The Newtown Festival started in 1993 to commemorate Stephens City's heritage and to bring community awareness back to the Town. The purpose of the festival, (and still is) is to bring the community together to learn and honor the long history of the village once known as Newtown...
A group of local citizens came together with a thousand dollar donation from the Town to organize a successful and enthusiastic festival under the leadership of Tootie Rinker, first festival president. Many other community leaders and volunteers' lent a hand to make the first festival a success. The local schools also supported the festival by participating and creating floats and displays.