The Asian Festival on Main will be coming back to Old Town Fairfax for a sixth consecutive year next week in commemoration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The free festival, which claims to be one of Virginia’s biggest cultural events, will take place on Sunday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., spanning Main Street, University Drive and Sager Avenue.
“This year’s festival celebrates the Year of the Horse, transforming Old Town Fairfax into a vibrant, multi-sensory celebration of Asian cultures,” the Old Town Fairfax Business Association (OTFBA) said in a press release.
This year’s festival will feature live performances, cultural demonstrations, over 60 Asian food vendors and food trucks, and just as many artisan vendors. A karaoke beer garden, cosplay runway, games and family-friendly attractions, such as mini horses, are also planned.
The Fairfax County-based Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe will kick off the day’s entertainment with a dragon and lion dance at 11:15 a.m. on Main Street, followed by an opening performance on the Unity Stage at Old Town Square at 11:35 a.m.
The festival headliner is Infusion, a group of musicians that combines Southeast Asian and Western cultures into modern sound. They are scheduled to perform on the Unity Stage at 5 p.m.
New to this year’s festival is a live podcast experience from the Hungry Immigrant LIVE at the Asian Discovery Plaza. Moderated and hosted by chef Dr. Abang Brian, who teaches at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, it will feature discussions and panels on Asian food and how the D.C. region’s culinary scene has evolved:
1:30-2:30 p.m.
From Heritage to Mainstream: How Asian Food Built Community in the DMV
Featuring Chef Tim Ma and Chef Patrice Cleary3:30-4:30 p.m.
Who Shapes Taste? Chefs, Communities, and the New Asian Food Scene in the DMV
Featuring Chef Erik Bruner-Yang and Mya Yn
The master of ceremonies for this year’s festival is Jenny Nguyen, who used to be Miss VietFest United States and director of executive operations for the D.C.-based youth organization Flag Star Football. Prior to that, she was a southeast Asia program specialist for the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Organized by the OTFBA, the Asian Festival on Main is supported in part by Fairfax City, which provides assistance with road closures, trash collection and other services.
Per a staff presentation to the Fairfax City Council on April 6, the city accrued $43,800 in expenses to support the 2025 festival — the most of any non-city-organized event. At that work session, city leaders discussed establishing a framework for managing costs related to third-party events, potentially creating a grant program to formalize requests for city assistance or having some events reimburse the city.
City Manager Daniel Alexander thanked the OTFBA as “great partners” for pivoting after the city asked the organization to cover some funding.
“I do want to acknowledge the OTFBA and the people in this room who’ve worked so hard to build the Asian Festival on Main because it is one of the marquee events in this city,” Fairfax City Mayor Catherine Read said. “There are people who come from all over, and I don’t want to undervalue the effort of the volunteers who put this on every year. Putting up a framework means all of us can budget better.”
