It’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend and a lot of people will be out celebrating. Safety officials are reminding residents to party responsibly and to be sure to have a safe ride home.

As part of the effort to keep everyone safe, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program is offering revelers free rides (up to a $20 value) through its SoberRide campaign. The program is open to everyone throughout the Washington region through 4 a.m. Saturday.

To get the free ride, use the Lyft app and enter the promo code SOBERRIDE.

Partying or not, though, there will be plenty of things to do in the Reston area this weekend. Here are just some of the options available.

• The Reston Community Center (2310 Colts Neck Road) will host its annual spring flea market Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The free event is available to residents of all ages. For more information, call 703-476-4500.
• The fourth annual Maker Faire NoVa is Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at South Lakes High School and Langston Hughes Middle School. Tickets at the door will be $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and $5 for children. Family packs of five tickets will be $40.
• Teen job fairs and resume-building workshops will be offered Saturday by Fairfax County at Chantilly High School (4201 Stringfellow Road) from 10 a.m. to noon, and at Oakton High School (2900 Sutton Road, Vienna) from 1-3 p.m.
• Reston Town Center is hosting “Family Fun Saturdays” throughout March to benefit Opportunity Neighborhood: Reston. This week’s schedule features horse-drawn carriage rides, free funnel cakes and a performance by the McGrath Academy of Irish Dance. The event will go from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.
• The opening reception of Greater Reston Arts Center’s “Emerging Visions” exhibit is set for 6-8 p.m. Saturday. The show features curated works of art created by Fairfax County students from South Lakes, Herndon and Oakton high schools, and it will be on display through April 1.
• The Social Justice & Peace Conference will be Saturday from 12:30-6 p.m. at United Christian Parish (11508 North Shore Drive). The free event will include workshops on how people from different religious backgrounds can support immigrants, the trans community, environmental justice and more.
• A bird walk at Sunrise Valley Wetlands and Polo Fields will be offered from 7:30-10:30 a.m. Sunday. Check out Reston Association’s WebTrac for more information.
• Reston Community Players’ will put on “Rock of Ages” tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., as well as Sunday at 2 p.m. at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road). Use the password “St. Paddy’s” when purchasing tickets for tonight’s show by phone or in person to get them for $10. Regular tickets for each performance of the show, which will run through April 1, are $25.
• A Kennedy Center Production of “From the Mouths of Monsters” will be performed at Herndon High School (700 Bennett St.) tonight at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and children.
• Reston Regional Library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive) will be visited by Frying Pan Farm Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon, featuring animal education, stories and crafts. For adults, the lecture series on World War I will continue at 2 p.m. Sunday.
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music tonight for St. Patrick’s Day, with Mark Scott from 4-8 p.m. followed by Sam Gunderson from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
• ArtSpace Herndon (750 Center St.) will have the opening reception for its exhibit “There’s No Place Like Home,” by members of the Great Falls Studios, from 3-5 p.m. Sunday. The show will be on display through April 8.
• The Reston Town Center Singles Meetup group has an event scheduled for tonight at Ned Devine’s Irish Bar & Restaurant (2465 Centreville Road, Herndon). Shake 3X will perform at the restaurant from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Still Waiting for Willard’s — We reported in January that Willard’s BBQ would soon open at 11790 Baron Cameron Ave., in the Home Depot Shopping Center. On its Facebook page, the restaurant later said it was aiming for a March 14 opening. In a response to a follower’s question Tuesday, though, it now says it hopes to open by the “end of this month.” [Willard’s BBQ]

Red’s Table Chef Talks About Life of Cooking — Adam Stein, the executive chef at Red’s Table (11500 South Lakes Drive), talked with a culinary website about what fuels his passion for food. [The Daily Meal]

Young Professionals Event Slated for Brewery — The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce will host an event Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Crooked Run Brewing (22455 Davis Drive, Sterling). The event will be the kickoff of the Young Professionals Cocktail Connection Networking for the year. [Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce]

Reston-Based Company Sold — ObjectVideo, which develops video analytics software for automated security surveillance systems, is headquartered at 11600 Sunrise Valley Drive. The 19-year-old company, whose work has been widely used by the U.S. defense and intelligence communities, has been acquired by Tysons-based Alarm.com. [Washington Business Journal]

