Despite the 90-plus-degree heat that felt like 100 degrees, people danced and jived to the Just Us Band’s rendition of “What’s Going on?” and there was lots going on at the June 21 Gum Springs Community Day Juneteenth Celebration in Martin Luther King Park.

People snarfed up hotdogs and slurped on snow cones. Excited youngsters rode on the Big Country Express train and a six-horse carousel. 

People perused the wares of 35 vendors, from clothing to jewelry to scented car diffusers. Government agencies touted their services, like foster care, public safety and mental health support – even gun locks.

Gum Springs is the oldest African-American community in Fairfax County, founded in 1833 by West Ford, a freed enslaved man who had worked on George Washington’s plantation.