The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area that will be in effect until 4 p.m.

According to the alert:

At 318 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Fairfax,
moving northeast at 40 mph.

HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts.

SOURCE…Radar indicated.

IMPACT…Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches
to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as
damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by
downed trees. Localized power outages are possible.
Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.

* Locations impacted include…
Arlington, Alexandria, Centreville, Rockville, Bethesda, Reston,
Bowie, Annandale, Olney, Springfield, College Park, Herndon,
Greenbelt, Fairfax, Langley Park, Beltsville, Vienna, Groveton,
Forestville and Falls Church.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Washington DC, Arlington VA, Alexandria VA until 4:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/x0DafHwz0Z

— NWS Severe Tstorm (@NWSSevereTstorm) June 19, 2017

The NWS says you should take precaution by getting indoors to protect yourself from wind and lightning. Trees around you may be downed from damaging winds, so if you are near large trees, move to an interior room on the lowest floor. Don’t drive underneath trees or in wooded areas until the threat has passed.

Six folk, bluegrass and blues bands are on the lineup for the first Lake Anne Roots Music Festival.

Scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, July 8, the festival will be headlined by The Woodshedders, a local favorite who has played numerous festivals around the region. According to their Facebook page, they “bring together the diverse influences of American Country, Rhythm & Blues, Old-Time, Bluegrass and Gypsy Jazz.”

Maurisa Potts, spokesperson for Lake Anne Plaza, said the Harpers Ferry, West Virginia-based group has an impressive stage presence.

“I’ve seen them before at another festival,” Potts said. “They have a huge following.”

Potts said the festival is taking the place of the Ukulele Festival, which had been held at the plaza on the second Saturday of July for the past seven years. She said while that festival has been “awesome and great,” the plaza thought it could do even more this year.

“We got a lot of feedback from residents and people who have come to the festival saying it would be great if we could do a roots-style festival,” she said. “People have said they will travel to festivals to go listen to some of these bands. … Once we were able to secure [The Woodshedders], we were able to build from there.”

Other acts scheduled to perform include Catchin’ Toads, Old Town Tradition, Snakehead Run Jug Band, Split String Soup and Eli Pafumi.

The free event is slated for noon to 6 p.m. July 8. In addition to the music, there will be a plaza-wide beer and wine garden, art vendors and more. The festival is sponsored by Lane Anne Merchants and the Reston Community Center.

Lake Anne also hosts a summer concert series, which began last night and will continue each Thursday through Sept. 14.

For more upcoming events at Lake Anne Plaza, visit its website.

Image via www.thewoodshedders.com

About 30 restaurants are signed up to participate in this weekend’s Taste of Reston, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Reston Town Center.

The 27th annual event is “expected to draw record crowds,” organizers say. It is put on by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and features fine cuisine, family activities, live entertainment, beer and wine, cooking demonstrations from local chefs, and much more. Parking at Reston Town Center will be free throughout the event.

Mark Ingrao, president and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, says this event is different because of its four themed stages and its live music. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the INCspire Education Foundation.

“It’s a way for business to really highlight themselves,” Ingrao said. “We do this as a community give-back.”

Restaurants and vendors who will be lining the streets of Reston Town Center during the festival include American Tap Room, Arlington Donut Holes, Agora Restaurant, Barcelona Wine Bar, Buffalo Wing Factory, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Choolah Indian BBQ, Greenfare Organic Café, Gregorio’s Trattoria, Guapo’s Rotisserie Chicken, Hen Penny, King Street Oyster Bar, Lisa’s Lemonade & More, M&S Grill, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, The Melting Pot, Mom’s Momo, Mon Ami Gabi, Not Your Average Joe’s, Paradise Ice Cream, Pitango Gelato, Punjabi Junction, Robeks Fruit Smoothies, Rocoto Gourmet, Tavern64 Regional Kitchen, Udon Food & Drinks, Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro, and The Zone.

Entertainment is to be provided by Bach to Rock, Billy “T” Wilde, DJ Edward Daniels, Gary Smallwood, Hilary Veltri, Jason Masi, Jeff From Accounting, DJ Jon Paul, keeton, Ken Wenzel, DJ Moon Man, Sam Gunderson, and The Reflex.