‘Rock of Ages’ Gets Good Review — Reston Community Players’ performance of “Rock of Ages” opened last weekend at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) and will play through April 1. A review says Chris Dore’s “sexy, fun” choreography does an excellent job “showcas[ing] very talented dancing in the ensemble.” Carole Steele’s costumes are said to be “transformative and appropriately gaudy” for the ’80s theme. [DC Metro Theater Arts]

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here is a sampling of what’s available in Reston and Herndon:

• Reston Community Players’ opening performance of “Rock of Ages” is tonight at 8 p.m. at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road). They will also take the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for each performance of the show, which will run through April 1, are $25.
• The ice skating pavilion at Reston Town Center will have its final day of the season Sunday.
• Reston Town Center is hosting “Family Fun Saturdays” throughout March to benefit Opportunity Neighborhood: Reston. This week, there will be dog adoptions with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; a fire truck and police car “see inside” event from 1-3 p.m.; a balloon artist from 1-4 p.m.; live music from 2-4 p.m.; and “free sweet treats” beginning at 1 p.m., while supplies last.
• Potomac River Running (11911 Democracy Drive) will present its Lucky Leprechaun 5K, set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The event will also include a kids’ fun run, and there will be a post-race celebration at World of Beer (1888 Explorer St.)
• Other events at Reston Town Center this weekend include Girl Scout cookie sales, an Easter cookie class for junior chefs at Williams-Sonoma, wine tasting at Il Fornaio and live music at World of Beer.
• The reception for Joan Kelly’s “New Directions” at Reston Art Studio and Galleries (11400 Washington Plaza W.) will be from 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Works are primarily acrylic paintings on paper.
• The documentary film “Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age” will be shown Sunday at 3 p.m. at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road). Admission is free.
• Mentalist and magician Derek Jasper will present “Epiphany” at NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive) tonight at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; tickets for the two-hour show are $25.
• Students at South Lakes High School (11400 South Lakes Drive) will present their annual student showcase at 7 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $5.
• ArtSpace Herndon (750 Center St.) will offer Cornucopia of Inspirations — HOPE, an afternoon of upcycling discarded treasures, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday. The event is for students in grades 1-5. Admission is $25.
• Reston Regional Library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive) will present a lecture on the evolution of the Loudoun/Fairfax county line from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday. Local historian Jim Lewis will tell the story. The lecture series on World War I will continue Sunday at 2 p.m. as well. For kids, there will be a showing of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” at 11 a.m. Saturday and a young-adult writing workshop Saturday at noon.
• The Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston (1625 Wiehle Ave.) will be host to a discussion of LGBT issues at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner, sexologist and author, will be the speaker.
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music from The Jones from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. tonight. DJ Kram will play the hits Saturday night.
• Congregation Beth Emeth (12523 Lawyers Road, Herndon) will offer “Purim Palooza!” from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. A moon bounce, crafts, food, carnival games and more are planned.
• A special nonprofit art exhibition, part of a partnership between International Association for Self-Proclaimed Artists and Writers (IASPAW) and Building Futures Thailand, will be presented Sunday from 1-5 p.m. at The Avant at Reston Town Center (12025 Town Square St.).

Have Coffee with a Cop — The Herndon Police Department is inviting community members out to Virginia Kitchen (450 Elden St.) on Monday morning for coffee and conversation. [Herndon Police Department/Facebook]

Metro Rate Hikes Get Approval — As expected, the Metro Finance Committee voted Thursday to increase rates and reduce rush-hour service. The Board will make the final vote March 23 on what would be Metro’s first rate hike in three years. [WTOP]

County Seeking Input on New Website — As Fairfax County has plans to update its website, it is inviting feedback from the community in the process. The county has devised four example pages of possible new designs, as well as surveys to find out what is most important to users. [Fairfax County]

Local Artist’s Work Displayed at NYC Gallery — The art of Herndon-based Lisa Tureson is being exhibited at New York’s Touchstone Gallery through April 2. “Scribbles” was inspired by street art in Denmark. [Reston Connection]

Reston School Profiled for Educational Model — The partnership between Berthold Academy (11480 Sunset Hills Road) and educational startup AltSchool is garnering attention. The goal of the revolutionary program is to modernize the Montessori education experience. [Education Dive]

Public Session Planned on Herndon PD Body Cams — Police officers in Herndon recently evaluated the effectiveness of body cameras during a pilot program. The next step for the department, before full deployment of the program in April, will be a public meeting March 30. [Herndon Police Department]

