More than a dozen immigrants will experience their first moments as U.S. citizens at the Vienna Town Green this Saturday (July 2).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will hold a naturalization ceremony that day for 15 people from Canada, the Congo, and other nations, who will take the Oath of Allegiance pledging support for their new home country at 5 p.m.
It will be the first time that the Town of Vienna has hosted the ceremony, which formally grants voting rights and other legal protections afforded to native-born Americans.
“The decision to renounce allegiance to one’s country of birth to become a United States citizen must be very emotional,” Vienna Parks and Recreation Event Coordinator Lily Widman said in a news release. “Our homeland is such a big part of our identity, yet, for hundreds of years people from other countries who admire our way of life in the United States have taken the necessary steps to go through the process, which is not easy, and their journey is truly inspiring.”
Vienna is proud to announce its first-ever naturalization ceremony in conjunction with @USCIS. Please join us in celebrating 15 naturalization candidates as they take the Oath of Allegiance at the Town Green this upcoming Saturday, July 2, at 5 p.m. https://t.co/UcVPHwj1w9. pic.twitter.com/9PfeaodD88
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) June 28, 2022
The ceremony will take place during a “mini-fest” as part of Vienna’s second annual Liberty Amendments Month commemorating four Constitutional amendments that collectively abolished slavery and expanded citizenship and voting rights.
After kicking the festivities off on June 18 with a Juneteenth Celebration, the town has dedicated the week of June 26 to July 2 to the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. and prohibits states from denying people life, liberty, or property without due process.
In addition to the naturalization ceremony, the 14th Amendment Mini-Fest will feature kids’ activities, moon bounces, food trucks, a League of Women Voters Fairfax voter registration booth, a performance by hip-hop musician Christylez Bacon, and a “Justice for All” concert presented by the Vienna Presbyterian Church.
Other events scheduled for this week include “Archiving the Path of Liberty: The Fairfax Files,” a discussion with local historians at the Vienna Community Center tonight (Wednesday), and the Independence Day Celebration on Friday (July 1).
Liberty Amendments Month will continue through July 19, with future weeks centered on the 15th and 19th amendments, which extended the right to vote to all citizens regardless of race or gender.
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Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.
To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!
We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!
Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!
Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.
Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!
Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun
Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!
Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!
• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all
Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker
Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road
