Costumed revelers are set to flock to Reston Town Center tonight for an annual bar-hopping event.
The “Naughty or Nice Pub Crawl” is scheduled to kick off at Reston’s Ted’s Bulletin (11948 Market St.) at 7 p.m. this evening.
In previous years, the pub crawl has attracted crowds of people in Santa hats, ugly sweaters and other holiday-themed costumes. This year’s festivities includes appetizers, bagpipe performances and costume contests.
Read more about the pub crawl from its Facebook event page:
Join the Northern Virginia FOOLS for our annual Naughty or Nice Pub Crawl through Reston Town Center.
We will be starting at Ted’s Bulletin at 7pm and the Northern Virginia Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe Band will lead us on the crawl at 8pm sharp. Expect to crawl to 4-5 bars while filling the air with bagpipes and drums along the way.
Prizes for Naughtiest and Nicest outfits will be announced at the last bar.
$20 to join the crawl. Price includes appetizers at the various bars. More importantly, you will be donating to our Second Watch Program, which is for helping out our brother and sisters in their time of need.
A puzzle room attraction in Herndon is planning to donate its proceeds on New Year’s Eve to a charity benefitting the young victims caught in the battle for Aleppo in Syria.
Escape Room Herndon (404 Elden St.) will donate all of the money it earns from bookings between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, to Save the Children, a nonprofit aiding the thousands of kids caught in the recent violence in Aleppo.
“We were trying to find a way to give something back,” said Omer Aru, managing partner at Escape Room Herndon. Aru said he got the idea for the benefit after seeing video footage of a Syrian child in an ambulance.
“He had this shocked, sad look on his face,” recalled Aru. “He just didn’t understand why it was that way.”
Dozens of people — including comedian, actor and Northern Virginia native Patton Oswalt — have shared news of the charity event since Aru announced it online yesterday. Oswalt even pledged to show up in a message on Twitter.
“Patton has been here twice,” Aru said. “He’s come with his daughter and once with his friends.”
People interested in visiting the business that day can make reservations online.
Photo via Facebook / Escape Room Herndon
Two Hanukkah-themed events will take place in Reston in the coming days.
Chabad of Reston-Herndon is hosting its annual Hanukkah celebration at Reston Community Center Lake Anne (1609-A Washington Plaza) on Tuesday, Dec. 27 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
That event is set to include “the hilarious pirate magic of Captain Silly Bones, lighting of our giant cupcake Menorah, face-painting, balloon shaping, mac and cheese dinner, chocolate coins, dreidles, latekes,” and other holiday activities, organizers said.
Chabad is also hosting a “Chanukah On Ice” event with food and merriment at the Reston Town Center’s ice skating rink (11900 Market Street) from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 25.
According to Chabad, that event will have “ice-skating to lively Chanukah music with family and friends a Grand Menorah lighting, hot latkes and donuts, dreidels and chocolate gelt for all.”
Photo: Chanukah on Ice/Chabad
Here are the crimes reported to the Fairfax County Police Department’s Reston District Station between Monday, Dec. 12, and Thursday, Dec. 16:
LARCENIES:
- 2200 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, cash from business.
- 12000 block Town Square, merchandise from business.
- 11200 block of Stones Throw Drive, holiday decorations stolen from a residence.
BURGLARIES:
- 2400 block of Masons Ferry Drive, 12/14/16 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.; electronics were reported missing from an apartment. There were no signs of forced entry.
Dominion Virginia Power is trying to restore electricity to nearly 1,400 customers in South Reston.
The outage, which was first reported this morning around 9:30 a.m., includes the Hunters Woods area. It also includes a portion of the area around Reston Parkway and Lawyers Road.
The cause of the outage is currently under investigation, the power company said. Crews have been dispatched to restore electricity.
Dominon says power could be restored by 4 or 5 p.m. at the latest.
Map of Reston power outage/DominionÂ
Road crews throughout the area are preparing for snow.
The National Weather Service said today the area could see some lightly accumulating snow between 10 p.m. tonight and 2 a.m. tomorrow morning.
In anticipation of the possible snowflakes, The Virginia Department of Transportation says it’s preparing area roads for wintry weather tonight through the weekend.
From a VDOT press release:
A house fire left two Herndon residents and their dogs without a home earlier this week.
The fire started at a two-story home on the 12200 block of Parkstream Terrace around 7:43 p.m. Monday, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said in a release today.
Firefighters contained the fire to the building’s second floor bedroom. Nobody was injured in the blaze, authorities said.
From Fairfax County Fire and Rescue:
Units arrived on scene to find a two-story, single family home with fire showing from the front. Two adult occupants and two dogs had safely evacuated before the fire department arrived. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. The bulk of the fire was contained to a second floor bedroom with minor extension into the attic area.
The home had working smoke alarms. However, an occupant of the home smelled smoke and discovered the fire prior to the activation of the smoke alarms.
Two adults and two dogs have been displaced as a result of the fire. Red Cross assistance was offered and declined. There were no reported civilian or firefighter injuries.
Fire Investigators determined the fire originated in a second floor bedroom. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Damages are estimated at $93,750.00.
Photo courtesy of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue
The Greater Reston Arts Center announced today it will feature the work of a nationally recognized painter, sculptor and mixed-media artist next April.
The gallery is scheduled to present “The Great Dismal Swamp,” the first D.C.-area solo exhibition from artist Radcliffe Bailey, starting April 21, 2017. The show is slated to run until July 8.
