Colorful balloons fill the sky early morning and late afternoon, both days, and balloon activities occur, weather permitting. Balloon rides can be arranged as well. The world famous Flying Circus Airshow is presented each afternoon at 2:30pm. Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Hot Air Balloon Festival
Colorful balloons fill the sky early morning and late afternoon, both days, and balloon activities occur, weather permitting. Balloon rides can be arranged as well. The world famous Flying Circus Airshow is presented each afternoon at 2:30pm. Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 8:37 AM
African American Heritage Festival
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 8:18 AM
Friday, July 24, 2009
Concert and Ice Cream Socials

Harris Pavilion: 9201 Center Street Manassas, VA 20110
- Enjoy a concert and free ice cream every Sunday.
- Date/Hours:Sunday, June 07, 2009 - Sunday, August 30, 2009 (3:00 PM-4:30 PM)
- Admission Fee: FREE Children Welcome
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 7:50 AM
Summer Sounds Concerts

Each year, the Center for the Arts, in partnership with Micron Technology Foundation, the City of Manassas, the Manassas Museum, and the Harris Pavilion offers a series of free concerts. The popular SummerSounds concerts are scheduled on alternate Saturday evenings throughout the summer.
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 7:39 AM
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Old Rose Garden in Manassas Virginia

A French inspired 5,200 square foot garden, this garden is one the largest public gardens devoted to roses in the United States. The collection of roses include 160 separate cultivators and 200 individual rose shrubs. The seasonal garden peaks near Memorial Day and annuals and perennials bloom from May to September.
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 3:04 PM
FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIES IN MANASSAS

Friday Night Movies
ShareThis
Region: Northern Virginia
Locality: Manassas City
Harris Pavilion
9201 Center Street
Manassas, VA 20110
Bring the family for a night of great family-friendly movies showing select Fridays throught the summer.
Date/Hours:
Friday, June 12, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 AM)
Friday, June 26, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 PM)
Friday, July 17, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 PM)
Friday, July 31, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 PM)
Friday, August 14, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 PM)
Friday, August 21, 2009 (8:30 PM-10:30 PM)
Admission Fee: FREE
Telephone:
Phone: (703) 361-9800
Fax: (703) 361-7230
Website:
www.harrispavilion.com/
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 1:12 PM
FAN APPRECIATION DAY AT OLD DOMINION SPEEDWAY
Begins at 5:00 PM
Bring a friend free
Horse rides for kids
Moon bounce
Kids Entertainment
Dunking booth for charity
Hot dog eating contest
Meet the Drivers
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 12:42 PM
JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH
The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2009, National Ice Cream Day will be Sunday, July 19.
The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 9% of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the nation's dairy industry.
Founded in 1900, IICA is the trade association for manufacturers and distributors of ice cream and other frozen dessert products. The association's activities range from legislative and regulatory advocacy to market research, education and training. Its 80 member companies manufacture and distribute an estimated 85% of the ice cream and frozen dessert products consumed in the United States. IICA is a constituent organization of IDFA.
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 6:07 AM
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Manassas Welcome Center due to Close September 16th
Welcome to the Manassas Safety Rest Area/Welcome Center
Closing Sept. 16, 2009










Location:
Interstate 66 West at mile marker 48
Safety Rest Area:
We are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This facility is open to all vehicles, and has a two-hour parking limit.
Welcome Center
The Welcome Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. We are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Information is available about local and state attractions, weather and traffic.
Lodging reservations can be made between 8:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.
Amenities:
- Handicapped accessible
- Telephones, including phones for the hearing impaired
- Picnic area with grills
- Pet rest area
Direction - West
Mile marker - 48
County - Prince William
Town - Manassas
VDOT district - Northern Virginia
Residency - Manassas
State police spaces - 1
Car spaces - 15
Truck spaces - 11
Camper spaces - 0
Handicapped spaces - 2
Contact the Virginia Department of Transportation's Safety Rest Area and Welcome Center coordinator at (804) 786-0670.
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 1:05 PM
Monday, July 13, 2009
148th Anniversary of First Manassas or Bull Run Battle

