Perchfest: A Family-Fun Festival in Partnership with Best Buddies
Over 10,000 attendees joined us during Perchfest: our three-day Grand Opening Celebration of The Perch to benefit Best Buddies of Northern Virginia & DC. Guests enjoyed the latest addition to Northern Virginia’s craft brewery scene at Starr Hill Biergarten along with a weekend of live music and kid-friendly activities -- including superheroes rappelling down The Watermark Hotel! Music performances included Pop Rocks, 7 Deadlies, Starting Early, Space Otters, The Roustabouts and Andrew Savoia x Fordson Labs.
To mark the occasion, Starr Hill Biergarten released a bespoke beer, Perchfest Session IPA. The distinctly versatile brew features a refreshing citrus hop combined with grapefruit zest. At an ABV of 4.7%, Perchfest Session IPA is the perfect easy-drinking beer and still available on tap at Starr Hill Biergarten.
"Capital One Center was delighted to present Perchfest, the first of many diverse and dynamic events planned for 'The Perch,' a rooftop experience like no other,” noted Jonathan Griffith, Managing Director, Capital One Center.
“After 18 months of watching our students with and without disabilities be socially isolated and lonely, Best Buddies was doubly excited to team up with Capital One Center and celebrate Perchfest. We hosted a kid-friendly art tile activity, and shared with families about our Best Buddies programs: friendship, leadership advocacy, employment and inclusive living. It was incredible to watch the community come out in the sunshine and play once again. Capital One Center shows the magic that can happen when corporations and communities team up for good,” shared Molly Whalen, State Director, Best Buddies Capital Region.
One of the newest businesses to open its doors at Capital One Center, Nothing in Between, a boutique nail salon and spa, offered complimentary chair massages for Perchfest guests, and the Perchfest Kids Party featured face painting, superheroes and games on the Great Lawn facilitated by My Gym Vienna/Tysons. Capital One Center partners The Watermark Hotel and Capital One Hall hosted tours and booths to amplify the community impact of this unique gathering place in the heart of Northern Virginia.
The following weekend, Capital One Center hosted Best Buddies Capital Region’s Annual Local Leadership Training Day for student leaders in-person for the first time in two years! “It was so thrilling to have 85 Best Buddies student leaders from across Virginia & DC gather, safely and outside, thanks to the generosity of Capital One Center at The Perch. We were able to use their outdoor amphitheater for the training, and then have a huge People-BINGO game on The Perch’s lawn. If it wasn’t for Capital One Center and this new space – it might not have been possible to have our students gather and be together safely,” shared Molly Whalen, State Director, Best Buddies Capital Region.
Perchfest Photo Albums on social media:
Selected Perchfest Media Clips:
The Perch Opens High Above Tysons
Get Ready for Perchfest this Weekend in Tysons
Perchfest Takes Place at Capital One Center this Weekend
About Best Buddies
Best Buddies is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Best Buddies in Virginia & DC (BBVADC) was established in 2005 and now serves over 4,700 participants throughout the Capital Region in 86 school friendship chapters; with over 250 adults in our Citizen Friendship Program; and 40 participants in our Jobs Program providing supported employment at 50 local companies and organizations.