‘Giver’ on Stage at NextStop Through Sunday — NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon) is performing “The Giver” through this weekend. A reviewer says the production is “acted by an extremely capable cast” and it “not only lives up to the promise of the book, but also adds another layer of depth to the story for those familiar with it already.” [DC Metro Theater Arts]

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here is a sampling of what’s available in Reston:

• As previously reported, there will be a protest of Reston Town Center paid parking from 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The group plans to march on the perimeter of the Town Center. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
• Reston Town Center will host “Family Fun Saturdays” throughout March to benefit Opportunity Neighborhood: Reston. This week, there will be carousel rides from noon to 5 p.m., free s’mores and hot chocolate, a performance by the Fairfax Jubil-Aires and free ice skating from 1-4 p.m.
• Also at Reston Town Center this weekend are kids’ cooking classes at Il Fornaio and Williams-Sonoma, South Moon Under’s spring launch party, Girl Scout cookie sales and more.
• Youth Art Month at the Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) officially kicks off Saturday with an opening reception and Family Day from noon-4 p.m.
• The Reston 10-Miler race is Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. at South Lakes High School (11400 South Lakes Drive).
• Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Road) will host an all-ages nature program on raptor exploration Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
• This will be the final weekend “For the Love of Color” will be on display at the Reston Community Center’s Jo Ann Rose Gallery (1609A Washington Plaza N.).
• Reston Regional Library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive) will host events for kids including a computer coding workshop (Saturday, 11 a.m.) and a visit from the South Lakes High School robotics club (Saturday, 1 p.m.). For adults, the lecture series on World War I continues Sunday at 2 p.m.
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have music from the Josh Allen Band tonight.
• Jeff From Accounting will play a concert Saturday at 10 p.m. at World of Beer (1888 Explorer St.)
• New Love Animal Rescue plans an animal-adoption event Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at Pet Valu (1422 North Point Village Center).

D.C.-based Dance Place will present its tribute to Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On,” tonight at CenterStage in Reston.

According to information available on Dance Place’s website, the show is the troupe’s first full-length production. The artistic director of the show, which was first performed in November, is Vincent Thomas. Thomas used Gaye’s 1971 album of the same name as the show’s lifeblood.

“Taking inspiration from 1971’s inimitable What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye’s insights into life, love and social justice are given fresh perspectives with new choreography by Vincent E. Thomas, Ralph Glenmore and Sylvia Soumah. What’s Going On seeks to provoke thoughtfulness and spark conversations to ignite change in each community it touches.”

The performance features modern, jazz and West African dance. Gin Dance Company will join the show as well.

The show is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. at CenterStage at Reston Community Center (2310 Colts Neck Road). Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-Restonians. For more information, call Paul Douglas Michnewicz at 703-390-6167.

Photo illustration via Dance Place

Students from around the area are preparing to have their artwork on display at the Greater Reston Arts Center, where two March exhibits will be celebrations of Youth Art Month.

The first, GRACE Art: Celebrating Creativity, will be on display March 3-11 and will showcase the work of local elementary school students. The second, Emerging Visions: Interactions, will be on display March 17-April 1 and will feature the work of high schoolers.

Celebrating Creativity will highlight projects from GRACE Art program. Nearly 40 area schools participate in this program, in which trained classroom volunteers deliver an interactive art history lesson with materials and visuals supplied by GRACE, followed by a related in-class art project. Schools whose students will have art displayed in the exhibit include Academy of Christian Education, Aldrin Elementary, Armstrong Elementary, Crossfield Elementary, Flint Hill Elementary, John Kerr Elementary and Willow Springs Elementary.

After viewing GRACE’s exhibition last fall, Shih Chieh Huang: Synthetic Transformations, students from three area high schools — Herndon, Oakton and South Lakes — were asked to explore different interpretations and aspects of interactions. They worked directly with the education director at GRACE, and the final selections from their work will be shown in the Emerging Visions exhibition.

Several free art activities will also be offered for families throughout the month, and gallery visitors will be able to participate in hands-on art activities related to the art shown in the exhibition.

