2026 SESSION

ENROLLED

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 248

Commending the Tephra ICA Arts Festival.

Agreed to by the Senate, March 10, 2026

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 12, 2026

WHEREAS, in May 2026, the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, a nonprofit art gallery located in the Reston Town Center, will host the 35th annual Tephra ICA Arts Festival; and

WHEREAS, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival is a competitive, juried event that has grown over the years to become widely regarded as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the nation; and

WHEREAS, each year, thousands of patrons and art fans congregate at the Reston Town Center to admire the exceptional, one-of-a-kind works on display at the Tephra ICA Arts Festival; and

WHEREAS, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival was founded by intuitive painter Judith Forst, who will be honored at the 35th anniversary festival with the event's new People's Choice Award; and

WHEREAS, the 2026 Tephra ICA Arts Festival will place a special emphasis on American craft traditions in celebration of the semiquincentennial of the United States; and

WHEREAS, as a beloved institution of the Reston arts scene, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival has helped to make Reston a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Tephra ICA Arts Festival on the occasion of its 35th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the Tephra ICA Arts Festival's contributions to Reston and the Commonwealth.