F.C. 'Civic Jam' Spotlights Community Groups to Celebrate Nation’s 250th

On a beautiful summer Friday evening, July 24, the City of Falls Church put on its first-ever “Civic Jam,” spotlighting local civic groups, in celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday. 

At Cherry Hill Park, the delightful festival organized by the City's Rec & Parks Dept. featured three live bands, food vendors, a Civic Cup contest, 18 community booths with kids and adult activities plus swag, “all-age inflatable games,” a watermelon roll competition, a water balloon toss, a sack race, a three-legged race, and a Civic Trivia contest hosted by the League of Women Voters of Falls Church. Plus, there was a mechanical bull (!), axe throwing (!) and bounce house.

The Falls Church Independent attended the Civic Jam to see all the fun and explore what local civic groups are up to, as well as how the festival was organized by the City's Rec. and Parks Department.

With so many community-minded groups and residents gathered together in joyous and patriotic celebration, the City of Falls Church could rightfully be proud of upholding the democratic ideals of the nation’s founders.

Here's an Instagram Reel we created about the Civic Jam.

We asked Mayor Letty Hardi how she felt as she looked around the celebratory festival. “It’s great to see,” she said. “I did not know quite what to expect. I know this is the first time we’re putting on this event, so kudos to Rec & Parks staff for coming out with an innovative way to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday." 

“How do you think this celebration reflects on the Falls Church community?,” we asked. “Well, I think you hit the nail on the head with the word ‘community,’” she said. “We thought the best way to commemorate the history of the country is to bring people together. So, between music, and people coming out on a beautiful night, and having civic groups involved, plus games, it’s a really good way to show what we’re all about in terms of the values of this community…. I would encourage everyone to use this opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come from and what the values of the founding of this country means for us as a community moving ahead.”

Having entered into the Civic Cup competition, City Manager Wyatt Shields couldn’t chat with us for very long and had to run, but he said about the festival: “I love the energy. I love that everyone’s turned out. I love all our civic leaders here showing off all the great work they do. And right now we’re even listening to an all-veteran band. They’re all veterans of the U.S. military services. And they’re creating a great atmosphere.” 

Asked about the origins of the Civic Jam, Shields explained: “We had a committee of volunteers who got together to consider how the City of Falls Church could celebrate the nation’s 250th. And so – classic Falls Church – we said, ‘Let’s celebrate all the richness of our civic life.’”

Hearing that the “Saints and Villains” band on stage – energetically performing classic rock cover songs – were all veterans, I had to check them out. As the band notched up their volume, identical young twin girls in bright yellow summer dresses energetically danced on the grass nearby as attendees looked on with delight. 

Following "Saints and Villains" performance, I spoke with the band’s lead singer, Taylor [no last name given], and their bassist and back-up singer, Kristen Bakotic. “It was amazing,” Taylor said, when asked how she felt performing at the Civic Jam. “It’s just great seeing the crowd participate. I love coming together with all the families.” Asked how it felt to be commemorating the nation’s 250th with a performance, she said: “I think it’s so unreal. I mean, I’m so thankful and grateful to live in a place like this… just to be in the United States. It’s great!” 

Was it really true that they were all veterans as the City Manager had said? “We’re all veterans,” Taylor confirmed. She added: “I was Air Force and Space Force. I was a space operator, so I operate satellites.”  

Bakotic described how the band formed. “So, we're all members of the space and intelligence communities – all former military or veterans of the intel community,” she began. “So, we have Space Force, Air Force, Army, Navy – It’s awesome. So, for me, I did 27 years in the Air Force. Retired last year and joined the band.” 

Taylor and Bakotic didn’t know each other before joining the band, Bakotic said, “But, we are fellow Air Force Academy graduates…. Yes! Two female Air Force Academy graduates. Heck yeah!” Asked how she felt about performing in celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, Bakotic said: “I love it!.... I just think it’s a fantastic opportunity to bring the community together…. And the unique part of this band is that everybody served and continues to serve. So, you can’t beat that. So, Happy Birthday, America! This is what we do!”

