyen said, and organizers faced a decision about whether to proceed with the festival that September.

The community chose to gather, making the festival Reston’s first community gathering after the attacks and providing a place to honor Khan, Nguyen said.

“When fear could have divided us, Reston chose connection,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen, who came to the United States as a refugee, said that history held personal significance for her.

“I know what it means to leave one home and to be welcomed into another,” she said. “I know the power of belonging, and I believe deeply that community is not something we simply inherit. It is something we choose to nurture and to build together.”

The festival later moved from Lake Anne to Reston Town Center, but Nguyen said its purpose remained unchanged: creating space for residents to celebrate their differences and recognize diversity as one of Reston’s strengths.

At the 2025 festival, more than 40 artisan vendors and community organizations lined Market Street, while three stages offered music, dance and cultural discussions. Performances included gospel, Irish dance, Turkish music, go-go, Bollywood-style dance and traditional Haitian and New Orleans cultural arts. Organizers said the 2024 festival drew more than 10,000 people.

Details about the performers, vendors and schedule for the 2026 festival can be found on the online.