Virginia launches first Beary Best Start resource fair for families

Virginia turned a baby shower into a public-service rollout at scale, using the first Beary Best Start Resource Fair to bring newborn and early-parent support under one roof at Richmond Raceway. The free event, organized by the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records with local community partners, drew more than 60 organizations and vendors to Richmond on Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For families with newborns and young children, the setup went far beyond gift bags. VDH said the fair included baby essentials, fun giveaways, a free raffle, expert talks on newborn care and parenting, free car safety seat checks, health screenings, and a teddy bear giveaway while supplies lasted. The event also featured hearing and vision exams, infant CPR instruction, yoga, fatherhood programming, parenting programs, and paternity-establishment support, with representation from the Virginia Department of Social Services and other agencies.

Celes Davis said the fair was built for the moment many parents feel most vulnerable. “We know those early months can feel overwhelming,” Davis said. That framing gave the event its sharper purpose: not a one-day celebration, but a point of entry into the state’s broader maternal- and early-childhood support system.

The fair grew out of a resource guide that Virginia had already distributed to hospitals, birthing facilities, OB/GYNs, pediatricians, midwives, and doulas across the state. That made the Richmond Raceway event less like a stand-alone promotion and more like the in-person extension of an existing campaign to reach families before they are buried under questions about care, records and next steps.

VDH has been tying Beary Best Start to a wider set of services that includes pregnancy and postpartum support, home visiting, breastfeeding help, family planning, maternal mental health, pregnancy loss and stillbirth support, and other pregnancy and postpartum resources. The resource guide also points families toward home visiting programs, where a nurse, educator or family support specialist comes directly to the home.

That approach marks a notable shift for the baby-shower format. Instead of centering only gifts and celebration, Virginia used the occasion to pair the emotional appeal of a baby shower with the machinery of public health, creating a low-barrier way for families to find services before a small problem becomes a larger one.