Summer-fair season remains a few weeks away, but if you're already desperate for funnel cake and face painting, this weekend's Reston Festival is where it's at.

Celebrating the town of Reston's 45th birthday, the two-day event has all the things that kids love about a fair: carnival rides, a dunk tank and the like. There's even a train that transports riders around the festival's perimeter. And the musical lineup appeals to young and old alike. Throughout the weekend, three stages will be packed with performers, including the kid-friendly sounds of Rocknoceros, the more adult flavors of performers such as Luke Brindley (one of the area's best-known singer-songwriters) and the roots rock of the Grandsons, whose music has been described as "American music in a blender with the lid off."

Don't miss the weekend's main event, a headlining performance on Sunday by Chuck Brown. The Godfather of Go-Go is an icon of the Washington music scene whose percussive live shows are a sight to behold: Even at 74, the man can probably still outdance you, while looking killer in a finely tailored suit. If you haven't heard him perform "Busting Loose" in person, you've never fully experienced what it means to be a Washingtonian.

-- Alex Baldinger (July 10, 2009)