Beginning May 2, 2022, audience members will not be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test result before attending most events, except when required by the event organizer or artist.

If a performing artist requires proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test, a notice will be posted to the Hylton Performing Arts Center’s website.


Mark your calendars for the Bluebell Festival, celebrating the official flower of Prince William County.

The annual Bluebell Festival returns to Merrimac Farm ?Wildlife Management Area at ?15014 Deepwood Lane in Nokesville Sunday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


That’s the question that The Stafford County Sheriff’s Department is asking prospective applicants for their 8th annual Junior Deputies Academy.

According to the sheriff’s department website, the department will begin accepting online applications starting on March 20 for their annual July summer camp. The event is being held for Stafford County students going into 4th through 7th grade for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. 


When two people became trapped underneath a tractor-trailer, it was a race against time to get them out.

On October 10, 2021, Emergency crews from Prince William and Fairfax counties were called to a crash on Interstate 66 near Manassas. An SUV rear-ended a semi-tractor-trailer, creating a scenario referred to as an “underride.”


The Quantico 12K will be in an in-person event on August 20 at Quantico Marine Corps Base. The seven-mile course takes runners through the grounds of Officer Candidates School, offering unique access to the area where future Marine leaders train.

“Each one of our MCM Event Series runs showcase various settings of Marine Corps Base Quantico, while also furthering our mission of promoting physical fitness,” said Rick Nealis, director of Marine Corps Marathon Organization. “In this case, the Quantico 12K gives runners a behind-the-scenes look at where the journey begins for our Marine Officers.”


The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  will host an event coordinated by the EMBODI (Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence) Committee focusing on the special challenges faced and awareness needed by young black men.

The free virtual event, “Being a Young Black Male in America Today,” will be held on Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. to noon.


The Prince William County Arts Council is now calling for nominations for the annual Kathleen K. Seefeldt Awards. Nominations will be accepted through March 31, 2022.

Persons and organizations from Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park who live, work or volunteer in these jurisdictions may be nominated. 


Virginia National Ballet is finishing the its 9th season with the revival of the very popular ballet Snow White, which the ballet performed in 2017 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

Virginia National Ballet was scheduled to present Snow White in early 2020, both at the Historic Palace Theater in Cape Charles, Va. and the Hylton Performing Arts Center near Manassas. both productions had to be canceled due to the pandemic.


[caption id="attachment_175496" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Filmmakers Aaron Crocker and Justin Bridges plan to use backdrops in Fredericksburg and Stafford County for their psychological horror film, "Poison Tree."[/caption]

A pair of local filmmakers are preparing to shoot an independent horror movie in the Fredericksburg area.

669 Productions and JB Concepts are currently pre-production for their first full-length film, a horror movie entitled "Poison Tree." Filmmakers Aaron Crocker and Justin Bridges plan to use backdrops in Fredericksburg and Stafford County for their psychological horror film.

The pair plan to film at the newly rebuilt Chatham Bridge over Rappahannock River, linking Fredericksburg and Stafford, and George Washington's boyhood home, Ferry Farm.

According to Crocker, the film will be based on the William Blake poem "A Poison Tree," which was published in 1794. Crocker describes the film as a microscopic look at the problematic dynamics of a push-pull relationship. 

A brief story synopsis:

"Adam and Nichole Benson move to Fredericksburg to escape the friction of their past. However, when they make a tragic discovery in their new home, they are forced into a space where they must process their trauma and move forward or allow the darkness to take on an energy of its own."

In anticipation of the film, Crocker and Bridges have launched an online campaign called to raise $20,000. Through the campaign, the filmmakers also hope to foster community involvement in thier production.

"Our businesses were both established right here in Fredericksburg, and we're proud of our community, and we hope to highlight that fact in all that we do," said Crocker.

"Poison Tree" will be Crocker and Bridges' second collaboration. The duo produced a short horror film called "Slashed Ceilings" about a career woman who makes deadly decisions to get a promotion at work. The piece has attracted attention and earned awards, including Best Horror Short at the 2022 Awesome Film Festival and has been selected for this year's Bull City Run Film Festival and the Horrific Hope Festival. 

"Horror is a timeless conduit through which the 'tragic' and the 'awful' can not only be expressed but in some instances can become palatable in terms of working as not only an escape from our real-life horrors but also in the ways that the genre presents itself as a metaphor--often, the monsters and horror of real life are much more terrifying than the darkness lurking in closets and under beds. "

In March 2018, Bridges opened a photography business, JB Concepts, then moved into videography. Bridges started filming weddings and graduated to commercials and music videos. 

Crocker's company, 669 Productions, opened in 2021 to produce "Slashed Ceilings" and other films.

Fredericksburg and Stafford County have been a setting for many film and television productions. The most recent is the movies Loving (2016) and Dopesick (2021). Fredericksburg was also part of a hometown episode for season 23 of The Bachelor.

According to Margaret Finucane, Communications Manager for the Virginia Film Office, productions were shut down in early 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Key production organizations and leaders created strict set safety protocols that enabled them to ramp back up during Summer 2020. 

Many productions were key contributors to our hardest-hit industries, like hospitality and brick-and-mortar retail, when the economy was largely shut down. The economic impact of Virginia's film industry in 2020 was $648 million, creating nearly 4,000 full-time jobs, said Finucane.

"Poison Tree" has been in pre-production since December 2021 and plans to begin shooting in June 2022.

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