Reston Festival Now a Relic

On and off for 47 years, the Reston Festival was an annual event.

Not this year. After and two of the major sponsors, declined to participate in 2012, the festival committee decided not to hold the event in this year.

The Reston Festival had been scheduled for July 14 and 15, 2012. Organizers have not said whether the event is dead or may be resurrected in the future, but without its two major sponsors, it looks like the Reston Festival may be a thing of the past.

RA CEO Milton Matthews said last winter that the deficit in overall vendors, sponsors and fundraising led to RA's decision to decline participation in 2012.

The Reston Festival is as old as Reston itself. For many years, the event was held in mid-May at . It moved to in 2003.

There were several years in the early 1990s when the festival did not occur due to funding and neighbor issues. The festival came back to life briefly in honor of Reston's 30th birthday and then, after another dormant period, came back again and moved to Reston Town Center and the mid-July date.

As Reston has grown, so have the number of summer events competing with the Reston Festival. Among them:the Taste of Reston, Oktoberfest, Reston Multicultural Festival and the nearby Herndon Festival

There is still a festival this weekend, though. Check out the music and food at the third annual