Moonshine Society will perform at Derby-Q.
Barbecue, blues music, bourbon and beer – it’s all part of the City of Fairfax’s annual Derby-Q festival. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, from 2-7 p.m. in Old Town Square, at the corner of University Drive and North Street in downtown Fairfax.
Highlights of this community celebration will include specialty beer and bourbon tastings, as well as a variety of barbecue vendors. Meanwhile, live blues bands will perform on stage while the crowds excitedly await what’s billed as “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” – the Kentucky Derby – to be shown on a big screen.
Entertainment
From 2-4:30 p.m., Moonshine Society will perform. It was voted as one of “D.C.’s Top Four Favorite Bands,” the last three years in a row, by WAMA (Washington Area Music Association). The band plays modern blues with traces of rock and Southern soul and features celebrity saxophonist Ron Holloway.
From 4:30-7 p.m., Clarence “Bluesman” Turner will take the stage. He is described as a “real-deal bluesman” out of Washington, D.C. His style is Down Home Blues that is guitar-driven in the tradition of Albert King and BB King. Turner has also won the D.C. Blues Challenge and The Blue Ridge Blues.
Ticket Packages
Various categories of tickets are available, depending on whether alcohol is purchased. Buy tickets at www.fairfaxva.gov/government/parks-recreation/special-events/derby-q/tickets.
General admission tickets are $10; children 3 and under are free. These tickets will enable people to enjoy the live entertainment and buy food from the barbecue vendors.
Everyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult, 21 or older. The beer-tasting ticket packages are $25 and include free, general admission, a souvenir tasting glass, 10 beer-tasting tickets and one mint julep. There’ll be beers from 10 different breweries, and people may purchase additional beer-tasting tickets after they have entered the event.
The beer-and-whiskey-tasting package costs $65, and tastings will be held at 2:30 and 5 p.m. This package includes the same thing as the beer-tasting package, plus a scotch-whiskey-tasting event with The Scotch Whiskey Man, Dougie Wylie.
He will present a master class so attendees may take an in-depth look at some of the best of Scotland's oldest, family-owned-and-operated distilleries. A former farmer and rugby player noted for his charm and banter, Wylie hails from the Kingdom of Fife, an area connected directly to Scottish whiskey.
Only sealed, non-alcoholic drinks may be brought into the event; all alcohol must be purchased on site. In addition, no alcoholic beverages may be taken outside of the Beer Garden area. And attendees must be at least 21 to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages. Everyone will be carded, regardless of age, and people must present a valid ID and obtain a wristband before they can buy and consume alcohol. And no one may purchase more than two alcoholic drinks at a time.