Rain or Shine, This City Loves its Waterfront Festival

photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks The 2008 Alexandria Waterfront Festival, presented by the local chapter of the American Red Cross, had all the ingredients of kiddie nirvana: cotton candy, fun slides and candy apples.

Not even the sheets of rain which came down Saturday morning could stop 15,000 attendees from enjoying the 28th Annual Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival last weekend.

photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks Oh yeah! The dizzy dragon ride was kiddie heaven.

The festival kicked off bright and early Saturday, with a 10K race followed by a 5K race shortly afterwards in front of the Hoffman Center.

Once the rain cleared, this year's festival offered an arrangement of activities with widespread appeal, from candy apples for the kids to hard rock for the adults.   

With two days full of live, local tunes, festival attendees enjoyed genres ranging from Rock,  to Pop, to Funk and Blues. There was a wine and beer garden, making for an adultish place to relax and take in the tunes from the festival stage.

Saturday’s music line-up included Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (positive hip hop for kids), Chelsea Lee, Luke Brindley, Crash Boom Bang, Shane Hines and the Trance, Virginia Coalition, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers and last, but not least, the Pat McGee Band.

Sunday’s line-up included Rocknoceros, which was another band for the kiddies, The Grandsons, Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun, as well as Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk.

Saturday evening ended with the boom of fireworks over the Potomac River.

Mom and Dad weren’t the only ones who enjoyed last weekend’s Waterfront Festival. The little ones had the chance to become pirates, tour a ship and sing sea chanties. Cole Amusement Company provided a three-story tall ferris wheel, a carousel and a dizzy dragon ride, among others.  

photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks Proceeds of the Festival benefited the Alexandria Red Cross.

Under the Children’s Harbor Tent, sons and daughters were creating arts and crafts like Father’s Day cards, or getting their face painted.
From handmade crafts, to jewelry, to pottery, the Waterfront Festival had plenty of vendors.

Pooches got in on the fun with an American Red Cross Pet First Aid demonstration, dog contests, a dog refreshment area and a variety of doggie vendors.

View a Slide Show of the 2009 Waterfront Festival Here:
http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=Alexandria+Waterfront+Festival+2009