Soon we had a run-in with the police.

Not due to criminality, but because we met City Police Chief Shahram Fard and Officer Jennifer Mauro milling about smartly. We asked the Police Chief how he’s enjoyed serving the City of Falls Church, since he took the job two and a-half years ago. “It’s the best city in the world! I love it,” Fard said. “We have great team members… It’s a very close knit community. They care about each other and they care about staff, and the staff care about them. We enjoy a high level of trust with our community members – at least we hope we do – And we work hard to maintain that trust.” Asked how he felt about the Civic Jam, Chief Fard said, “It makes me feel happy because everybody’s out here enjoying themselves.”

Mauro’s been on the force for four and a-half years. She said the department has treated her well and her experience has been "great." She found the festival great as well, "because you get to walk around and be here in the community itself and answer any questions the public might have.” Mauro wants the community at-large to know about the Police Department’s Community Police Academy (Sept. 23 - Nov. 18) – a sort of public open house – and the upcoming National Night Out (Aug. 4) at Cherry Hill Park, where citizens and local police can meet sociably to promote police-community partnerships, neighborhood camaraderie, and crime prevention awareness.

Strolling through the community booths we stopped to chat with Founder and Board President of Little City Concerts, composer Stephen Gorbos. “What’s the latest?,” we asked. “We want to get the message out about our upcoming season. We’ve got some amazing collaborations with some great nonprofit organizations,” Gorbos said. “All of our concerts are framed around a social justice issue that we work on with the artists we partner with. They’re as local as possible and nonprofit and we donate half the ticket sales to them. So, we’ve got some great collaborations including our second commission coming up this year.”

“There’s a wonderful composer named Ashi Day,” Gorbos explained. “She’s a Washington D.C.-based composer….We commissioned her to do a piece. Her idea was to kind of get into this science idea of late that’s been debunking the ‘survival of the fittest’ [narrative] and to make it about the ‘survival of the friendliest’ …. And we’re partnering with an awesome nonprofit called Healing House. They pair service animals with disabled youth and some of their animals will be featured in our show which will be great. And that’s on April 3rd.” 

Next to Little City Concerts’ booth, Paul Boesen, co-founder of Welcoming Falls Church described the organization’s work. “I’ve been delighted to be involved in Welcoming Falls Church since its founding in 2018,” Boesen said. “Our mission is to build a community of neighbors through hospitality to immigrants and refugees to create opportunity for us all. And this mission has never been as important as it is today. You know, this is against headwinds that are stronger than ever, especially at the national level. Locally, we can do a lot of great work in the community by staying close to the ground and by loving our neighbors.”

“Our largest program is an Adult and Family Literacy Center,” Boesen said. “It meets twice weekly at Oak Street Elementary. It enrolls on average about 100 adult students and 25 of their kids in a child literacy activity program. There are also about 50 volunteers involved in that program. It’s a great community effort. The City of Falls Church supports it. It’s taught at Oak Street Elementary in partnership with the Falls Church City Public Schools. It’s a great example of community coming together to support newcomers, both in Falls Church and the area more broadly.” 

At the booth for Mary Riley Styles Public Library (MRSPL), we met the library's Director, Megan Dotzler. To celebrate America's 250th, the library will be "collecting recipes from our community" to "put into a digital book when we’re done," Dotzler said. "It's on our website," she said, so folks can check out the project and think of recipes they'd like to contribute.

When she looks at everything going on in the festival, how does it make her feel? "I’m always just very grateful just to be part of this community," Dotzler said. "So, to be here and to give library love out to the community and to let the community love us back – and then also to see how engaged this community is! We have so many organizations that care about this community so much. And we have so many people who are coming out to also show their care and their involvement in this community. So, I just feel gratitude."