“At GRACE, Bailey will present a selection of newly commissioned mixed-media works exploring his family history in Virginia, as well as the history of the state’s Great Dismal Swamp,” reads a press release for the forthcoming exhibition. “The Great Dismal Swamp, a federally-designated national wildlife refuge in Southeastern Virginia, concealed and sheltered communities of slaves fleeing captivity on the Underground Railroad.”
Bailey’s work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and many other galleries throughout the U.S.
Read more about the exhibition in a press release:
A two-alarm fire forced two people out of their home in Herndon early this morning.
The fire broke out at a house on the 2500 block of Farmcrest Drive around 3:30 a.m., Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said.
Crews arrived on the scene to find flames coming out of a four-story building’s fourth floor balcony, according to a report from WUSA9. Crews were eventually able to contain the fire to the building’s upper floors.
Two people were displaced by the fire, authorities said. One person was taken to the hospital for a minor checkup.
File photo
Cyclists in festive holiday attire are scheduled to pedal down the W&OD trail to the Reston Town Center’s Christmas tree this weekend.
A “Jingle Bell Family Ride” is planned for Saturday, Dec. 10, at 11 a.m., according to Kidical Mass Reston, the event’s organizers.
Bike riders are instructed to meet at the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, located at 12196 Sunset Hills Road.
“Get in the holiday spirit and join us for some festive family fun!” a Facebook event post reads. “Wear your warmest Christmas attire and listen to sounds of the season as we ride along the W&OD to the Reston Town Center Christmas tree.”
Participants will get free hot chocolate after the bike ride.
Though kids will need to bring their own bikes, adults can rent Bikeshare bikes at no charge, organizers said. All cyclists under 15 are legally required to wear a helmet.
Image via Kidical Mass Reston
Puppeteers are scheduled to turn Frying Pan Park into a “Nutcracker Fantasy” land later this month.
Performer Bob Brown’s “lively marionettes” will help “put their own twist” on the timeless Christmas story of the Nutcracker during a performance on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 11:30 a.m.
Though the show was originally slated for two performances, one of them is already sold out.
The cost is $5 per county resident. Online reservations are required.
Frying Pan Farm Park is located at 2709 West Ox Rd, Herndon, VA. For more information, call 703-437-9101 or visit Frying Pan Farm Park.
Reston residents can experience Germany without buying a plane ticket during a holiday market later this week.
The German Armed Forces is scheduled to hold its annual Christkindlmarket at its office at 11150 Sunrise Valley Dr. this Thursday, Dec. 8, from 4-9 p.m.
Each year around the holidays, the office transforms its parking lot into a traditional German outdoor Christmas fair.
In previous years, the festival has included games, crafts to purchase, entertainment and traditional German food and beer.
Though the outdoor event is free, some of the food, beer and merchandise costs money.
Reston Christkindlmarket/Credit: German Armed Forces
Reston residents can get a little holiday cheer while enjoying a “joyous afternoon of songs, crafts, and merriment” this weekend.
The Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive) is scheduled to host a “Holiday Open House” event this Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1-3 p.m.
“Making weekend plans? Come get in the holiday spirit with Walker the Woodpecker and the rest of the Nature Center crew,” the nature center wrote in a Facebook post. “See you at the Nature Center on Sunday, December 4th from 1-3pm for a joyous afternoon of songs, crafts, and merriment.”
The event is set to include:
- Live holiday music provided by MSE Productions (with a sing-along at 2:30 p.m.)
- Book signing with Kristina Alcorn, author of “In His Own Words: Stories From the Extraordinary Life of Robert E. Simon, Jr.”
- Free refreshments and handmade shopping bags from Virginia Green Baggers
- Photo opportunities with Myrtle the Turtle and Walker the Woodpecker
- Ornament making with natural materials
For more information, email the nature center or call them at 703-476-9689.
Photo via Walker Nature Center
A new pop-up shop is slinging chocolate treats for the holiday season at Reston Town Center.
Truffle Shots is now open at 11826 Market Street, according to co-owner Lauren Athay. As the name implies, the shop sells “truffle shots,” an original confection that “replaces the chocolate shell of a traditional chocolate truffle with a sealed shot glass to create new levels of truffle indulgence for all the senses.”
The shop’s shots are available in more than 30 flavors, including minted grapefruit, caramel beurre noisette and champagne vinaigrette.
“As D.C. area natives, we jumped at the chance to open a pop-up here with the hope of establishing a permanent store in the area,” Athay told Reston Now in an email.
Truffle Shots is open at the town center Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. The temporary shop will stay open through “at least” the end of the year.
Photo courtesy of Truffle Shots
Santa’s been training for this all year. What about you?
The 6th annual Cap Tech Run With Santa 5K takes place this Sunday, Dec. 4, at Reston Town Center.
Here is what you need to know:
- The race begins at 8:30 a.m. You can run as an individual or a team. All teams must be pre-registered.
- Online registration will close Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. Attendees can also register in-person, however.
- Packet pickup is at the Potomac River Running Store at Reston Town Center on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 7 to 8 a.m.
- The course starts and finishes on Market Street near Fountain Square. Affected roads include Town Center Parkway, Cameron Glen Drive, Fountain Drive, Reston Parkway, Sunset Hills Road, Market Street and Explorer Street.
- There will be a free kids “fun run” (it goes a few hundred yards). For the fun run, registration will take place on race day. Little participants will receive a finisher medal for running the race. The fun run will take place around 9:30 a.m., after the 5k but just before the awards ceremony.
- There will also be a costume contest with prizes. Runners are free to don festive suits or elf costumes. Go nuts.
Photo of 2014 Run With Santa 5K/Courtesy PR Races