Key dates throughout the month are as follows:

• GRACE Art: Celebrating Creativity opening reception and Family Day: Saturday, March 4, noon-4 p.m.
• Emerging Visions: Interactions opening reception: Saturday, March 18, 6-8 p.m.
• Studying Art Post Secondary School workshop, Saturday, March 25, 5-6:30pm

To register for the workshop, contact Stephanie Booth at [email protected] or 703-471-0952, ext. 118

The Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Trump Wine Flying Out the Door — As grocery chain Wegmans faces scrutiny for selling Trump Winery products, wine stores around D.C. are reporting booming sales. In Reston, The Wine Cabinet (1416 North Point Village Center) says they’ve sold more than 10 cases since Election Day — and they could have sold more, co-owner Mike Mackie said, if they hadn’t run out. [The Hill]

CrossFit Gym to Open in Herndon — CrossFit 286 (293 Sunset Park Drive) has a grand opening slated for Saturday, Feb. 25. [Herndon Patch]

Area Couple on the Road Performing Show — Sam and Susan Simon are presenting “The Actual Dance,” the true story of their journey through Susan’s breast cancer diagnosis, this weekend in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. Susan Simon is the former marketing director at Tall Oaks of Reston. [Elmira Star-Gazette]

ArtSpace Herndon Kicks Off Concert Series — Guitarist-songwriter Parthenon Huxley played with indie rocker and violinist Ben Hoyt as Herndon’s arts district began its 2017 concert series last weekend. In addition to original music, the performers played love songs from ELO and the Beatles. [Reston Connection]

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here is a sampling of what’s available in Reston:

• The Virginia Polar Dip is Saturday at Lake Anne Plaza. Registration starts at noon, with the event itself scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Camp Sunshine.
• Events at Reston Town Center this weekend include a handmade Valentine card workshop, a pre-Valentine cooking class at Il Fornaio, a wine tasting and more.
• A pub crawl is slated for 2-6 p.m. Saturday, beginning at World of Beer (1888 Explorer St.). The event is to support the Fairfax Boxing Club.
• An open house is scheduled for The Lake House (11450 Baron Cameron Ave.) from noon-2 p.m. Sunday.
• Reston Community Center Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road) has a Sunday Afternoon Dance and a Sunday Country Western Dance both slated for this weekend.
• Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) will offer a workshop, Career in the Arts: Opportunities for Visually Creative People, Saturday evening.
• The Reston Chorale will present Camerata: Inside Out at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road) on Sunday afternoon.
• Art exhibitions “CUT” and “Springtime in Winter” remain on display at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) and Reston Art Gallery & Studios (11400 Washington Plaza W.), respectively.
• Tom Saputo and Friends will play at Café Montmarte tonight.
• Kalypso’s will have musical guests New Dominion Band tonight and DJ Kram on Saturday.
• Wuayra Peruvian Silver Jewelry will have a pop-up shop in collaboration with Scrawl Books (11862 Market St.) this weekend.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here is a sampling of what’s available in Reston:

• The South Lakes High School Chorus is presenting its Broadway Night event tonight and Saturday.
• Reston Town Center events this weekend include a kids’ cooking class at Il Fornaio, cartoon skate at the ice pavilion, Super Bowl festivities at American Tap Room and Mon Ami Gabi, and more.
• Potomac River Running will be putting on its For The Love Of It 10K, beginning at South Lakes High School (11400 South Lakes Drive), Saturday morning.
• Reston Community Players will close out their run of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” tonight and Saturday at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road).
• Project-based charter school Ideaventions Academy (12340 Pinecrest Road) will be holding an open house Saturday.
• Art exhibitions “CUT” and “Springtime in Winter” remain on display at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market Street) and Reston Art Gallery & Studios (11400 Washington Plaza W.), respectively.
• Del. Ken Plum will be at Lake Anne Coffee House (1612 Washington Plaza N.) on Saturday morning to discuss issues with his constituents.
• Red’s Table (11150 South Lakes Drive) won’t just be offering beer specials Sunday during the Super Bowl, but it will unveil its new bison chili as well.
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will host a Super Bowl party Sunday, featuring regional foods from New England and Atlanta. A raffle will also be held to benefit Camp Sunshine.

Local painters and poets have collaborated to help each other’s work come to life in an exhibit set to open this weekend at Reston Art Gallery & Studios.

“Springtime in Winter: An Ekphrastic Study in Art, Poetry and Music” will be on display starting Friday at the gallery (11400 Washington Plaza W., on Lake Anne). Pat Macintyre, the gallery’s director and an active painter, said artists and poets worked in close partnerships to create the linked pieces.

