Here's Your Survival Guide-Enjoy McLean Day

Welcome to McLean. We're happy to see you. Enjoy McLean Day.

Come early. Chain Bridge Road from Great Falls to Westmoreland usually becomes a parking lot from noon-3pm.  Neighborhood parking also fills up after 12. Take a free shuttle bus. Locations below

Follow McLean Patch on Twitter. We'll update you often on traffic and congestion.

What: McLean Day is a day outside to enjoy carnival rides, delicious food and live entertainment starting at 11 a.m. The kids will love the carnival rides throughout the park with games and free pony rides for the little ones and face painting. Our neighbor the CIA has a great booth.

When: Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for everyone. But McLean residents can vote for members of the McLean Community Center board from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road.

Weather: Don’t worry about it. Nothing stops McLean Day.

Price: Free admission but there are lots of things for sale inside. Cash is required to buy tickets for carnival rides.

FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

Please, Please Vote: If you live generally in the area from the Arlington County line to Difficult Run and the Potomac River and Route 7, you are eligible to vote because you pay taxes that run the center! One hundred percent of McLean and Great Falls residents who live in the special tax district pay for the center usually about 2 percent vote for the board. The election will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Three adult positions and two youth positions are open this year. The 11-member board controls a $6 million budget plus a $12 million surplus. (See voters guide.)

FOR OUR GUESTS

Welcome. We're glad to see you.

Parking: There is no parking at Lewinsville Park. Pleeeeeease take  the free shuttle. Shuttle buses will be available from 10:30 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

Shuttle locations:

McLean Baptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Road.

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,1545 Chain Bridge Road. This is the closest location to Lewinsville Park.

McLean Community Center:1234 Ingleside Avenue.

Limited Parking Locations: Lewinsville Senior Center,1609 Great Falls Street. Shuttle carts will run from the back of the building to Lewinsville Park.

Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, 1724 Chain Bridge Road offers free parking and hospitality (refreshments) on McLean Day (on the 21st).

If you arrive much after noon, neighborhood street parking is gone.

FOR EVERYONE

The Eats:

The international food concessions will offer choices from full, heavy meals to light snacks and everything in between. Pizza, turkey legs, barbecue ribs, crab cakes, chicken tenders, fried rice, sub sandwiches, cheeseburgers, French fries, egg rolls, chips, nachos, popcorn, ice cream, funnel cakes, frozen yogurt, lemonade, tea, sodas, smoothies and water, among other choices, will be available for hungry festival attendees.

Vendors will include Crepe Deli, Minute Man Kettle Corn, Nader's Bistro and Grill, Orient Bowl and more.

The Entertainment

McLean Day Stage Schedule:

11 a.m. – The Joy of Dance dancers. Kick off McLean Day with an adorable show by students of MCC’s dance program.

12:15 p.m. – Mutts Gone Nuts. These sweet pups will steal your heart … and maybe your hat!

1:15 p.m. – Four Star Combo. Vintage rockabilly and honky-tonk sounds!

2 p.m. – Teen Character Awards. Great McLean kids honored.

2:15 p.m. – Mutts Gone Nuts. The dog show returns for an encore presentation that will have you howling.

3:15 p.m. – Tom Principato. Blues that won’t make you blue.

The Rides

New this year! Games 2U of Huntingtown, Md., is bringing new field games, such as laser tag, hamster ball, a candy cannon and “booger” wars to capture the young folks’ attention.

Reithoffer Shows adds the Orbiter to its exciting line-up of large carnival rides. Full Tilt, The Ring of Fire, Pharaoh’s Fury, The Gravitron and bumper car rides return for the fourth year in a row.

Ticket sales for the large rides by Reithhoffer Shows will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will end at 4 p.m. Tickets must be purchased with cash only. An ATM will be located in the area of the house stage.

Other attractions include a rock climbing wall, carnival games, pony rides, balloon sculptures and face painting. Toddlers and small children can enjoy a variety of small, mechanical rides in the KidZone Midway area.

The ride tickets are $2 each and most rides require two tickets ($4). An unlimited ride bracelet can be purchased for $20. There are free rides for preschool age children in a separate section called the Kids Midway.

Prescription Medicine Collection
Help our community by dropping off unused or expired medications at the satellite parking lot at MCC on McLean Day. It's all part of the Safe Community Coalition's prescription medication safety awareness campaign. 

Sponsored by the Safe Community Coalition
11 a.m.-5 p.m.
MCC Satellite Parking Lot   
For more information, contact the Safe Community Coalition at 703-371-5995.

McLean Day History

Originally sponsored by the McLean School and Civic LeagueInc. to raise funds for school and community projects, the first McLean Day was held in 1915 in a field adjacent to Franklin Sherman School. Various community organizations kept McLean Day going with varying degrees of success until MCC began producing it in the mid-1970s. In 1988, MCC relocated the festival from the center on Ingleside Avenue to Lewinsville Park. Over the years, the festival has become a much-loved icon of the coming of summer.
 
For More Information
For festival updates, driving directions, shuttle bus stop locations and a festival area map, visit: www.mcleancenter.org/special-events/mcleanday.asp or call the Center at 703-790-0123/TTY: 711. The center’s telephone will be answered from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the day of the festival.