Falls Church City Film Festival

Dave Eckert founded the Falls Church City Film Festival in 2006 and produced it the first year. It is held at the State Theatre (www.thestatetheatre.com) in Falls Church, Virginia on April 18.

The Festival features films by local Falls Church filmmakers. Selected filmmakers receive the "Lois" Award, a 2.5 foot tall statuette named after silent screen actress Lois Crane who lived in Falls Church City in the 1920's and 1930's.

The festival M.C is MHZ Networks General Manager Fred Thomas. www.MHZnetworks.com

The Festival includes a pit band and live aerial video cam of the State Theatre and the surrounding business district provided by on Digital Imaging.

Co-Sponsors of the film festival are:

Falls Church Arts – www.fallschurcharts.org

Ventures in Video – http://www.weddingtime.com/viv/index.html

Merelyn Kaye, Realtor of McEnearney – www.merelynkaye.com.

Summer Concerts in the Park

Dave Eckert founded the Falls Church Summer Concerts in Cherry Hill Park in 1993 and produced 88 shows through 2006 for the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society – www.vpis.org and the City of Falls Church.

The 7-concert, Thursday night series is free and open-to-the-public. All performers are local musicians who play lively music. A diversity of style and ethnic origin is displayed in the music over the series.

Participants bring lawn chairs or blankets and often bring a picnic dinner. Children dance in front of the stage or play on the adjacent playground. Adults have volleyball in the back, a display of local artists from Falls Church Arts (www.fallschurcharts.org) and historical displays by the Friends of Cherry Hill and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society.

Home Concert Series

Dave Eckert founded the Falls Church Home Concert Series in 1993 and produced 90 shows through 2004 for the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society – www.vpis.org.

Local professional musicians play in private homes within the City of Falls Church. Up to 30 tickets at $15/ticket are sold and all of the proceeds are paid to the musicians. The audience is treated to high end entertainment in a comfortable and intimate setting. Musicians performed classical, jazz, ethnic, novelty and popular music on instruments ranging from the common to the glass harp and saw.

While the music varies considerably for each concert, the program remains the same.

1. Welcoming by the producer.
2. Each member of the audience introduces him or herself and answers a basic question regarding concert that night. For example, if the musical group is a saxophone quartet, the question may be, "Who is your favorite saxophonist?"
3. The owners of the home are introduced and they spend about 5 minutes telling what they wish about the history or architecture of the home.
4. The musicians are introduced and they perform for about 30 minutes. They are instructed to provide narrative when introducing each piece.
5. An intermission with refreshments is provided by the homeowner.
6. The musicians play for another 30 minutes.
7. The program closes with a question and answer period.

Arbor Day

In 1992, Dave Eckert assumed program chair duties of the City of Falls Church's annual Arbor Day program on the occasion of its centennial celebration. Each year, four Arbor Day programs are held – one for the public and one for each of the three public schools in the city. Eckert has since produced 60 Arbor Day programs from 1992 to 2006.

Tinner Hill Festival

Dave Eckert founded the Tinner Hill Festival in 1994 and produced 11 festivals through 2004 for the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation – www.tinnerhill.org.

In 1996, Eckert also founded the E.B. Henderson Essay contest, which evolved by 1997 into the E.B. Henderson Letter-to-the-Editor contest. Eckert produced eight regional contests through 2003.

Watch Night

Dave Eckert founded Watch Night, a free and open-to-the-public New Year's Eve celebration in 1998 for the City of Falls Church Tricentennial Celebration. In 1999, the celebration was co-sponsored by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation – www.tinnerhill.org – which trademarked the name Watch Night and evolved the celebration to include African-American culture. Eckert produced 7 Watch Night celebrations through December 31, 2004.