At the Falls Church Climate Action Network (FCCAN) table, we met Board member Jon Ward and asked him to describe what pitch they’re giving to passers by. “We really want to get out the word of just how straightforward and affordable it can be to get off of fossil fuels,” he said. “The technology is getting there. It’s just a matter of going ahead and making the decision. So when it’s time to change, a major thing [for homeowners] is to plan in advance to make that change. A lot of energy use is in your vehicle. So be ready to know what kind of electric vehicle you want when it’s time. And also, getting people off of gas furnaces and gas water heaters onto a heat pump, space heating, and heat pump water heaters.” 

“....The City Council adopted a goal a couple of years ago of getting [City] greenhouse gas emissions down 50 percent versus 2005. It was challenging to do. But it’s giving City resources to the [cause] and advertising what’s going on…” Ward added that he wants residents to know there are about 60 slots available for free “residential energy audits,” due to federal and state funding. At a $500 value, such an audit can help homeowners understand their home energy options.

At the League of Women Voters of Falls Church (LWVFC) booth, we met Meridian H.S. volunteer Jillian Devine, a rising junior. We asked her how she got connected with the group’s work. “I got involved because they had a Citizens for a Better City (CBC) Youth Representative post in our Schoolology announcements,” Devine said. “I believe it said we could pick three-to-five clubs and organizations we could get involved with in Falls Church City. So my top three were this one, that environmental one there [points to FCCAN’s table], and the Chamber of Commerce. My friend Mira also got me into this because this is her second year [with the group]. I’ll be going into 11th grade and [the group’s work] is basically just like getting people to vote, restoring voting rights, and teaching people about different amendments to bills they could vote on. And there’s a lot of volunteering they do at our school. And sometimes I would see them at lunch. And I’d stop by the booth and look at it.”

Asked if she’s enjoying volunteering for LWVFC, Devine said, “Yes, I like all the things they stand for and I think it’s good for later in my life.” Before I moved on, Devine asked me to include this message from her in my interview: “Don’t forget to vote!”

After checking out Falls Church Arts’s enthralling "spin art" activity for kids, I met Political Consultant, former Chair of the Democratic Party in Falls Church, and Chair of the Human Services Advisory Council for Falls Church, Jeff Person.  “What I love about Falls Church is that we’re typically so engaged and we’re so well known for our high voter turnout,” Person said to describe how the celebration feels. “And this is such an exciting time for America because of the 250th. This is a consortium of great organizations that serve Falls Church and help people in Falls Church. It’s good not only to get them all together but to celebrate, honor, and highlight what they’re doing. And, where Falls Church will be in 50 years for our tricentennial, I don’t know. But these civic organizations are leading the way!”

Admiring the gold Civic Cup at the Recreation & Parks booth, I met Remy [no last name given], seated at the agency’s table. I asked her how the day felt for her. “I’m pretty excited!,” she said. “I heard this is our first one, so there’s so much that could happen…. I’m just hoping we have fun and we stay safe.” A Counselor in the City’s Extended Care Summer Camp, Remy loves serving the community. “I like it a lot. It’s really, really fun,” she said with a smile.

Finally, we chatted with Michael Timpane, station manager with Falls Church Community Television (FCCTV). Asked if he were excited about the Civic Jam, Timpane said, “Yeah, it’s very cool! It’s a cool way that Falls Church is getting the community engaged with all these civic organizations that they can get involved in.” 

And what was his public pitch for FCCTV? “So, Falls Church City Television is the City of Falls Church’s TV station," he said. "And anybody in the community can come, join, learn how to use our equipment, and make whatever they want – from a film, to a podcast, to a TV show. As long as it’s not commercial in nature. Or, violating the FCC laws…. And one of the cool things about community television and this whole medium in general is that it’s a free speech platform….”

“And it’s a place for everyday citizens to come in and do whatever they want, including journalistic endeavors,” Timpane continued. “If people feel like there’s a gap in their local community where something might not be covered, they can join and do it themselves…. We’re in Meridian H.S. on the second floor right by the library and anyone’s welcome to come by and check it out.”

A Few More Civic Jam Photos

By Christopher Jones