Decorating cookies at Fairfax City’s information booth last year are (from left) Girl Scouts Emily Humphreys and Phoebe Wilhelm.
Butterflies, bubbles, hayrides, history demonstrations, baby animals and fun all await visitors to the annual Fairfax HisTree Day. It’s slated for Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Historic Blenheim, 3610 Blenheim Blvd. in Fairfax.
The public is invited to celebrate history and the planet at this free, family-friendly event. It combines living-history presenters with Earth Day via interactive activities, crafts, presentations and tours.
There’ll be a full slate of educational and exploratory activities honoring both Fairfax history and nature. Several City departments are participating, and admission is free.
Hands-on activities include making an Earth Day-themed quilt square, blowing sustainable bubbles and decorating cookies in Earth Day themes. And new this year will be a butterfly tent. Children can also have some old-fashioned fun climbing on bales of straw, petting farm animals and going on hayrides with their families.
In addition, people may take a guided tour of the Blenheim property or check out the interactive Enviroscape. It’s an interactive model demonstrating the impact development and pollution have on the waterways. This hands-on activity will teach people that protecting the environment is a responsibility shared by everyone. Attendees may also learn how today’s stormwater-management technology helps protect the planet and will also receive tips about plant and soil care.
Planned are demonstrations by various tradespeople, such as a weaver, quilter, blacksmith, carpenter, brickmaker, naturalist and photographer. Josh Young will perform as a 19th-century, traveling-show magician, and Michael Mescher will teach popular, 19th-century parlor games and children’s games.
Learn African American school teachings from The Lady Time Travelers. Hear GMU’s 8th Regiment Green Machine Band and watch them lead the 28th Massachusetts Infantry Co. B.
People may meet an early 19th-century scientist and view his preserved specimens. Also on hand will be Melanie La Force, portraying a Civil War-era nurse named Mary Morris Husband. She was the first nurse to personally visit President Lincoln and plead for clemency for soldiers wrongfully accused of desertion.
Children may also see the Punch and Judy show, a famous puppet play with roots in Maryland.
Food vendors will be at the event, too. Onsite parking is limited to accessible parking only. All other attendees are encouraged to take the free shuttle from Fairfax High School or walk from Daniels Run Elementary School.
For more event details, go to https://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/parks-recreation/special-events/fairfax-histree-day.