Editing Virginia (section)

===Festivals===
[[File:Chincoteague pony swim 2007.jpg|thumb|The annual [[Pony Penning]] features more than 200 [[Chincoteague Pony|wild ponies]] swimming across the [[Assateague Channel]] into [[Chincoteague, Virginia|Chincoteague]].<ref name=ponies/>|alt=Dozens of brown and white ponies surge out of the shallow water onto a grassy shore crowded with onlookers.]]
Many counties and localities host [[county fair]]s and festivals. The [[Virginia State Fair]] is held at the [[Meadow Event Park]] every September. Also in September is the [[Neptune Festival]] in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], which celebrates the city, the waterfront, and regional artists. [[Norfolk, Virginia#Parks and recreation|Norfolk's Harborfest]], in June, features boat racing and [[air show]]s.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=25, 287}} [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] also sponsors Celebrate Fairfax! with popular and traditional music performances.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060601032.html|title=Live!|date=June 7, 2007|first=Marianne|last=Meyer|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=November 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107095201/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060601032.html|archive-date=November 7, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The Virginia Lake Festival is held in July in [[Clarksville, VA|Clarksville]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://virginialiving.com/the-daily-post/sweet-summertime/ |title= Sweet Summertime |website= Virginia Living |date=July 19, 2023 |access-date= January 23, 2024}}</ref> The [[Eastern Shore of Virginia|Eastern Shore]] island of [[Chincoteague, Virginia|Chincoteague]] hosts the annual [[Pony Penning]] of feral [[Chincoteague Pony|Chincoteague ponies]], expanded into a week-long carnival.<ref name=ponies>{{cite news |url= https://www.wavy.com/living-local/chincoteagues-97th-pony-swim-happening-wednesday-morning/ |title=  Chincoteague holds 2023 Pony Swim on Wednesday |website= WAVY |first= Brian |last= Reese |date= July 25, 2023 |access-date= February 8, 2024}}</ref> Every year on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], the [[Mattaponi]] and [[Pamunkey]] tribes present Virginia's governor with a tribute of deer in a celebration honoring colonial treaties.<ref name=taxtribute>{{cite news |url= https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/11/22/for-346th-year-virginia-tribes-present-governor-with-a-tribute-of-game/ |title= For 346th year, Virginia tribes present governor with a tribute of game |newspaper= Virginia Mercury |first= Sarah |last= Vogelsong |date= November 22, 2023 |access-date= January 23, 2024}}</ref>

The [[Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival]] is a two-week festival held annually in [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]] which includes parades and [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] concerts. The [[Old-time music|Old Time]] Fiddlers' Convention in [[Galax, Virginia|Galax]], begun in 1935, is one of the oldest and largest such events worldwide. Wolf Trap hosts the [[Wolf Trap Opera Company]], which produces an opera festival every summer.<ref name=wolftrap/> The Blue Ridge Rock Festival has operated since 2017, and has brought as many as 33,000 concert-goers to the Blue Ridge Amphitheater in [[Pittsylvania County, Virginia|Pittsylvania County]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://roanoke.com/news/state-and-regional/after-legal-action-payments-flow-to-companies-owed-by-blue-ridge-rock-festival/article_6ffc78dc-b26d-53c1-8458-49861d6c52c4.html|title=After legal action, payments flow to companies owed by Blue Ridge Rock Festival|first=John R.|last=Crane|newspaper=Danville Register & Bee|date=January 21, 2022|access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> Two important film festivals, the [[Virginia Film Festival]] and the [[VCU French Film Festival]], are held annually in [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] and Richmond, respectively.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=25–26}}