Community Events at St. Aidan's
St. Aidan’s welcomes the community to many events during the year. In addition to events we host, we also make our facilities available to community groups, karate and yoga classes, Al Anon, and Girl Scout troops.
Oktoberfest
Each October, members of St. Aidan’s church and St. Aidan’s Day School gather with family, friends, and the surrounding community to celebrate Oktoberfest on our grounds. Beer, bratwurst and an oom-pah-pah band make for a festive event. The Day School sponsors a Kinderfest with games, pumpkin decorating and other crafts, and hayrides that draw dozens of families from surrounding neighborhoods.
Christmas Tree Sale
Our annual Christmas tree sale raises money for the church as it promotes fellowship among our members and Fort Hunt area neighbors. Leading up to the sale, parishioners gather to craft decorative bows for the evergreen wreaths. Trees, wreaths and garlands are delivered the week of Thanksgiving and are set up against a stockade built by parishioners with help from Boy Scout Troop #1509. Meanwhile, members kick off the holiday season by decorating the wreaths in their holiday finery. Beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving, parishioners rally to sell trees, provide cookies and cocoa to the public and provide meals to the workers. Now in its 12th year, the St. Aidan’s Christmas tree sale has become a tradition for many families, many of whom return year after year.
Focus Concerts
Since August 2010, FocusMusic and St. Aidan's Episcopal Church have partnered to offer nationally touring folk and acoustic musicians a friendly place to play their songs. In addition, locally emerging talent often opens the shows. To date, there have been 43 shows at St. Aidan's. FocusMusic is a nonprofit organization that has produced more than 500 shows since it began operations in 2002. Learn more about FocusMusic at www.FocusMusic.org. While there has been a broad range of music in these shows, one thing the shows have in common is that the music is often written by the performers. While the music isn't religious per se, it is often spiritual or social justice-oriented.
Boy Scout Troop #1509
St. Aidan's sponsors both Boy Scout Troop 1509 and Cub Scout Pack 1509. The Troop has over 70 active scouts and the Pack about 40 active cubs. St. Aidan's relationship with the scouts goes back many, many years and has been very rewarding for both the scouts and the church. Since 1968, 155 Eagle Scouts have come through Troop 1509—32 in just the last five years. The church has benefitted from many Eagle Scout projects; one Eagle Scout created our labyrinth, and many more enhancements to the buildings and grounds reflect the hard work and creativity of Eagle Scouts and those who support their projects. The scouts lend a hand every year with grounds cleanup, Christmas tree sales, and the Day School’s Breakfast with Santa. And of course, without St. Aidan's sponsorship, neither the Troop nor Pack could exist. The Troop typically meets on Monday evenings at 7:00 pm at the church, while the Pack meets at Fort Hunt Elementary School. Learn more at the Troop 1509 website: bsatroop1509.org.