148th Anniversary of First Manassas (Bull Run)
Date: 7/18/2009, 7/19/2009
Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: Henry Hill
Details:
See Union and Confederate troops portrayed in an encampment representing the raw soldiers of the summer of 1861 on the Henry Hill battlefield. Demonstrations of musketry and artillery firing will echo over the grassy fields where the combat raged 148 years ago. Soldier life demonstrations will describe the experience of citizen soldiers, naive amateurs in their baptism of fire, encountering their "first gunpowder christening." U.S. Marine Battalion exhibits will illuminate the uniforms and equipment of Civil War Marines. Replica colors or flags of regiments in the colorful confusion of the battle will be unfurled, and impressions of Union and Confederate uniforms will depict the "fog of war" the muddle of confusion in the reek of smoke on the battlefield. Park Ranger tours will be conducted over the ground where bravery and sacrifice was witnessed in what the raw troops, "as green as grass" believed would be the "only battle of the war," only to be sobered by the carnage revealed in the brutal combat.
Fees:
Fee Free Weekend
Contact:
Park ranger staff
703 361-1339
Click here to email us for more information.
More Information:
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 1:35 PM
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Historical People and Events for July
July 1
The first adhesive postage stamp was offered for sale, 1847
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, began, 1863
United States Post Office started 5-digit zip codes, 1963
Medicare federal insurance program went into effect, 1966
July 2
President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington Railroad Station, 1881
Amelia Earhart and her airplane were lost in Pacific Ocean, 1937
The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Author Ernest Hemingway died in Ketchum, Idaho, 1961
July 3
The Battle of Gettysburg ended, with a Union victory,1863
Idaho entered the Union, 1890 (43rd)
First Lady Harriet Johnston died, 1903
Congress created the United States Veterans Administration, 1930
Singer Jim Morrison of the Doors died in Paris at age 27, 1971
July 4
The Declaration of Independence was approved, 1776
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died, 1826
James Monroe died, 1831
Calvin Coolidge was born, 1872
July 5
Naval hero David Farragut was born in Tennessee, 1801
First Lady Mary McElroy was born, 1841
The Salvation Army was founded in London, 1865
The bikini bathing suit made its debut in Paris, France, 1946
July 6
Louis Pasteur successfully tested an anti-rabies vaccine on a boy bitten by an infected dog, 1885
First Lady Nancy Reagan was born, 1921
The first All-Star baseball game was played in Chicago, 1933
During the Revolutionary War, British forces captured Ft. Ticonderoga, 1777
July 7
The United States annexed Hawaii, 1898
The Reader's Digest was founded, 1922
First women were sworn as F.B.I. agents, 1972
July 8
Colonel John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, 1776
First Lady Grace Coolidge died, 1957,
Florentz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theatre, 1907
July 9
The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to General George Washington's troops in New York, 1776
President Zachary Taylor died, 1850
Louisiana and South Carolina were re-admitted to the Union, 1868
July 10
The US frigate "United States" was launched, 1797
First Lady Julia Tyler died, 1889
Wyoming entered the Union, 1890 (44th)
The Battle of Britain began, 1940
The Bahamas became independent after three hundred years of British colonial rule, 1973
The Beatles UK album, A Hard Day's Night, was released, 1964
July 11
President John Quincy Adams was born, 1767
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded by in a pistol duel, by Vice President Aaron Burr 1804
United States Air Force Academy was dedicated at Lowry Air Base, Colorado, 1955
July 12
Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was born, 100 B.C.
First Lady Dolly Madison died, 1849
Congress authorized the Medal of Honor, 1862
George Eastman, was born in Waterville, New York, 1854
July 13
The Northwest Ordinance was issued, 1787
Alabama readmitted to the Union, 1868
July 14
The French Revolution began, 1789
William H. Bonney "Billy the Kid" was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett, 1881
President Gerald R. Ford was born, 1913
July 15
Dutch painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands, 1606
Georgia readmitted to the Union, 1870
William H. Bonney "Billy the Kid" died at age 21, 1881
The Boeing Company, was founded in Seattle, 1916
July 16
General Ulysses S. Grant was named commander-in-chief of all the Union armies, 1862
First Lady Mary Lincoln died, 1882
The first parking meters were installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,1935
The first atomic bomb was detonated in New Mexico, 1945
John F. Kennedy, Jr., 38, and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, 34, were killed when the Piper Saratoga Airplane he piloted crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, 1999
July 17
Spain ceded Florida to the United States, 1821
The British royal family adopted the name, Windsor, 1917
Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, 1955
"Irma La Douce" opened on Broadway, 1958
July 18
The great fire of Rome began, A.D. 64
Elias Howe invented the sewing machine, 1847
Professional baseball great Ty Cobb hit safety for 4000th time, 1927
The Spanish Civil War began as General Francisco Franco led an uprising of troops based in Spanish North Africa, 1936
July 19
John F. Kennedy was nominated by the Democratic Party for president, 1960
Apollo 11 orbited the moon, 1969
Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire was chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle, 1985
Longfellow published "Evangeline," 1847
July 20
Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops, 1881
The first man (Astronaut Neil Armstrong) to set foot on the moon, 1969
