Activities

Be sure to visit the historic Snickersville Academy log cabin, built around 1825. Take a pleasant walk up the Turnpike and across the creek (just follow the signs!) to Bluemont’s first schoolhouse and church, carefully restored to reflect its original use. Step back in time as you relax in the shade of the beautifully restored cabin, read the interpretive signs, and enjoy playing old-fashioned games. The restoration was lovingly completed by the Friends of Bluemont.

The Bluemont United Methodist Church, the charming stone church across from the Community Center, serves as a Hospitality Center, complete with tents and seating on the front lawn. Visitors are welcome to rest, enjoy the quilt show inside, or watch videos about Bluemont’s history playing in the lower level. We’ll be offering cold drinks, grilled hot dogs, brats, homemade cookies, muffins, snacks, and our famous apple dumplings for sale. All profits support missions both locally and around the world. Our motto? “Your buck doesn’t stop here!”

Treat yourself to a cool break from the heat by visiting the Bluemont United Methodist Church, located across from the Community Center. Inside the church sanctuary, you’ll find a beautiful collection of quilts made by the members of the Waterford Quilt Guild. The quilts come in all sizes, colors, and techniques, thoughtfully displayed in a lovely arrangement.
Admission is free for all Fair attendees. Kids can enjoy the children’s activity box, where they can create their own quilt block souvenir! You can also participate in the Waterford Quilt Guild’s annual quilt raffle. Check the Announcements tab for details and a photo of this year’s raffle quilt. Visit the church to see the raffle quilt in person and pick up your tickets.

The Bluemont Fair is renowned far and wide for its vibrant live music. With three stages running concurrently, you’re sure to find great tunes wherever you roam in the village. While our focus is on Americana, roots, bluegrass, and folk, the lineup offers a little something for every musical taste.

The popular rock climbing wall returns this year in Stone’s Field. For just a few extra dollars, you can challenge yourself to reach the top—do you have what it takes?

Test your balance on the Rope Bridge, located in the parking lot and run by Boy Scout Troop 961, who also manage parking for the Fair. It’s a fun challenge—and a great way to support our local Scouts!

For many children who get to experience a country fair, one of the things they remember the most is a pony ride. For a small fee, kids can enjoy a ride on a gentle pony, brought to us by Valerie Hoke Pony Rides.

Each year, our Pickle & Pie Contest brings out some fierce (and delicious) competition! On Saturday morning, bring your best homemade pickles and most mouthwatering pies for a chance to win prizes—beautiful handcrafted items made by Fair artisans. And don’t miss the tasting! Head to the Lake Store by 1 PM on Saturday to sample the winning entries. After the judging wraps up, the competing pies are sold by the slice!

Admission to the Fair includes access to our popular petting zoo, where kids can step inside and interact with their favorite animals. Past guests have even included a camel and a wallaby!

Stop by the Gardener’s Shed behind the Bluemont Community Center for gardening inspiration or garden-inspired goods. We offer cut flowers, art and pottery inspired by the garden, and products made from local plants.

Step inside the Bluemont Community Center (second floor) to explore our extensive model train display! Children especially enjoy watching the trains in motion and discovering the detailed, imaginative layouts. We’re thrilled to welcome Northern Virginia NTRAK, whose impressive display is always a favorite among visitors.

The Bluemont Fair features approximately 80 artisans, both local and from farther afield, in our extensive Juried Crafts section. These talented makers are showcased on the front lawn of the Bluemont Community Center, as well as in the barn located just behind it.  A wide variety of high-quality, handmade items are available for purchase, turned wood bowls, leather goods, wood cutting boards, knitted, felted, and crocheted fiber arts, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, quilted goods, handmade dolls, soaps, lotions and balms, stained glass, plants and garden decoration, and much more.

When we think of wool, we often think of sheep—but other farm animals like alpacas, angora rabbits, and goats also produce luxurious fibers. These natural fibers can be spun into yarn and crafted into woven, knitted, or felted creations. At the Creekside Fiber Arts Field, you can meet and pet local fiber animals, watch live demonstrations of spinning, weaving, and felting, and browse hundreds of unique, handcrafted items made by local fiber artisans. Demonstrations take place throughout the weekend and are free of charge.

For those looking to take a taste of Bluemont home, you’ll find Locally Made Artisan Foods such as syrups, honey, and hot sauce in Hogan’s Field next to the Beer & Wine Garden.

Don’t forget to bring a shopping tote—or pick one up featuring this year’s winning poster design, available at the E.E. Lake Store!

When your feet grow tired, stop by the Fellowship Hall, located downstairs in the Bluemont United Methodist Church—the beautiful old stone church at the center of town. (The entrance is on the left side of the building.) Inside, you can watch two short documentaries that highlight key moments in Bluemont’s history: Snickersville 1864 and When the Trains Came to Bluemont. Each film explores a pivotal era in the village’s development. The documentaries will run every half hour from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM daily (with the final showing beginning at 2:00 PM).

This area behind the Bluemont Community Center is a highlight for our youngest fairgoers. It is a self-contained section of the fair filled with old-fashioned fun. The kids can have their face painted or get a glitter tattoo for free, play games, make crafts, or just blow bubbles and climb on hay bales—all included in the price of fair admission. There are also specialty crafters in this area geared towards children, so if your kids want to get a henna tattoo or do some sand art, this is the place to take them.

Come inside a real caboose! See where the conductor ate and slept and used the bathroom. The caboose behind the Bluemont Community Center will be open for exploration at designated hours during each day of the Fair. Please refer to the Fair Schedule for details.

We are fortunate to have Eric Zieg as the blacksmith at the Bluemont Fair—he is also the demonstrator at Mt Vernon! So he has years of experience teaching visitors about the role of the blacksmith in earlier days. Come visit him in Stone’s Field.

A barrel train ride for you and your children to cruise in comfort to the lake in the Montessori field!

At the E. E. Lake Store you will find Fair merchandise (including our famous t-shirts) and the biggest bake sale you have ever seen—all homemade by bakers from our area. Yes, we have gluten-free too! Enjoy a cup of coffee with your pastries. And on Saturday at 1 PM, stop in to buy slices from the pies that were contestants in the Pickle & Pie contest. See if you agree with our judges…

Stop by the Beer & Wine Garden to put your feet up, listen to some music, and taste some local beer or wine. You can buy sample tastes or a full glass. And you get to take home a glass that commemorates the Fair theme for this year.

In the Montessori Field you can meet authors from our area and talk to them about their books. Pick up some to take home! Here you will find books ranging from children’s picture books to novels to local history.

We have artisans demonstrating their skills throughout the Bluemont Fair. As you walk through the village, you will see artists throwing pottery, turning wood, making paper, weaving baskets, carving utensils, knitting and crocheting. Look for artists drawing and painting. Try your hand at weaving cloth, spinning yarn, or quilting.

The Bluemont Fair started as a place for local artists to show off their skills, all those decades ago, and the tradition is alive and well! Come browse the work of artists from our area, and take a painting home when you go. We have art at all price levels. Visit the sale on the second floor of the E.E. Lake Building.

We are fortunate to have David Clark, a professional archaeologist and college professor, at the Fair with some of the fascinating archaeological finds that have been discovered in our region. Stop by his hands-on table, located in the Montessori Field between the parking lot and the Community Center, to learn more about bones, weapons, and tools that have been discovered right here in Loudoun County.

Come browse the treasures found in the local business, antiques, and flea market section of the Fair in Hogan’s field! We’ll call a cart to help you tote larger items back to your car, so don’t hesitate to buy whatever catches your eye, no matter the size.