“As the poems were being written, we communicated mainly by email, but some people got together in person,” she said.

The Poetry Society of Virginia worked together with the artists at Reston Art Gallery to create the pieces. Mike Maggio, the group’s Northern Regional vice president, developed the concept.

“This is the first collaboration between PSV and RAGS,” he said in a news release. “We also have Herndon Middle School, Herndon High School and a music professor from George Mason involved, so this collaboration has grown quite a bit.”

Macintyre said music students from the schools will be performing during the exhibit’s opening reception, scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Live readings by participating poets are also planned for the event.

Macintyre and poet Steve Bucher partnered for their work.

“The poets applied to join us, and they came in en masse,” Macintyre said. “I was honored [Bucher] picked me. His words are so powerful.”

After the exhibit closes at Reston Art Gallery on Feb. 18, it will move on to ArtSpace Herndon (Feb. 20-26) and Northern Virginia Community College in Sterling (March 25).

Poets featured in the exhibit are Don Carlson, Stanley Galloway, Claudia Gary, Cathy Hailey, Bennie Herron, Susana Notar and Jack Underhill, as well as Bucher. Artists are Gail Axtell-Erwin, Dorothy Donahey, Ronni Jolles, Joan Kelly, Maggie Stewart, Roberta Thole and Wayne Schiffelbein, along with Macintyre.

The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, or by appointment.

For more information, visit the gallery’s website or Facebook page, or call 703-481-8156.

Most of us remember being young, making artwork out of nothing more than paper and scissors.

Now through February at Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), though, you can see the works of artists who continue to take cutting paper very seriously — and do so with dazzling and awe-inspiring results.

“CUT” is the final exhibition in a series of three shows at GRACE that have showcased artwork made from materials more associated with domestic crafting. It follows 2014’s STITCH and 2015’s BEAD.

The exhibit, which opened last month, features of the work of six artists who are distinct in their uses of the medium: Ed Bisese, Maelle Doliveux, Bhavna Mehta, Beverly Ress, Leslie Shellow and Eric Standley.

“I think one of the things that’s really great about this idea is you’re taking this very specific, pretty simple beginning,” said Erica Harrison, GRACE associate curator. “Each [artist] is pulling from that tradition in a different way.”

Harrison said the works have three major themes: ecological concern, observations of everyday life and a “broader sense of spirituality.”

“I think there’s a little bit of ‘something else is out there,’ and they’re trying to reach that,” she said.

The exhibit contains a multi-faceted piece by Mehta that is suspended from paper “pipes” hanging from the gallery ceiling. Harrison said the work, entitled “GUSH,” tells the story of a community emerging from a five-year drought. Among its features are representations of water, leaves and flowers.

Another of the larger pieces is Standley’s “Daphne,” a 17-foot sculpture that incorporates intricately cut paper into the top of a fallen tree. Harrison said the piece, originally commissioned for the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, was inspired by the Greek mythological tale of Apollo and Daphne.

“Eric was really drawn to that story,” she said. “He wanted to give tribute to Daphne’s story.”

Other pieces include two cartoonish collages created specifically for the exhibit by Bisese; stop-motion illustrations by Doliveux; observations of water-based ecosystems by Shellow; and spiraling pieces by Ress that study life and its cycles.

The next exhibitions at GRACE will be in celebration of Youth Art Month. Works of area elementary school students will be displayed first, followed by a showcase of the work of area high schoolers.

Greater Reston Arts Center is located at 12001 Market St., Suite 103, in Reston Town Center. The gallery is typically open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Greater Reston Arts Center is slated to debut a new art show featuring the work of six visual artists next week.

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.

“Cut” is the third show in a special trilogy of exhibitions hosted by GRACE featuring “labor-intensive, hand-manipulated contemporary artworks made from humble materials traditionally associated with domestic craft.” The first two exhibitions in the trilogy were displayed in 2014 and 2015. “Stitch,” which debuted in 2014, featured contemporary art crafted through needlework. “Bead,” which came to life in 2015, focused on works of art created with beads.

“Cut” is set to open just as GRACE’s new executive director and curator, Lily Seigel, takes office on Dec. 5. Seigel is taking over for previous director, Holly Koons McCullough, who left for a position at the Arlington Arts Center earlier this year.

Greater Reston Arts Center is located at Reston Town Center, at 12001 Market St., suite 103. The gallery is typically open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Save

Save

Save