Sponsor & Watch NASCOW 2021 Race online!
Back by popular demand is the 2021 NASCOW Race. The contestants include nine resident cows on the farm that love to eat. The prospect of enjoying some extra-tasty brewers grain gets the cows very excited to be first to the feeding trough.

To keep everybody safe, the race will again be an online event. Viewing details will be posted before October 22, 2021.

The 2020 NASCOW race was hugely popular and raised almost enough to feed all the farm animals for a year.

Fans and families from more than a dozen states across the U.S. participated.

Click here to donate to the Friends of Frying Pan in the name of your favorite cow!
Celebrate Frying Pan Farm Park's 60th Anniversary!

On Saturday, October 16, from 10 am to 4 pm, 2709 West Ox Road in Herndon, Virginia. There will be food trucks, live music, a tractor parade, farm demonstrations, fun photo ops, a scavenger hunt, and more. You can even get a better look at your favorite racing cow. Admission is free!
Welcome FCPA Executive Director, Jai Cole
In September 2021, Jai Cole was selected as the Executive Director of the Fairfax County Park Authority. She also serves as an ex-officio Director on the Park Foundation Board.

Ms. Cole returns to her childhood park system as a park professional with more than two decades of leadership experience with award-winning recreation and park agencies.  Read her full bio for additional information about education, experience, and interests.
Click here for the Q&A interview by InsideNOVA.com.
Honoring FCPF Philanthropists
The 2021 Eakin Philanthropy Awardees will be honored as part of the virtual Elly Doyle Park Service Awards Ceremony in November. 
 
The Park Foundation established the Eakin Philanthropy Award to recognize visionary, financial, and material contributions that significantly enhance Fairfax County parks. The award is named in honor of LeRoy Eakin, Sr. who donated 14 acres of land in 1951 which became Fairfax County's first park.
 
The 2021 Eakin Philanthropy award recipients are:  
Wayne, Angela and the Valis Family are being recognized for generous support of Pinecrest Golf Course, Burke Lake Park and more.
The Friends of Colvin Run Mill are receiving an award for their preservation efforts and programming support of the historic property. 
Fairfax Memorial Park and Funeral Home are being honored for a seventeen-year partnership with Braddock Nights, part of the
FCPA Summer Entertainment Series.
Honoring the Life of a Beloved Principal
Susan G. Akroyd
1947-2021

"I am pleased to make a memorial contribution to honor my dear friend, Susan G. Akroyd, a retired principal at Parklawn Elementary, a Title I school. It is fitting that Susan will be memorialized in the seating area of the future Moon Gate garden at beautiful Green Spring Gardens where we enjoyed conversations and many walks together."
-Victor E. Schwartz, Esq.

You can honor someone special at the future Moon Gate Garden at beautiful Green Spring! Call 703-324-8582 or email us at ParkFoundation@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Generosity is Contagious!
Ki Jong Cho and Son Ye Cho
As inspired by Mr. William Hwang and his family’s support of Fairfax County parks, Mr. Ki Jong Cho and his wife, Son Ye Cho, contributed $10,000 as a first gift to the Park Foundation. 

This investment will help improve the Burke Lake Park trails that they frequently enjoy. 
Gifts for Trail Building and Care help to construct and maintain park trails and bridges, purchase land to connect existing trails, provide trail maps, and install interpretive signs that inform and encourage stewardship of the county's history and natural resources.
The check presentation was featured in The Korea Times article written by Washington DC Reporter, Chang Yul Lee, to promote giving back to parks among our local Korean American neighbors!

Trails make up the most used amenity in Fairfax County parks! Navigate more than 900 miles of Fairfax County trails, bikeways and sidewalks on Fairfax Trail Buddy.
William Hwang, former FCPF Board Director and 2020 Eakin Philanthropy Awardee; Bobbi Longworth, FCPF Executive Director; and Ki Jong Cho at the Check Presentation.
Transforming the Beltway and Your Parks
Employees of I-66 Express Mobility Partners teamed with the Foundation and Fairfax County Parks for a day of volunteering at Ellanor C Lawrence Park. Activities to benefit the park included clearing invasive, non-native species from the park grounds, as well as litter pickup along park trails, Rocky Run Stream and Walney Pond. The park is directly adjacent to I-66 and Virginia Route 28 in Chantilly, Virginia.
Fairfax County Supervisor Kathy Smith (Sully District) and staff joined the group to discuss the importance of the Transform I-66 Outside the Beltway project to residents including outreach to area communities during construction. She expressed appreciation for I-66 Express Mobility Partners’ ongoing support of programs including the popular FCPA Summer Entertainment Series Starlight Cinema drive-in movies!
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If your business or organization wants to volunteer in Fairfax County Parks there is much work that needs to be done. Click here for opportunities to Volunteer in your parks.
Service Opportunities for Scouts
Scout Service Projects are valuable and an important part of incorporating community involvement, personal and professional growth, and overall good citizenship. To support these useful scout projects, the Fairfax County Park Authority has established Scout Project Requirements to help a candidate propose a volunteer project that benefits county residents, the scout, and the Fairfax County parks. 

Some generous scouts choose to contribute project funds remaining from a project as a gift to the Park Foundation.
A Dog-gone Good Time at the Water Mine
More than 1,000 dogs and 3,000 people joined in the fun at the Water Mine on September 12.

The dogs-only swimming event raised over $10,000 to benefit your Fairfax County parks.
 
The Fairfax County Park Authority, Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill District), pictured with Bobbi Longworth of the Park Foundation, Weber’s Pet Supermarket, and Aquatic Paws partnered on this popular end-of-summer tradition.
"Thanks. My pup Toby had a lot of fun on Sunday!" -Mari Vasquez
Watch the Fairfax County Channel 16-produced Dog Daze 2021 video.
A Moment of Beauty in your Parks
The illuminated American Flag stands tall thanks to the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park who recently sponsored this patriotic feature.

The Pentagon’s tribute light beam was shining in the sky when this photo was taken on September 11, 2021 by FPFP Operations Manager, Paul Nicholson.
ECLP Friends host ParktoberFest
While visiting the naturally magnificent Ellanor C. Lawrence Park this fall, be sure to check out the future home of the Sully Woodlands Stewardship Education Center, a state-of-the-art interpretive center for all to learn about animals, wildlife, and preservation.
Sponsor a STEAM Feature!
Notable Events


Visit the FCPA website for more Fall Fun in your parks!
The Season of Giving Continues