Halley Rise — a major mixed use development at the door of the Reston Town Center Metro station — will debut its inaugural Halley Rise Fall Festival on Oct. 22.
The event, which includes live music, food and activities, also kicks off the introduction of the Farm at Halley Rise, an urban farm by Up Top Acres that grows food and donates products to organizations that work to reduce food insecurity.
Just under half an acre in size, the farm includes more than 30 vegetable, herb and fruit crops, along with beehives, a native flower garden, a rain garden and a meadow. The farm is intended to provide Cornerstones Food pantry and other local food security organizations with produce.
“At Up Top Acres, our goal is to create productive farms and gardens that foster a sense of community,” Up Top Acres co-founder Kathleen O’Keefe said. “We’re excited to welcome the Farm at Halley Rise into our portfolio and partner with Brookfield to reduce food insecurity and work toward a more equitable food ecosystem.”
Brookfield Properties broke ground on the project in 2019 and has since focused on building The Edmund, a 353-unit apartment building that includes a pool, terrace, and fitness center. The apartment building, which will house Wegmans on the ground floor, is slated to open in spring 2023.
Robert Swennes, Brookfield’s head of the mid-Atlantic and southeast region, said that the festival is part of an ongoing effort to make the development a vibrant community and destination in Reston.
“We are excited to welcome friends and families from across Northern Virginia for a day full of autumnal festivities, live music, delicious food and more, plus the grand opening of our new urban farm — all together should make for a wonderful celebration at Halley Rise,” Swennes wrote in a statement.
The festival will include scavenger hunts, a pumpkin painting station, a bouquet making stand, farm tours, lawn games and performances by local bluegrass band High & Wides. Pepe by Jose Andres, a food truck, will also serve up Spanish flat sandwiches.
At full build-out, Halley Rise will bring 1,600 residential units, 1.9-million-square-feet of office space, 240,000 square feet of retail, five acres of open space and associated infrastructure to the area.
A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties told FFXnow that the company plans to find other ways to engage the local community.
“Following this year’s event, we will continue to explore ways to offer family-friendly programming for the community,” the spokesperson said.
Theoretically, an intrepid day drinker could hit up all three of the Oktoberfest celebrations around the Tysons area scheduled for next weekend.
Provided they have a designated driver or don’t mind quick Uber trips from the Metro: here’s where they’ll be going:
Kicking off a full day of Oktoberfest activities around the Tysons area is Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road). The Merrifield brewpub is launching is “Hoptoberfest” on Saturday, Sept. 17, at around 11 a.m. The celebration will run all day and feature beers from various local breweries.
Shipgarten (7581 Colshire Drive) is launching the same day at 1:15 p.m. The Tysons bar is launching its Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 17, with a ceremonial “tapping of the keg” for a beer imported from Germany. the festival ends at 6 p.m. The festivities will feature over 50 beers from Germany, Austria and the United States.
Nearby, The Boro (8350 Broad Street) is kicking off its Oktoberfest an hour later. The Boro’s Oktoberfest will launch at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, featuring a biergarten, outdoor games, polka music and more. The first 150 guests will receive a free branded stein.
That same day, Cox Farms’ Fall Festival kicks off. The festival opens on Sept. 17 and will be open every weekend (Thursday through Monday) until Tuesday, Nov. 8. The festival features several large slides and a hay ride, among other attractions. The Fall Festival opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m., with the last entry one hour before closing, so the theoretical Tysonian might want to visit the Fall Festival before touring the Oktoberfests.
A little later than the others: Vienna’s Oktoberfest is scheduled to return on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. along Church Street. This year, the event is slated to feature two beer and wine gardens, along with a selection of international food, a car show and more.
A fall staple is returning to the Reston Farm Garden Market later this month.
Owners Lowell and Bonita Weinstein announced today (Tuesday) that the annual fall festival will return on Sept. 24 through Oct. 30, bringing activities like a petting zoo, a train, moon bounces, and seasonal produce to the farm.
“We love the annual tradition of the Fall Festival and inviting families to experience joy and take home pumpkins, plants or favorite Apple Cider Donuts,” Weinstein said. “We continue to offer a safe and clean experience for all of our guests.”
Local food trucks will be part of the event for the weekend, along with seasonal products like pansies, natural jams, organic honey, pumpkins, seasonal decor, apple cider and apple cider tonights.
While the festival was not on pause last year due to the pandemic, this year does feature different time slots, says Diane Murphy, a spokesperson for the garden.
The festival will be open Friday through Sunday with five 90-minute online ticketed sessions, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m. Admission costs $28 per child and $7 per parent, although children 2 and under can get in for free.
Other activities that are not included in the ticket include face painting, balloons, animal feedings, doughnuts and apple cider.
Staff will clean bounce houses and surrounding areas during the 30 minutes between sessions. Tickets are available online for purchase.
The farm is located at 10800 Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston.