America's Viking I robot spacecraft made the first-ever landing on Mars, 1976
An attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler failed, only wounding him, 1944
The Beatles US album, Something New, was released, 1964
July 21
The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), Virginia, occurred, 1861
First Lady Frances Cleveland was born, 1864
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, 1899
July 22
The city of Cleveland was founded by General Moses Cleveland, 1796
Katharine Bates wrote America the Beautiful, 1893
American citizenship was re-granted to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, by President James Carter, 1975
Bank robber John Dillinger was shot and killed by F.B.I. agents outside a Chicago theatre, 1934
The Beatles US album, Introducing The Beatles, was released, 1963
July 23
The Civil War Battle of Atlanta occurred, 1864
President Ulysses S. Grant died, 1885
Puerto Rico voted to remain a United States commonwealth, 1967
The ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches, during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 1904
July 24
Brigham Young and his followers arrived at the Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1847
President Martin Van Buren died, 1862
Tennessee readmitted to the Union, 1866
July 25
First Lady Anna Harrison was born, 1775
Ulysses S. Grant named General of the Army, 1866
The Central Intelligence Agency was created, 1947
Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States, 1952
July 26
Benjamin Franklin became Post-Master General and the Postal Service was established, 1775
New York entered Union, 1788 (11th)
Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron died in Buenos Aires at age 33, 1952
July 27
The Bank of England received a royal charter as a commercial institution, 1694
United States State Department was established, 1789
Bugs Bunny made his cartoon debut, 1940
General George McClellan replaced General McDowell, 1861
July 28
Johann Sebastian Bach died, 1750
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was born, 1929
The World War II, fall of Mussolini, 1943
July 29
Queen Victoria restated British neutrality, 1863
Painter Vincent van Gogh died in Auvers, France, 1890
First telephone conversation occurred from New York to San Francisco, 1914
International Atomic Energy Agency was established, 1957
July 30
The City of Baltimore was founded, 1729
First color motion pictures were exhibited, 1928
Former Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in suburban Detroit, 1975
Medicare bill signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965
July 31
St. Ignatius of Loyola, died in Rome, 1556
President Andrew Johnson died, 1875
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 6:26 AM
U. S. Army Blues Band
Event Date(s): Thursday, July 2, 2009 7:00 PM thru 8:00 PM
Location: The Harris Pavilion 9116 Center Street Manassas, Virginia 20110
Contact Phone: 703-361-9800
Event Web Site: www.harrispavilion.com
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 6:25 AM
JULY IS HOT DOG MONTH
July is N ational Hot Dog Month, and according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans will be consuming the infamous little red tubes of "meat" in record numbers this summer.The Council estimates that over seven billion hot dogs will be eaten by Americans between Memorial Day and Labor Day. During the July 4th weekend alone (the biggest hot-dog holiday of the year), 155 million will be downed.Every year, Americans eat an average of 60 hot dogs each. They are clearly one of the country's most loved, but most misunderstood, comfort foods. Below you'll find some frequently asked questions regarding the hot dog. For more information, visit the Council's website at www.hot-dog.org. Bon appétit.How did the hot dog get its name?
The term "hot dog" is credited to sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan. At a 1901 baseball game at the Polo Grounds in New York, vendors began selling hot dachsund sausages in rolls.By law, a hot dog can contain up to 3.5 percent of "non-meat ingredients." Don't be scared. This is usually just some type of milk or soy product used to add to the nutritional value. Many hot dogs may be relatively high in fat and sodium, but they are also a good source of protein, iron, and other necessary vitamins.
What is the most popular condiment for a hot dog?
Council research shows that for adults, mustard is the condiment of choice, while children prefer ketchup. That said, preferences do change from region to region. For instance, hot dogs in New York are generally served with a lighter mustard and steamed onions, while Chicago hot dogs can come with mustard, relish, onions, tomato slices, or pretty much anything at all.Kids were also asked what condiment they would use "if their moms weren't watching," and 25 percent opted for chocolate sauce.
Do I spread my condiment on the meat or on the bread?
Always dress the dog and not the bun. The Council also recommends the following order for condiment application: first wet (mustard for example), then chunky (relish or onions), then cheese if desired, then any spices.
Is every hot dog bun the same?
The short answer is no. In the U.S., there are two kinds of hot dog buns that are popular in different regions: top-loaded and side-loaded. In New England, hot dogs are served in a top-loaded bun. Top-loaded buns are buttered on the side and split open on top. These buns are also often used to make lobster rolls. Outside of New England, the common type of hot dog bun is the side-loaded, meaning they are split open on the side.
What should I drink with my hot dog?
Lemonade and iced tea—the tastiest drinks for a summer barbecue—are perfect with hot dogs.
Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 6:04 AM
FIREWORKS IN MANASSAS
The City of Manassas celebrates the Fourth of July with an Independence Day party with live music, rides, an Apple Pie Baking contest, funnel cake and other favorite carnival foods, face painting, a red white and blue hayride and fireworks. Posted by Comfort Suites Manassas at 5:54 AM




