Reston Town Center to Honor 25th Anniversary with Autumn Celebration

Reston Town Center’s 25th birthday is fast approaching, so the community is throwing a birthday party to commemorate the historic day in Reston’s history.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, exactly 25 years to the day after Reston Town Center opened to the community, the town will hold a gathering at Fountain Square and the Pavilion from noon until 4 p.m.

There will be free refreshments (including lemonade, iced tea, popcorn, cotton candy and more), live music catered to both children and adults, horse-drawn hay rides, pumpkin decorating and life-size versions of checkers, chess and Jenga on hand.

The Town Center opened on Oct. 18, 1990, with the dedication of the iconic Mercury Fountain. It encompassed four square blocks and was anchored by the multi-screen movie theater and Hyatt Hotel.

The Town Center has continued to expand through the years, and “continues to serve as the gathering place envisioned by Reston founder Robert E. Simon, Jr. in the planning of his New Town community that began in 1964,” read a Town Center release announcing the celebration.

Officials with the Town Center also announced that on Monday, Oct. 26, the Mercury Fountain will be turned off for the winter season and that preparations will begin for the rink at the ice skating pavilion.

Patch file photo