The event is scheduled for 3-11 p.m. Friday and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. For the full schedule of entertainment, demonstrations and more, check out the Taste of Reston website.

The Taste of Reston has been voted Northern Virginia’s Best Food Festival by Virginia Living magazine six straight years. Food and drink tickets (24 for $20) are available for advance purchase.

(This article was updated at 8:40 a.m. Thursday, June 15, after additional information was provided by Fairfax County Public Schools.)

A 22-year-old from Reston who formerly worked as a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools is accused of soliciting a minor.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Hatim Khalid Abdelrahman was arrested by detectives from the Child Exploitation Unit after he “arranged to meet a young girl with the apparent intent of having sex.” The arrest was made at about 6 p.m. Monday in the Herndon area, police say.

John Torre, public information officer for FCPS, said Abdelrahman worked as a substitute teacher for FCPS for four days at two schools, and he is no longer a FCPS employee. The alleged solicitation did not involve any FCPS students, Torre added.

Abdelrahman is charged with solicitation of a minor and attempted indecent liberties. Anyone who thinks their child or children may have had inappropriate contact with Abdelrahman is asked to contact FCPD’s Child Exploitation Unit at 703-246-7800.

Information about the case can also be reported by calling 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), by texting “TIP187” plus the message to CRIMES(274637), or by visiting Crime Solvers online.

Glade, Lake Audubon, North Hills and Ridge Heights were winners Saturday as the 2017 Reston Swim Team Association season got underway.

Glade Dolphins 567, Autumnwood Piranhas 428

Glade’s girls’ 11-12 100-meter medley relay team — Kaitlin Mahon, Niki Chava, Clara Landeryou and Erin Irlan — set a new team record of 1:06.49, beating the previous record set in 1999.

For Glade, double event winners were Andy Carro, Emilie Fiske, Eric Pan-Wang, Griffith Knowlton, Gypsy Schaefer, Karan Murari, Maggie Thomas, Maryn Arseculeratne, Niki Chava, Patrick O’Malley, Phoebe Warstler, Suraj Pedineedi and Yanglan Xu. Triple event winners were Amanda Wagner, Evan Pan-Wang, Marco Anguizola, Sophia Landeryou and Zachary Wiemer.

For Autumnwood, double event winners were Anne Kennedy, James Lyon, Rachel Thompson and William Bolster. Triple event winners were Andrey Smiryagin, Anna E. Houck, Cooper Hill and Diya Murthy.

Lake Audubon Barracudas 613, Lake Newport Lightning 509

Despite a pair of record-setting performances by Lake Newport swimmers, the Barracudas held on for the win.

The Lake Newport team of Casey Storch, Michael George, Jack Edgemond and Zack Wang set a new league record in the boys’ 15-18 200-meter medley relay with a time of 1:55.15, besting a time set in 1999. In addition, Anna Redican set a Lightning-record time of 32.85 in the girls’ 15-18 50-meter backstroke, beating a record set last year.

For Lake Newport, double event winners were Alexander Grover, Bridget Brennan, Casey Storch, Michael George, Ryan Giebel, and Zoe Van Winckel. Triple event winners were Anna Redican, Julia Wang and Michael Zhou.

For Lake Audubon, double event winners were Bethany Burke, Daniel Spigarelli, Dennis Jackson, Emily Fritz, Erik Harriot, Griffin Scanlan, Joel Hahn, Lenn Vikhman, Marley Mulvaney, Olivia Abbey and Sophia Randall. Triple event winners were Kaliyana Haering, Matthew Fritz, Max Daum, Spencer Harris and Suya Haering.

North Hills Hurricanes 609, Hunters Woods Marlins 484

For North Hills, double event winners were Ada Langston, Allison Boone, Bennett Shivers, Delia Alcorn, Evan J Zhang, Isabella Zhang, Joseph Sciortino, Katie Cazenas, Marlee Czarny, Natalie Flint and Samantha Sciortino. Triple event winners were Evan D. Zhang, Fiona Shaw, Ilayda Boucher and Sarah Sciortino.

For Hunters Woods, double event winners were Daniel Li, John Byron, Sophia Yao, Trontour H Wang, Veera Houldsworth and William N. Harvey. Triple event winners were Andrew Li, Brian Zhou and Jack Henry Ham.

