Home Care In Oakton, VA

Patch has your complete guide to Independence Day fireworks shows, parades and other celebrations in and around Fairfax City.

Michael O'Connell, Patch Staff

|Updated Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 12:26 pm ET

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Independence Day is quickly approaching, which means it's time to fire up that barbecue and find out what Fourth of July fireworks and festivities are going on in and around Fairfax City for 2023.

We gathered up all the fireworks shows, parades and festivals happening in and around Fairfax City so you can start planning now.

Here's what's in store this July 4 in and around Fairfax City:

City of Fairfax Independence Day Evening Show and Fireworks

When: Sunday, July 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

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Where: Fairfax High School, 3501 Lion Run, Fairfax, VA

The fireworks have been a tradition since 1967. Enjoy performances from Ocho de Bastos, national anthem from the Vienna- Falls Chorus, speeches, and a fireworks display from 9:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Bags and coolers will be checked at the event.

City of Fairfax Independence Day Parade

When: Tuesday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Where: Downtown Fairfax, VA

The Independence Day Parade has been a tradition since 1967 and is the largest in Virginia. Parade participants include marching bands, floats, Shriners' little cars and big motorcycles, old fire engines, clowns and more. The parade is typically followed by an Old-Fashioned Fireman's Day with children's fire safety activities. Parade food vendors will also be on site.

Vienna Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks

When: Sunday, July 2, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: Yeonas Park, 1319 Ross Drive SW, Vienna, VA

This fireworks event is part of Vienna's third annual Liberty Amendments Month. Along with fireworks starting around 9:30 p.m., there will be live music, kids entertainment, games, food trucks and more. Food and drinks will also be available from the Vienna Little League concessions stand. Blankets and lawn chairs can be brought to the event, but chairs cannot be used on the baseball field.

Town of Herndon Celebration and Fireworks Display

Where: Bready Park, 814 Ferndale Ave., Herndon

When: July 4, 6:30 p.m.; Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m.

Town of Herndon is hosting its annual July 4th Celebration and fireworks display at Bready Park, featuring live music, bingo and family games. Fireworks will be launched at 9:30 p.m., from Herndon Centennial Golf Course.

Police will be closing Ferndale Avenue to through traffic from Vine Street to Barton Oaks Place once parking lots are full. The road will remained closed until the conclusion of fireworks.

Once the fireworks display is over, expect delays of up to 60 minutes in around Bready Park. Those who park at the Herndon Community Center may not exit until the fire marshal has given the all clear, which may be as long as 60 minutes after the end of the fireworks display.

The fire marshal will prohibit anyone on the Herndon Centennial Golf Course from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., on July.

In case of inclement weather, the fireworks may be delayed or postponed to July 5.

Visit the Town of Herndon website for more details about the July 4th celebration or call 703-435-6866 for weather updates.

Lake Fairfax Fireworks

Where: Lake Fairfax Park, 1400 Lake Fairfax Drive, Reston 20190

When: July 1; ticketed entry begins at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. fireworks display

Lake Fairfax Park will be celebrating Independence Day Saturday, July 1, starting at 10 a.m., when ticketed entry begins. Visitors can park and find a spot to view the fireworks, which will begin shortly after 9 p.m.

Food trucks will be at the park throughout the day, with picnic areas open on a fire-come-first-served basis.

Admission is $15 per car in advance and $20 at the gate on Saturday. Admission to the Water Mine is not included in the Independence Day ticket price.

McLean Community Independence Day Fireworks Celebration

When: Saturday, July 1, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Where: Langley High School, 6520 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA

This event features fireworks beginning around 9:15 p.m., gourmet food trucks, a DJ and giveaways. There will be limited parking on site. A shuttle will serve parking locations: McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave. from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 11 p.m.; Churchill Elementary School, 7100 Churchill Ave. from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 11 p.m.; and St. Luke Catholic Church and School, 7001 Georgetown Pike from 7 p.m. to approximately 11 p.m.

Washington, DC Fourth of July Celebration

When: July 4

Where: Around National Mall, Washington, DC

There will be various events for Fourth of July in DC, including the National Independence Day Parade from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. along Constitution Avenue NW from 7th Street NW to 17th Street NW with marching bands, fife and drum corps, floats, military units, giant balloons, equestrian, drill teams and more. A Capitol Fourth Concert is a free event held on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol at 8 p.m. and will be livestreamed. Fireworks will be held starting at 9:09 p.m., launched from both sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

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MOVING To Oakton VA

Location

Oakton lies to the west of Vienna, and they share a border. Oakton is also north of I-66. Oakton’s population is 36,000. You have easy access here to the Vienna Metro Station, which is the recently opened Silver Line. Maple Avenue in Vienna becomes Chain Bridge when it gets to Oakton.

History

Settlers first came to Vienna in the mid 1700’s but Oakton was settled later, in the 1800’s. In the mid 1800’s it was known as Flint Hill. The Flint Hill Schoolhouse was built in 1850. In 1883 a post office was built next to an Oak Tree and that is how Oakton got its name. But that’s not the last we will hear of the name “Flint Hill.” Read on.

