Occoquan, Va. — Crafters will once again descend on Occoquan this weekend for the town’s annual fall craft show.
The event takes place 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday rain or shine and will feature more than 200 crafters, local merchants and restaurants at the fair.
Coupled with a craft fair in spring, the event is the largest annual happening in Occoquan.
With so many people descending on the town, fire and rescue officials say they are ready to help keep the festival safe with a fire department mascot.
“Sparky the Fire Dog is the OWL VFD firehouse mascot. Today Sparky helps to teach fire safety, but in the days of horse drawn fire carts, Dalmatians provided a valuable service. Dalmatians and horses are very compatible, so the dogs were easily trained to run in front of the engines to help clear a path and guide the horses and the firefighters to the fires quickly. They are still chosen by many firefighters as pets in honor of their heroism in the past,” said OWL VFD spokeswoman Rebecca Barnes.
As it has been in years past, drivers will not be able to park in Occoquan during the festival. The festival has created a webpage to direct drivers where to park and then take shuttle buses to the fair.
