Culmore Community Day Celebrates Diversity, Promotes Community Safety

BAILEY'S CROSSROADS, VA — Safety was the theme of the Culmore Community Day on Saturday, held in the parking lot of the Woodrow Wilson Library in the Bailey’s Crossroads area, with firefighters, police officers and other community officials on hand to provide tips and information to local residents.

While "Safety: A Community Responsibility" was the theme of this year’s event, the Culmore Community Day, in its 17th year, also featured entertainment, games, free books, and face painting.

More than 40 community organizations had booths at the event, with the goal of connecting the people who live in the diverse area of Culmore and the Bailey’s Crossroads areas to resources and services designed to benefit them.

"Culmore Community Day has become an annual event that brings together the folks in our community and celebrates our diversity again, again and again," Supervisor Penny Gross, Mason District representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told the attendees at Saturday's event. "And that's what we really want to do in Fairfax County — become one Fairfax, and this is one of the ways we do it."

The event was organized the Fairfax County Park Authority, Fairfax County Park Foundation and Fairfax County Public Library. Exhibits included information on housing, health, parks and recreation, food security and education.

Public safety officers were in attendance at the event, sharing tips and information to promote personal and community safety in the Bailey’s Crossroads area.

Last month, a shooting occurred in the Culmore neighborhood when a 14-year-old was shot and injured. In response to the shooting, several residents who called 911 said they saw teenagers “that were shot at but not hit.”

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office assisted parents in creating child ID cards, which include fingerprints, photograph, measurements, and any demographic information that parents wish to provide. These cards help if a child goes missing.

Entertainment was provided by artists who represent key demographics in the neighborhood, including dance, and music performances that featured Peruvian, Mexican, Bolivian, Colombian, and Korean performers.

Attendees also visited the Woodrow Wilson library, where they took tours, and children were invited to sign up for Fairfax County Public Library's summer reading program, which runs from June 16 to Aug. 18.