Real Estate

In Oakton, you will find homes at a variety of price points, but the range isn’t what you see in neighboring Vienna. Oakton is further out, a little more suburban and the prices for single family homes are from $800,000 to $2M. Prices pretty steadily move from the $800’s to the $1.2M range, then the number of homes for sale drops off. There are a few jumps in price for larger homes or larger lots but there are not a huge amount of homes over $1.3M for sale here.

There are teardowns here but they are not as ubiquitous as you see in Vienna or McLean. There is a lot of housing here from the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s and the house types built then wasn’t the rambler. Often you will see that these homes are center hall colonials or split levels which are larger and can often be renovated or added on to instead of being demolished.

Condos in Oakton start in the mid $200’s and go to about the $400,000’s. Townhouses are in the mid $400’s to the $800’s.

Food

Oakton just has Giant. If you want other options, you can head east to Vienna where there is another Giant, Whole Foods, Fresh Market – all off Maple Avenue. Harris Teeter is a bit south near 66.

There are a few mom and pop type restaurants here, but for the most part you will be venturing east to Vienna or Tyson’s, or west to Fairfax Corner Shopping Area which has a huge selection of restaurants.

There is a little shopping in Oakton. You can get the basics along Maple Avenue, which is now called Chain Bridge, in a few different shopping centers. If you can’t find what you need in Oakton, you will either venture over to Vienna to hit Maple Avenue, which is the Main Street of Vienna or to Tyson’s Corner for all the options there. From Oakton it’s also super easy to head west to Fair Oaks Mall or Fairfax Corner Shopping Center where there’s a movie theatre and some shops and restaurants.

In Oakton, the Recreation Center is actually not an Oakton facility but a county one. Oak Marr Recreation Center has an Olympic size pool, gym and a mini golf course. There are fitness classes as well as classes and camps for kids and a golf center.

The W & OD (Washington and Old Dominion) Trail goes right through Vienna just a couple miles to the east. The entire trail is 45 miles and runs from Shirlington in South Arlington to Purcellville, Virginia.

Wolftrap is a national park for performing arts. Lots of concerts happen here during the season, May – September, of all music types, dance performances, opera.

Kids

People move to Oakton for the same reasons anyone would move to a sought after suburb. The family activities are plentiful, the living isn’t hectic and the schools are good. In Oakton, almost 33% of the households have children under the age of 18.

Elementary schools in Oakton are either Oakton, Flint Hill or Waples Mill. Flint Hill elementary is different from Flint Hill School, which is a private K-12 in Oakton. The middle schools are Thoreau, Jackson or Franklin. For High Schools, homes in Oakton feed to either Madison or Oakton High School. Those looking for Advanced Academics you can go to Sunrise Valley in Reston for elementary, and Jackson again for middle.

Madison’s academic programs include AP classes, Global Classroom with partnerships with Colombia and France, and Residential Governor’s Programs for 10th and 11th graders interested in Visual and Performing Arts. They have a separate website, Warhawk Sports, with information about the sports at Madison. They have a really robust sports program – Football, Tennis, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Dance, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Crew, Softball, Lacrosse, Track. They have a ton of sports fields, it is incredibly impressive.

Oakton High School also offers AP classes and tons of sports. They also have a separate website for sports, offering Football, Volleyball, Tennis, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Dance, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Crew, Softball, Lacrosse, Track. They also have a robust program of clubs and honor societies.

Borge Street Park in Oakton has a playground and basketball court.

On the border of Vienna and Oakton is Nottoway Park which is a huge county park with a playground, sports fields, tennis courts and picnicking. In the summer there is a concert series.

Dogs

Dogs are well represented in Oakton. One of the best specialty vets in the area is in Vienna – Hope Vet. You can see them for general veterinary visits, but they have ophthalmology, cardiology, and oncology. Oakton has the well rated Hunter Mill Animal Hospital.

Oakton has Blake Lane Dog Park.

The Oakton High School marching band was selected as the winner in the small high school category for their "Parade To Black" performance.

Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff

VIENNA, VA — The Oakton High School Marching Cougars proved you can bring metal to marching band when it won third place in Metallica’s Inaugural Marching Band Contest and scored $15,000 worth of instruments.

The winners of the contest, announced Sunday on ESPN, were challenged "to craft the most exciting, unique, and impressive performances of Metallica's music," according to the contest's website.

Contestants were then required to submit a video of their band's performance. In all, more than 450 high schools and colleges submitted entries after the contest was announced in April.

Oakton was selected as the winner in the small high school category, according to the contest's website.

"It feels pretty awesome,” band director Jamie VanValkenburg told WTOP in an interview. "The kids are pumped. The community, school and band parents are really pumped. It was such a group effort to put it together that we’re all just ecstatic."

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According to WTOP, VanValkenburg and his music arranger, Kent Baker, created a Metallica-themed performance called "Parade to Black." The performance featured renditions of Metallica classics including "The Unforgiven," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Turn the Page," "Enter Sandman" and "The Memory Remains."

Watch the band's performance below.

Oakton was selected as one of five finalists in December.

