The weekly planner is a roundup of interesting events over the next week in the Herndon and Reston area.
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Monday, Dec. 20
- Winter Break Camp — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brown’s Chapel Recreation Area — A day camp for kids ages 5 to 12 starts. Daily activities include outdoor nature activities, arts and crafts, sports, no bake cooking and science experiments. Cost begins at $60.
Tuesday, Dec 21
- Herndon Teen Book Club — 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Herndon Fortnightly Library and online — Talk about the book “Geekerella” with other teens.
Wednesday, Dec. 22
- Potions Class: From Alchemy to Chemistry — 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (virtual) —Â Create different colors, bubbling chemical reactions and more. This virtual camp for 2nd to 6th graders starts at $60.
Thursday, Dec. 23
- Aerial Cube and Corde Lisse — 6 p.m. at Shakti Rising — Learn aerialist techniques. Cost is $39.
Friday, Dec. 24
- Homeschoolers Meetup — 2-4 p.m. at Reston North Park — Join homeschool students at a playground during this weekly event.
Saturday, Dec. 25
- Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights — 5-10 p.m. at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens — Enjoy lights and holiday scenes in this annual transformation, which goes through Jan. 2. The tickets for those ages 2 and over are $18 each.
Sunday, Dec. 26
Representatives from the Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank (NVSRB), which include wetland experts and staff from the Reston Association (RA), have issued updates over the past week, informing residents of the status of various local stream restoration projects, and warning of new projects set to begin in November.
Currently, restoration of the streams at Brown’s Chapel Park and Vantage Hill is underway, and RA staff said the areas will be under construction through the end of the year. Staff posted on the RA website last week reminding local residents that the areas are closed during working hours, and asked everyone not to cross the gates or safety fences.
Construction at Brown’s Chapel Park is expected to be completed in December, and at Vantage Hill in January.
In November, restoration of Lake Anne East, near Inlet Cluster, and Lake Anne West, near Waterview Cluster, is set to begin.
Restoration of the Buttermilk and Tall Oaks streams are scheduled for early 2018.
RA staff said they expect construction of all stream channels to be completed by fall of 2018.
RA staff said that they expect all wood acquired for the project will be used in the construction of thestreams themselves, but that any wood that is left over will be split into firewood and will be made available to Reston residents at Brown’s Chapel Park in the lot near the upper ball fields.
Once all restoration construction is complete, RA staff said hundreds of new trees will be planted along Reston’s streams. Read More
Mother’s Day isn’t until May 14, but moms in Reston will be honored this weekend as well.
The MOMS Club of Reston will host a Mother’s Day celebration at Brown’s Chapel (1575 Browns Chapel Road) from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.
During the event, mothers are invited to enjoy a mimosa bar, hors d’oeuvres, shoulder massages, skin care samplings, raffle items and swag bags containing discounts and samples from local businesses.
“We are very excited to host this celebration for moms to enjoy a few hours of pampering and a fun presentation on fashion styling for their busy lifestyle,” said Sarah Brown-Burdick, MOMS Club of Reston’s president. “It’s important for moms to take some time for themselves away from the day-to-day demands, and we hope this event gives them an opportunity to do that.”
Tickets to the event are $5 and are available at the MOMS Club of Reston website.
MOMS Club of Reston is a local chapter of MOMS Club International, a volunteer-based organization with the goal to provide support, primarily for parents who choose to stay at home to raise their children.
It’s nearly Easter, so its time to have some holiday fun.
Children ages 1 to 8 and their parents/caregivers are invited to Brown’s Chapel Park Saturday, March 19 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for Reston Community Center’s Eggnormous Egg Hunt.
Here’s what is in store:Â Carnival games, entertainment, moon bounces, prizes, and a strolling magician, as well as the main event, the egg hunt. The egg hunt starts at 10:30 a.m. sharp.
Brown’s Chapel Park is located off of Baron Cameron Avenue at 11300 Brown’s Chapel Rd.
The event is free. The rain date is Saturday, March 26.
Don’t forget to bring:
- A basket to carry your eggs
- A camera for all the photo ops
- A picnic to enjoy outdoors
Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.
Every summer weekday morning, when dozens of children are dropped off for Reston Association Day Camp at Brown’s Chapel Park, they play among the mature trees close to the chapel.
The trees are original to the plot of land that is now the park. The chapel, however, is not.
Browns Chapel was originally built in 1879, when Augustus and Sarah Brown deeded a half-acre of land on what is now Leesburg Pike to the “Methodist Episcopal Church.”
It remained in use as a chapel until 1967, when the congregation was dissolved. The Northern Virginia Methodist Board of Missions offered the structure to the Fairfax Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission for relocation. That organization in turn contacted Gulf-Reston, Inc., who were by then the developers of Reston.
In May 1968, Gulf-Reston opted to move the 70-ton chapel a few miles down the road to Baron Cameron near Lake Anne. The park, now part of Reston Association, grew around it. Today, it includes baseball fields, a basketball court, picnic facilities, a playground and other recreation amenities. On rainy days at RA Camps, the chapel is a refuge for indoor games.
Meanwhile, a cemetery owned by the church is still located at Baron Cameron and Route 7. More than 200 graves, some of them unmarked, remain. Some of the members were buried there as late as the 1980s — long after the chapel itself was gone.
Photo: Moving Brown’s Chapel in 1968/Credit: Fairfax County