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Spotlight Highlights Week 1 - April 22, 2024 |
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Imagine it’s 1942 and you are a young GI on twenty-four hour leave in New York City. You are looking for a place to dance, have a sandwich and maybe meet someone famous. You end up at the Stage Door Canteen on Broadway, run by the American Theatre Wing, which featured “No liquor but damned good anyways.” By November 1945, Stage Door Canteens were operating in eight US cities and London and Paris. Together, they entertained and fed 11 million Allied servicemen.
To celebrate 40 years of Supporting the Arts, we're kicking off the 2025 Spotlight on the Arts Opening Reception and Art Contest with the vibe and energy of the 'Stage Door Canteen' right here in Fairfax in the Performance Space of the Sherwood Center this Friday!
Over the following two weekends of April 25 – 27 and May 2-4, you will be able to enjoy wonderful concerts and shows! In addition to the great line up at Sherwood, pull up a chair at Old Town Square to hear the DC Starlight Orchestra play the big band hits of the era or spend an evening under the stars with the City of Fairfax Theatre Company at Veterans Amphitheater. Be sure to check out the Art Contest Finalists of the Spotlight on the Arts Art Exhibit, sponsored by Capital One Hall, at the Sherwood Center through May 22! So much more to attend and see in Fairfax! For the Full Schedule click here!
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8th Annual Student Playwright Festival
Acting for Young People
11 a.m. Sunday, April 27
Stacy C. Sherwood Center
Free
Acting for Young People is thrilled to present the 8th Annual Student Playwright Festival!
Ideal for the whole family, this collection of hilarious and heartwarming readings of original plays are written by AFYP students ages 5-18, and feature performances by professional and student actors. This event is supported by a grant from the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.
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Day of Brass - III
Cathedral Brass
4 p.m. Saturday, April 26
Stacy C. Sherwood Center
Free
The third annual Day of Brass is an educational event focused on middle school and high school brass students. Students will participate in a massed brass ensemble and receive master class instruction from our guest artists. This year we feature Dr. Denny Edelbrock, professor of trumpet at GMU, Joseph Cradler, horn performer with the USMC Band, Shannon Gunn, professor of trombone at VCU, and John Cradler, retired tuba soloists with the USMC Band. Our closing concert is open to the public and will feature our youth participants, our guest artists, The Cathedral Brass, and the Cathedral Brass Youth Ensemble. The event will take place at the Sherwood Center and is supported by a grant from the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.
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The Fairfax Muster
Green Machine Ensembles
5 p.m. Saturday, April 26
Veterans Amphitheatre
10455 Armstrong St., Fairfax (next to City Hall)
Free, cancelled for inclement weather
The Fairfax Muster is an annual gathering of fife and drum corps, historical brass ensembles, and various folk and traditional music ensembles at the beautiful Veterans Amphitheater in the City of Fairfax. Musical ensembles will perform in the amphitheater for about 15 minutes each while attendees are welcome to watch and listen or stroll the market featuring a number of local vendors.
Bring a chair and blanket! FREE event! Enjoy Ice Cream, Popcorn & Red, Hot & Blue!
Performers include: GMU Army ROTC Color Guard; Patriots Fife and Drum Corps; 8th Green Machine Regiment Band; 28th Massachusetts Co B Fife and Drum Corps; Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps Alumni; Fort Myer Fire Department Fife and Drum Corps, and so many more!
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Postcards
City of Fairfax Band
7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26
The City Band takes a musical world tour, featuring the music of Valerie Coleman, Percy Grainger, Frank Ticheli, and Leonard Bernstein! Highlights include: “Havana Nights,” “Vesuvius,” “Out of Africa,” and “Candide.”
Welcome our Young Artist Competition Winner as the Guest Soloist! Click here to purchase tickets!
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Salute to the Greatest Generation: Music from the World War II Era
The George Mason University Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble
8 p.m. Saturday, April 26
Stacy C. Sherwood Center
Free
This concert will focus on music from the World War II Era including Hollywood influential tunes, instrumental operatic selections, music representative of rebuilding after WWII, ragtime, swing, and patriotic unique to the time. The performance will feature the unique talents of the students and faculty of the GMU Tuba Euphonium and Percussion Ensembles as they take the audience on a musical journey of the different musical styles during the war. We invite attendees to come and learn about the different music genres of the greatest generation!
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Luminaries
Main Street Community Band
4 p.m. Sunday, April 27
Stacy C. Sherwood Center
Free
As part of the Spotlight on the Arts Festival, the band will feature music from Leroy Anderson, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin. These luminaries have all had a lasting influence on the popular music of the twentieth century and beyond.
The audience is invited to a reception immediately following the concert.
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Kinetic Canvas
Next Reflex Dance Collective
12 p.m. Saturday, April 26
City Hall
10445 Armstrong Street
$10 - $25
Join us for a beautiful performance featuring choreography inspired by original visual arts works created by The Fairfax Art League members!
Invited artists will be drawing and painting live during the performance. Purchase your tickets here.
This event is supported by a grant from the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.
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