Ridge Heights Sharks 628, Lake Anne Stingrays 421

For Ridge Heights, double event winners were Ajay Gopi, Caley Duchak, Delaney Duchak, Edith Chaddock, Ethan McCrea, Hannah Lane, Katie Falcone, Kelsye Brown, Robert Deason, Sydney Parker and Varun Phadke. Triple event winners were Alex Russell, Andrew Pierce, Evan Blase, Hailey Brown, Hailey Wang, Haley Caicedo and Paige Sogandares.

For Lake Anne, double event winners were Aaron Cramer, Abigail Roscoe, Andy Chen, Ben Dealey, Charlotte Holmquist, Joseph Letteri and Sean Henry. Devin Truong was a triple event winner.

Information and photos provided by Radhika Murari

Captions, from top: Glade Dolphins 11-12 100-meter medley relay record-setting team of (from left) Niki Chava, Clara Landeryou, Erin Irlan and Kaitlin Mahon; Lake Audubon and Lake Newport girls’ swimmers in the 13-14 50-meter backstroke; North Hills swimmers cheer for their team.

Things are going to get colorful at Lake Anne Plaza this weekend.

Every year, the plaza hosts Chalk on the Water, Reston’s largest public art event. During the festival, anyone can come and contribute to the street art. Costs for a “plot” of brick space are $10 for children, $15 for amateur and professional artists. The event will be going on from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s “LOVE” display will also be up at Lake Anne through Wednesday, so get your photos with it up on social media with the hashtag #LoveVA.

There is quite a lot more on the events calendar for the Reston area this weekend. Here is just a sampling of the events you can enjoy:

• Reston Station’s “Summerbration” series continues tonight at 7 p.m. with a free concert by Trio Caliente. Tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., visit for a free outdoor showing of “Passengers” on the plaza. The Summerbration events outside the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station will continue through the end of August. (Note: To receive free parking for these events, parking tickets need to be validated by personnel on the plaza. Find the sign that reads “Parking Validation Here.”)
• Reston Town Center’s summer concert series continues Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with a performance by Beatles tribute band Hard Day’s Night. The show will take place at the Town Center’s pavilion.
• The Love Your Body Yoga Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Reston Town Center (11900 Market St.) with activities for the whole family. There will be complimentary massages, energy healing demonstrations and health food samples. For yoga class participation, donations are encouraged.
• The Reston Farmers Market will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Lake Anne Village Center.
• Lake Anne is also hosting Sunday Yoga on the Plaza each week, at 9:30 a.m.
• Tonight from 6:30-8 p.m. at Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive), bring the family to an Owl Prowl. Take an exploratory hike or participate in indoor Nature House activities. Prices are $7 for children, $9 for adults. Sunday from 7:30-10:30 a.m., join expert and beginner bird watchers on a morning Bird Walk.
• Tavern64 (1800 Presidents St.) continues its series of live music tonight from 6-10 p.m. Afterward, let the live music continue at Crafthouse (1888 Explorer St.) from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
• “Urinetown: The Musical” is being performed at NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive) through June 25. Performances this weekend are tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday. General admission tickets start at $40.
• “Radcliffe Bailey: The Great Dismal Swamp” remains on display at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) through August.
• Both today and Saturday, visit Davelle Clothiers (11921 Freedom Drive) to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Tonight there will be wine and acoustic music preformed by Shane Roots, while on Saturday there will be a Teavana tasting and a show of exotic cars.
• Author Terry Castasús Jennings will be at Scrawl Books (11862 Market St.) Sunday at 2 p.m. to share her new book, “Vivian and the Legend of the Hoodoos.”
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music tonight at 9:30 p.m. from The Vandelays.
• Vinifera Wine Bar and Bistro (11750 Sunrise Valley Drive) has live music from 7-10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night. This weekend’s performers are Gabe Matthews (Friday) and Hilary Veltri (Saturday).

A Reston man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after allegedly touching himself inappropriately inside the Reston Regional Library.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the incident took place at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. Timothy W. Steele, 33, was arrested after being spotted.

Steele faces a charge of indecent exposure.

Eve Thompson, At-Large member of the Reston Association Board of Directors, has resigned from her position.

