For more information or to participate in a program email EconomicDevelopment@fairfaxva.gov.
Fairfax City’s Golden Ticket Contest Fairfax City’s Office of Economic Development partners with the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce to host Fairfax City’s Golden Ticket Contest as part of the Chocolate Lovers Festival during the first weekend in February.
The contest aims to connect the thousands of attendees with Old Town Fairfax City businesses by recreating the childhood fantasy of finding a golden ticket in a candy bar like Grandpa Jo in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”. Festival attendees are able to purchase Fairfax City Golden Ticket Chocolate Bars from Old Town Fairfax City businesses with three golden tickets hidden within the bars. Proceeds from the sale of the chocolate bars benefit the Chocolate Lovers Festival grant recipients, which include charitable organizations.
George Mason University Homecoming In support of GMU’s Homecoming tradition, the city partners with the University to celebrate and create an inviting atmosphere for Homecoming by holding various events throughout the city to include a discount program to participating city businesses (Patriots in the City) and a window painting contest (Paint the City Green).
The city’s collaboration on Homecoming creates an exclusive opportunity to promote city businesses at the largest event on campus, solidify the city’s business community relationship with Mason’s community, and reinforce Fairfax City as the hometown of GMU.
Women-Owned Business Luncheon Cohosted by the Economic Development Authority and the City of Fairfax Commission for Women, the Women-Owned Business Luncheon is held in March and includes a panel presentation of women-owned Fairfax City business owners, exhibitor tables, and networking opportunities for those who are looking to begin or grow their business and would like to become part of a woman entrepreneur community.
The collaborative program is intended to celebrate the contribution of women-owned businesses to Fairfax City’s local economy and to those businesses with a capacity building opportunity to strengthen their marketing and self-promotion efforts. Additionally, the event also provides an opportunity for women-owned City businesses to showcase their organization.
Fairfax City Perks As a component of the “Find It in Fairfax City” foldable city guide, Fairfax City Perks provides a 10% discount to participating businesses when the “Find It in Fairfax City” guide is presented at the time of purchase. To unlock the discount and participating businesses, individuals simply scan the QR code with a camera app. The device will open a link to fairfaxcityconnected.com/perks that will include a map of participating businesses that can be filtered by category.
The guide will be distributed to Mason’s community, city venues such as Old Town Hall and the library, city historical sites like the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, local hotels, provided to corporate businesses for new employee orientation, and new residents. The goal of Fairfax City Perks is to provide greater benefits to shoppers, encourage local spending, and to promote city businesses on the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority website (fairfaxcityconnected.com) and social media channels.
To register your business, simply complete the online form.
Restaurant Week Since 2018, Fairfax City Restaurant Week has been successful at increasing the number people that dine out in Fairfax City restaurants and solidifying the city as a regional dining destination. During Fairfax City Restaurant Week, restaurants offer 3 course prix-fixe lunch/brunch and dinner menus that at times include drink pairings to attract new diners. For those that are familiar with the city’s restaurant community, it’s a chance to experiment with new cuisines and try restaurants outside their normal choices.
The program is administered by the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority in partnership with the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce with the goal of highlighting and promoting the expanding culinary scene in Fairfax City.
Old Town Fairfax City Crawl Hosted by the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority in partnership with the Old Town Fairfax Business Association, the Old Town Fairfax Crawl is a free event that occurs in June and October. The crawl is a timed self-guided tour featuring Old Town Fairfax City businesses that offer specialty priced food, drinks, and shopping specials when a passport is shown. Patrons that make a purchase at four or more restaurants receive a limited edition glass and/or four or more retail stores receive a canvas tote. Completed passports are also entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift card to a Fairfax City business.
The goal of the Old Town Fairfax City Crawl is to connect patrons with Old Town Fairfax City businesses while promoting a walkable Old Town.
Park(ing) Day Initially started in 2005 in San Francisco when parking spaces were temporarily reclaimed by people instead of cars, Park(ing) Day has become an annual event. The event is celebrated globally with citizens, businesses, and communities coming together to re-envision their urban landscapes into pop-parks for the day.
Each year, the city participates in the movement by creating place making installations at Fair City Mall to include a pop-up park, booths from city offices and city businesses, activities, promotional giveaways, and performances from George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Park(ing) Day is celebrated on the third Friday in September.
Holiday Window Decorating Contest To help create a festive environment that makes Fairfax City a destination to visit, shop, and celebrate during the holiday season we invite the city’s business community to decorate their ground-level storefront windows for a holiday window decorating contest.
The annual holiday window decorating contest involves city businesses vying for a grand prize and people’s choice trophy with the latter decided on by residents and visitors. To ensure that the public gets to see all of the window displays, photos are posted on social media. The goal of the holiday decorating contest is not only create a fun way to celebrate the holiday season but also attract visitors and showcase city businesses.
Small Business Saturday City-Wide Elf Hunt Fairfax City’s Office of Economic Development, the Economic Development Authority, Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, and the Old Town Fairfax Business Association all come together as Small Business Neighborhood Champion’s to host a city-wide elf scavenger hunt the Saturday after Thanksgiving to support and celebrate Small Business Saturday.
The day includes a welcome station with informational booths, a children’s holiday market, seasonal treats, and activities. The welcome station also serves as the starting point for the elf scavenger hunt. Residents and visitors pick up scavenger hunt cards that identify which city businesses have elves hidden in their stores. Attendees then visit businesses in search of elves, learn about and support the city’s local business community, and have their name entered into a raffle for a gift card to a city business when a completed card is submitted. The Small Business Saturday movement is designed to encourage the support of local neighborhood businesses and bring more holiday shopping to them.
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