Manassas Bee Festival

Manassas Bee Festival

I had no idea Manassas was hiding a full-blown pollinator party until a friend tipped us off last year, and now I will not stop talking about it. The Manassas Bee Festival is back for its 6th year at the historic Liberia House, and it is honestly one of the best free family events we have been to all summer. The star of the show for kids is the pollinator costume parade, where tiny humans dressed as bees, butterflies, and ladybugs waddle around the grounds. My daughter wore dollar-store bee wings and a headband with bouncing antenna, and she thought she was the queen bee of the entire festival. She was not wrong.

There is a bounce house that stays busy all morning, tractor wagon rides that loop around the property (a massive hit with the toddler crowd), and a farm animals area where kids can get up close with goats and chickens. Fair warning, that section gets muddy, so leave the good sneakers at home. A bluegrass band plays on the main stage while you eat, and the food trucks have plenty of options beyond the usual hot dogs. There is also a mead and beer garden for the parents, which felt like a very thoughtful touch after chasing kids through a field for two hours. If you want to get moving, there is a 2K "Honey Hike" that is totally stroller-friendly. Getting there is easy too. There is free parking on site, and they run a free tractor wagon shuttle from downtown Manassas if you want to make the ride part of the fun.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Free shuttle: The tractor wagon shuttle runs from downtown Manassas if you want to skip parking and make the ride part of the adventure.
• ✓Costume parade: Bring a costume for the pollinator parade. Bee wings and antenna from the dollar store work perfectly.
• ✓Honey Hike: The 2K Honey Hike is stroller-friendly, so you can bring the little ones along without any issues.
• ✓Wear old shoes: The farm animals area gets muddy, so skip the nice shoes and go with something you do not mind getting dirty.
• ✓Food trucks: The food trucks accept cards, so you do not need to bring cash.