According to the contest's website, high school and collegiate winners were narrowed down by professional judges, while members of Metallica selected the final winners.

"It’s a big deal for our band and community,” VanValkenburg told WTOP. "I have great students. They want to be good, they’re willing to work hard."

Here's the full list of contest winners:

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Less than two minutes into the Virginia Class 6 girls’ lacrosse semifinal, Oakton senior midfielder Aly Yee-Jenkins buried a quick goal. Caralie Basuel, a senior attacker who will play at Rhode Island, followed with a hat trick over a four-minute stretch.

From there, the Cougars never looked back in a 16-6 thumping of Robinson on Thursday inside the St. James sports complex in Springfield, where the semifinals were relocated because of air quality concerns stemming from Canadian wildfires.

Oakton (18-2), a four-time state champion whose last title was 2012, will play Battlefield in the Class 6 championship game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Freedom High in South Riding. It’s the Cougars’ first appearance in a state title game since 2015.

“We’re all just so ready to take that next step,” said Basuel, who finished with eight goals. “This is what we’ve been working toward all season. We’re just so excited to be on the field and have this opportunity.”

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Oakton jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first half, holding Robinson (16-5) to just two offensive possessions over the first 20 minutes.

Before Thursday, the Rams had dropped only two games since they opened the season with losses to Madison and Yorktown — both to W.T. Woodson (in the Patriot District title game and in the Region 6C final).

The Cougars’ two losses were one-goal decisions to Madison, in the Concorde District and Region 6D title games. But the Rams upended the Warhawks last week while Oakton took down Woodson in the quarterfinals.

Oakton, whose average margin of victory is nearly six goals, forced the running clock for the final 13 minutes. Yee-Jenkins, a James Madison signee, totaled three goals, while senior Alli Calder and sophomore Riley Sweeney scored twice.

“They came ready to play today,” Coach Craig Oliver said. “They executed very well in all phases of the game.”

Battlefield made it a point to get a few practice sessions in this week, including taking a bus Wednesday to the Battlefield Sportsplex in Manassas to avoid being outdoors.

The extra work paid off in an 18-5 semifinal win over Colgan on the indoor turf in Springfield to return to the state title game for the second straight year.

“It shows how much we want it as a team, to work through all the issues and mishaps that have been happening to still give our all,” said sophomore midfielder Averie Cage, who paced Battlefield (18-1) with six goals. “It really helped prepare for today and get in the mind-set that we want to win.”

On May 30, the Bobcats handed the Sharks (17-2) their first loss of the season with a 14-11 win in the Region 6C final. Battlefield jumped out to a 10-1 advantage in the first half Thursday before the running clock was in play for most of the second half.

Battlefield, which fell to Yorktown in last year’s state title game, has won 15 straight since its 16-15 loss to Robinson on April 25. In addition to Cage, sophomore attacker Kendra Harris scored six goals and added an assist.

OAKTON, Va. (DC News Now) — The Ambrose family clears dead hammerhead worms from their driveway in Oakton every morning. It’s been a ritual for the past two months, when they first spotted a 14-inch hammerhead worm slithering in front of their home.

Their family dog, Peanut, had the first unpleasant encounter with the worm.

“Peanut’s running up to the house off her leash as she always does and here across the driveway is a stretched out 14-inch worm,” Kevin Ambrose said.

Ambrose said the worm stuck to Peanut’s legs and wrapped around her body before splitting in half.

He said he later picked up another hammerhead worm. This time, the worm split into four fragments and squirmed off into the grass.

Ambrose, an engineer who also writes for The Washington Post, has since become something of an expert on the worms.

“They emit a toxin. The same neurotoxin that pufferfish have. If you handle them, you have to wash your hands immediately,” he said.

The worms are slightly brown and yellow in color, grow well beyond a foot long and have crescent-shaped heads.

George Mason University ecology professor Chris Jones, studies invasive species in the region. He said that there are at least eight species of hammerhead worms, which originated in Asia and first appeared in the U.S. in 1901. He said that lately they have been spotted frequently. He pointed to the advent of the Gypsy moth in the U.S. as a similar phenomenon.

“It hangs around at a very low level. There are things that kind of hang out cryptically and then take off for various reasons,” Jones said.

He said the worms are not seriously harmful to humans, though the toxins on their slimy skin could be irritating. Jones said that pets could get very sick if they ingest the worms, which happened to Peanut.

Ambrose said Peanut vomited a worm and was sick for several hours.

The environmentally ethical thing to do is to dispose of the worms, according to Jones. He said they are harmful to earthworms, which are a crucial component of our region’s ecosystem.

He advises to pour salt on the worms, let them sit for a few minutes, put on gloves and place them in a plastic bag. He said to then throw the bag in the trashcan.

That’s the tactic employed by the Ambrose family. Ambrose isn’t sure if he’ll ever fully eradicate the worms from his yard, but he’ll continue to clear worms when they can.

“We’ll try to reduce the numbers as best we can just by looking out for them,” he said. “There’s patches of salt on the driveway. When worms go across the driveway, they salt themselves and they’re dead.