I'm the Fredericksburg Regional Editor, covering Stafford and Fredericksburg. If you have tips, story ideas, or news, send me an email!
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Author: Kelly Sienkowski
Every Tuesday, hundreds of people gather in a Fredericksburg park for one reason: lunch, music, and community. What started in the early 1990s as “Lunch at Hurkamp Park” has become a regular community event known today as Picnic in the Park. Organized by Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation, the event is held on Tuesdays in May and June at Memorial (Kenmore) Park. The event was originally created by a former Parks and Recreation Director as a way for downtown employees to take a lunch break outside. Over time, it grew into a weekly event for families, drawing larger crowds and offering a wider range of activities.
When Sammy Walker took over the event planning in 2018, attendance had already outgrown Hurkamp Park. The event was relocated to Memorial Park to accommodate more people. Walker said an average of 300 to 500 people attend in May. Once school ends for the summer, attendance rises to 500 to 800 each week.
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Colonial Forge High School’s Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program is more than just a class—it’s a commitment to saving lives, a fast track to high-demand careers, and a transformation of ordinary students into certified first responders before they don graduation robes. Stafford County Public Schools offers an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program as part of their Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings.
Four high school seniors—Parwin Jamal, Katherine Nicole Peterson, Leslie Benyarko, and Kaiya Vazquez—are at the finish line of one of Stafford County Public Schools’ most intensive career and technical education programs: the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) track. Each student has completed multiple levels of EMT coursework, earned certification as a Nationally Registered EMT (NREMT), and gained real-world experience through ride-alongs and emergency call response.
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As Memorial Day approaches, local officials are ramping up safety efforts at Lake Anna in response to last summer’s E. coli outbreak that left two dozen people sick—most of them children.
In the summer of 2024, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reported a total of 25 cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections associated with Lake Anna. The majority of these cases occurred among children under 18 years old. Five of the affected children developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication requiring hospitalization.
For the first time, Stafford County will host a Relay for Life event, bringing the community together for a day of remembrance, celebration, and action in the fight against cancer.
The May 10 event is the result of months of work by organizer Tracey Phillips, a longtime supporter of the American Cancer Society. Phillips was inspired to bring Relay for Life to Stafford after years of participating in events in neighboring counties, including an unforgettable first experience in 2009 in Loudoun County.
Fredericksburg welcomed a new novelty to its downtown business scene last week: Novel, an independent bookstore and plant shop has opened its doors at 212 William Street.
Novel, owned and operated by Andie Ayers, offers a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction titles, unique gifts, and a quiet space designed for connection and conversation.
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What sound do 1,455 cereal boxes make when they fall? Light thuds, and big cheers. Stafford’s Grafton Village Elementary School students filled the hallways on Friday, March 14 to cheer as cereal boxes toppled like dominoes through the school.
The breakfast, which was tumbled, wrapped up a two-week cereal donation drive. Students brought in unopened cereal boxes to their classrooms. The classroom with the highest total number won a Domino’s pizza and popsicle party. The winning 5th grade class brought in 162 boxes.
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Entrepreneurs, non-profit directors, business leaders, ministers, life coaches, and more: Fredericksburg’s Most Influential Women Awards will once again recognize women who have made meaningful and lasting impacts on their communities.
The idea for the awards event originated four years ago when Gary Holland, one of the co-founders, came up with the concept while on vacation. He had an idea to “have an event to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the local region,” Holland said. He shared the thought with his friend Vernon Green, and the two decided to make it a reality. Their nonprofit organizations, ACT Enough, Inc. and G3 Community Services, Inc., have since served as the title sponsors and primary coordinators of the event.