With Christmas Day just two weeks away, here are a number of ways to ring in the holiday spirit between now and then. Events include music performances, theatrical shows and even a holiday-themed puppet show at Frying Pan Park:
Sunrise Valley Elementary School Chorus — The students of Sunrise Valley Elementary will put on a mid-week concert at the Reston Town Center pavilion on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. [Reston Town Center]
Reston 20/20 Lobbies for Open Sessions for MediaWorld Contract Negotiations — Reston 20/20, a local advocacy group focused on community planning, urged the Reston Association Board to conduct open sessions for contract negotiations with MediaWorld, the firm chosen to review the Tetra/Lake House budget overrun. The board decided to have a closed meeting to conduct contract discussions with the RA’s legal counsel. [Reston 20/20]
South Lakes Beats Herndon in Boys Basketball — The South Lakes High School boys varsity basketball team took on rival Herndon Hornets Friday evening and won, 79-67, bringing the squad to a 2-2 record this season. The Seahawks next will face Langley High School on Tuesday night. [South Lakes Athletics]
The annual Reston Holiday Parade came in fourth nationwide, thanks to people who voted for the country’s top 10 holiday processions in a USA Today contest.
Reston’s fourth-place slot put it one spot ahead of the nationally-televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, according to the contest results that were announced this afternoon.
The seven-story apartment complex, dubbed “the Lincoln,” will be located next to the site of the future Metro Commerce Center, a multi-acre development by Vornado Realty planned to consist of four towers featuring offices, residences, retail and a hotel.
The Lincoln is slated to be built on three acres near the corner of Sunrise Valley Drive and Commerce Park Drive, where a surface-level parking garage for the Executive II office building is located now.
Reston Native Stars in History Channel Show — Britt Ahart, who attended South Lakes High School and lived in the area for more than 30 years, is starring in the latest season of “Alone,” a show about stranding people in the middle of nowhere to see how they survive. [Reston Patch]
A Celebration of Christmas — Reston’s Washington Plaza Baptist Church (1615 Washington Plaza West) is inviting locals to come hear the choir sing festive holiday music at its annual Christmas concert Saturday from 4-5:30 p.m. A reception is scheduled to follow the free concert. The church is also collecting winter gloves for children and cans of food local charities. [WPBC/Facebook]
According to RA’s director of communications, Mike Leone, the board ended up taking no action at the meeting.
That means the matter continues as it has for roughly two-and-a-half months since the RA board voted 4-3 to task MediaWorld with the review.
Commercial Trucks Pulled Out of Service for Safety Violations — Fairfax County Police randomly chose 10 commercial trucks operating in Reston on Tuesday and inspected them for safety compliance. Authorities found 35 safety violations, and four trucks were taken out of service for “serious safety violations.” [FCPD]
Hernon Residents Show Holiday Spirit in Annual Home Tour — Residents throughout the area showcased some of their favorite holiday decorations during the annual Holiday Homes Tour of Herndon. [Reston Connection]
The Kendra Scott at 11924 Market St. is scheduled to have a “Kendra Gives Back Party” with Mrs. DC America 2015 Elaine Espinola Keltz this coming Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. The shop will donate 20 percent of its sales to the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Initiative, a local nonprofit organization that helps victims of human trafficking get back on their feet.
NOVA-HTI was formed after Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) from the neighboring 10th District asked faith-based organizations to get more involved in the fight against human trafficking in Northern Virginia in 2010. A local consortium of pastors then established NOVA-HTI.
In Defense of Political Theater Over the Silver Line — Metro board members Jack Evans and Corbett Price have threatened to veto the opening of the Silver Line to Dulles and Loudoun County if Virginia doesn’t help fund Metro more. In response, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called those suggestions “parochial theater,” and labeled some board members’ comments “cheap and reckless.” Are they really? GGW’s David Alpert says maybe not. “Their argument about the Silver Line isn’t totally crazy,” he argues. “Still, it’s dangerous for one jurisdiction to block new service in another.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Beware of Package Thieves — The Fairfax County Police Department had at least 15 reports of packages being stolen from doorsteps across the county this past weekend, it said. The arrival of the holiday season generally means an uptick in package and mail theft. Whenever possible, police advise citizens to require a signature for package deliveries, ask that packages be delivered to neighbors if you will not be home, or have packages delivered to their offices. [Patch]
The bank has “moved out” of Reston Town Center in just the past few days, according to a representative of Boston Properties. Friday was the bank’s last day in business there.
A sign posted on the bank’s window urges customers now to visit other branches in Reston (11874 Spectrum Drive), Herndon (1201 Elden St.) and Brambleton Town Center (42405 Ryan Road).
That’s because it’s time for the 4th annual Festival of Winter Lights, an annual event that encourages residents to light up their lake-facing homes or boats with twinkling holiday lights.
The yearly yuletide event from the Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association (LTEA) helps create dazzling displays and also benefits a number of local charities.
The Fairfax County School Board approved the calendar for the 2017-18 school year this week, with school starting on Monday, Aug. 28, and ending earlier than usual, on Friday, June 15.
Although the law in Virginia — called the “Kings Dominion Rule” — mandates that school should start after Labor Day, Fairfax County Public Schools applied for a waiver from the commonwealth. FCPS was informed in February that it could get the waiver until at least the 2019-20 school year because the district had canceled school an average of at least eight days per year in at least five of the past 10 years due to inclement weather.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday to kick off construction of a new parking garage at the Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride, which will service the forthcoming Herndon Metro Station as part of the Silver Line extension.
Several local elected officials were on hand with shovels to make the first ceremonial dig, including Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova.
Fairfax County Preschools Will Get More Money — Virginia officials announced yesterday that the commonwealth has secured $17.5 million in federal funding for expanding access to high-quality pre-kindergarten classes for at-risk 4-year-olds. A portion of that money is earmarked for Fairfax County preschools. The U.S. Department of Education gave the preschool grants to eighteen states in total. [Virginia.gov]
Fight Over Silver Line Funding Continues — Metro Board member Corbett Price engaged in “naive political theater” when he suggested scrapping that the second phase of the Silver Line extension in order to save money, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said in a radio interview yesterday. The governor also said the board as a whole was a “joke.” [Washington Post]
In the new exhibition, dubbed “Cut,” artists Ed Bisese, Maelle Doliveux, Bhavna Mehta, Beverly Ress, Leslie Shellow and Eric Standley will showcase art that explores “spirituality, modern life, and ecological concerns through a variety of delicate and precisely crafted cut paper.”
The exhibition will open with a special reception next week on Friday, Dec. 9, from 6-8 p.m.