Thompson provided formal notice of the decision Tuesday in an email to CEO Cate Fulkerson. She said her resignation is effective immediately.

“It has been a privilege to serve the community that has given me so much,” Thompson said. “A wonderful place to raise my family, a community of friends and neighbors and even a livelihood which is keeping me very busy these days. I believe that it is now best for me to focus my energies in an area where I can make a positive contribution.”

Thompson was first elected to the board in 2013, representing the Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District. She was re-elected in 2016 to an At-Large seat. She served as the board’s secretary from 2015 to April 2017.

The process to fill Thompson’s seat on the board will be discussed at the June 22 meeting of the Board of Directors. Thompson’s unexpired term runs through April 2019.

The nominations for the 2017 Best Reston Business Awards are now open.

The Best Reston Business Awards are a chance for residents to vote on their favorite Reston establishments. But before the voting takes place, we need business owners or managers to throw their hat in the ring.

Do you have a store, restaurant, hair salon, legal practice or any other Reston-based business in the categories below? Nominate yourself for this honor using the embedded form or by clicking here.

Nominations begin today and will run through June 30.

We’re asking businesses to nominate themselves so that we know exactly who to contact in the event that they make the finals or win in a category. If you want to be able to vote for your favorite business, reach out — via email, social media or in person — and encourage them to submit a nomination.

Note that “new business” refers to any business that has opened since Jan. 1, 2016.

Running, swimming and bicycling are always big activities in Reston, but this weekend in particular they will be in the spotlight.

The 11th annual Reston Sprint Triathlon, benefiting Cornerstones, will be held at Lake Newport Pool starting at 7 a.m. Sunday. The event will last about 3 1/2 hours and will impact portions of local roads including Lake Newport Road, Reston Parkway, Wiehle Avenue and Baron Cameron Avenue. Most of the run will take place on RA pathways in the area.

There quite a lot more on the events calendar for the Reston area this weekend. Here is just a sampling of the events you can enjoy:

• Reston Station’s “Summerbration” series kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. with a free concert by Battery Lane. Tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., visit for a free outdoor showing of “Rogue One” on the plaza. The Summerbration events outside the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station will continue through the end of August.
• The Herndon Festival continues through this weekend. Events this weekend include numerous concerts on three stages, kids’ entertainment, carnival rides, food and drinks, and much more. The event takes place throughout downtown Herndon in the area of Elden and Lynn streets.
• Reston Town Center’s summer concert series begins Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with a performance by former “America’s Got Talent” winner Landau Eugene Murphy. The show will take place at the Town Center’s pavilion.
• Other live music at Reston Town Center this weekend will include a performance from 6-10 p.m. tonight at Tavern64 (1800 Presidents St.) and both tonight and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Crafthouse (1888 Explorer St.).
• Reston Town Center businesses are organizing this summer for “Small Business Support Sundays,” which begin this weekend. For a full list of promotions available, check out their website.
• The Reston Farmers Market will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Lake Anne Village Center.
• Lake Anne is also hosting Sunday Yoga on the Plaza each week, at 9:30 a.m.
• The 2017 Reston Lake Cleanup is slated for Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Meeting locations will be at Lake Audubon, Lake Anne and Lake Thoreau. Volunteers will get into their boats, as well as walking on the shorelines of each lake, to collect as much trash as possible.
• Lake Anne Brew House (11424 Washington Plaza W.) will celebrate Pride Month tonight with a special “Night Out” event.
• Bird lovers are invited to the Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive) on Saturday from 6:45 a.m. to noon to participate in the summer bird count.
• “Radcliffe Bailey: The Great Dismal Swamp” remains on display at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) through August.
• “Urinetown: The Musical” is being performed at NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive) through June 25. Two of this weekend’s performances are already sold out, but tickets remain available for 8 p.m. tonight and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday. General admission tickets start at $40.
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music tonight at 9:30 p.m. from The Reluctors.
• Vinafera Wine Bar and Bistro (11750 Sunrise Valley Drive) has live music from 7-10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night.

File photo via Christin Photography/Reston Association

This is a sponsored post by Anna Gibson, owner of AKG Design Studio and an award-winning, certified kitchen and bathroom designer. AKG Design Studio is a boutique design firm specializing in kitchen, bathroom designs and cabinetry sales. Earlier this week, AKG was honored with a first-place award for Best Kitchen Design Firm in Virginia Living’s Best of Virginia 2017 edition. Contact Anna at 571-989-2541 or [email protected], and follow her work on Houzz; Pinterest; Facebook and Twitter.

Dar and Diane moved to Reston from the far-away land of Maryland, looking for a property that would fit their budget but also leave them room to bring in their own design flair and fit their lifestyle.

They found this 1972 Reston Contemporary design, by the renowned architect Kenneth L. Bonner, who left his mark on South Reston by combining elements of natural sunlight, preserving trees, use of stone and wood inside and outside the house. Forty-four years later, the original design was no longer functional and needed some help. While big living spaces with small and enclosed kitchens were the “in” things at the time, they no longer fit in with the “super kitchens” lifestyle of today.

On the agenda was creating a layout that would fit Dar and Diane’s lifestyle. As an active young couple, the homeowners love to entertain their friends in various settings, from cocktail parties to barbecues, while on a daily basis keeping with a healthy lifestyle of home cooking and working out. We needed to provide plenty of storage space for kitchen gadgets, prep space and open flow to allow them to host their gatherings.

The problem: The kitchen was small and enclosed in a box with very little countertop space. If one person was washing dishes, the other couldn’t cook. There was not enough storage, the fridge was small and blocking the light from the patio. Two very small doors were the only access to the kitchen, cutting it off from the rest of the house flow.

The solution: The first item we investigated was removing the soffit that was weighing down on the space, not only bulky but also reducing possible storage space. The second was opening the wall between the dining room and the kitchen.

The good news was that the wall was not load-bearing. Bad news — we had some pipes that needed relocation. On the soffit front, we had even better news — there was plenty of space between the main floor and the second floor to push the HVAC system up, up and away!

Starting on the outside, we took unused closet space from the hallway to create the perfect spot for the fridge — close enough to the prep areas, yet out of the way. Moving the fridge not only allowed us to create the perfect pantry area, but we could now accommodate a much larger fridge and it no longer blocked the sun from the patio.

With those gone, we needed additional space on the main wall, so we could move the stove away from the corner. The large water heater was converted to a modern wall-mounted electric heater, and the wall was moved while still leaving enough room for the utilities and a few brooms.

Now it was time to put the room back together!

With the soffit gone, we now managed to accommodate 42-inch-high cabinets, adding storage and a sense of height to the kitchen. With the wall gone, we now have a beautiful peninsula that is a great breakfast bar but also perfect for hosting, providing a space for a great party spread.

With the stove now moved to its new location, both homeowners can work in the kitchen together. Recessed and pendants above the peninsula brought design elements and extra light to the space. A glass cabinet was added at the end of the row to break up the cabinets and allow a softer transition to the brick wall and showcase the beautiful crystal collocation of the homeowners. In the end, it created an open space beautiful and functional for the homeowners to enjoy for years to come.

What are the problems in your kitchen? Share them with us and post some pictures!

Pool season has just arrived, but one Reston Association facility is already splashed out — and RA says Dominion Power may be to blame.

The Lake Audubon Pool is closed indefinitely and needs “significant repairs” because of a broken drainage pipe, Reston Association has announced. According to RA:

The problem was first discovered when standing water was found in the bathhouse. A blockage in the drainage pipe was later cleared by Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Drain Service, but a crack in the pipe was found Thursday morning that will require significant repairs to the pipe and possibly the power line that runs near the drainage pipe.

Reston Association has contacted Dominion Power about the electrical line and is investigating whether recent work near the site by the utility company may have contributed to the pipe being damaged.

The pipe will need to be dug up and the electrical line removed before the new pipe can be installed. Roto-Rooter’s equipment is currently stuck on the other side of the electrical line. RA is waiting on a proposal from the plumbing company for the digging up and repairing of the pipe. The association is also exploring how the pipe was damaged and whether it can seek reimbursement for repair costs.

Reston Association says the pool will not re-open until the pipe has been repaired and properly tested.

Lake Audubon Pool was scheduled to be open weekends from noon to 7 p.m. each day, with weekday hours beginning June 24.

Photo courtesy Reston Association