Hundreds of volunteers are needed for the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival next month.

Organizers are recruiting 500 people to help with essential tasks such as artist hospitality, greeting festival visitors, promoting Greater Reston Arts Center, encouraging creativity at the Family Art Park and more. Time commitments range from a few hours to an entire day.

Information about volunteer opportunities is available at the Greater Reston Arts Center website.

Volunteers will receive a festival T-shirt and a program with restaurant coupons. Students may also receive community service hours. Individuals, teams of co-workers, friends and families are encouraged to participate, organizers say.

The event at Reston Town Center will begin with a kickoff party Friday, May 19 from 6-9 p.m., featuring complimentary food and wine along with the opportunity to mingle with artists and other dignitaries. Tickets are $50.

The festival itself will follow the next two days, with admission a $5 suggested donation for adults. It will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 20; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 21.

All interior streets of the Town Center will be reserved for pedestrians only, leaving an 11-block art walk. Boston Properties’ parking fees will be waived during the event, including during the kickoff party Friday.

Photo courtesy Greater Reston Arts Center

It looks like it might be a rainy weekend, but the good news is there are plenty of indoor activities scheduled in Reston. And forecasters say the rain isn’t going to hit until later Saturday, so there still should be a good opportunity to enjoy the outdoors too.

Here is just a sampling of what there is to do in Reston and the surrounding area this weekend:

• The Reduced Shakespeare Company will perform “Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play” tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road). Tickets are $25 for Reston residents and $50 for non-residents.
• Reston Association’s Habitat Heroes program will participate in an Earth Day activity Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon. They will be removing invasive species and planting native species to help the long-term restoration project at the Wainwright Recreation Area.
• Herndon High School (700 Bennett St.) will present “Guys and Dolls” for three performances this weekend: tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Tickets are $15.
• The opening reception for “Radcliffe Bailey: The Great Dismal Swamp” at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) is 5-7 p.m. Saturday. The exhibit will be on display through August.
• Saturday is Record Store Day, and there will be plenty of offers to mark the day at Right On Records (731 Elden St., Herndon).
• The Reston-Herndon Little League Opening Day parade and celebration is Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Reston Town Center. The Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents will participate as part of the league’s new partnership with the Nats.
• Mayflowers Floral Studio (11959 Market St.) will host classes in tulip selection, arranging and care this Saturday and next, from 2-3:30 p.m. each day.
• Other events at Reston Town Center this weekend will include live music at World of Beer (1888 Explorer St.) tonight and Saturday, Earth Day celebrations Saturday from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. at Greater Reston Arts Center and in Town Square Park, and exercise in the pavilion Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon.
• “First Blooms” by artist Dorothy Donahey remains on exhibit at Reston Art Gallery and Studios (11400 Washington Plaza W.), which is open from noon to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
• The art exhibit “A Respite from Chaos” will remain on display at Reston Community Center’s Jo Ann Rose Gallery (1609 Washington Plaza N.) through the month of April.
• The Reston Tour d’Art, a guided bicycle tour of the community’s outdoor art, is slated for Saturday from 9:30-11:30 a.m., beginning at the Lake Newport tennis courts (11452 Baron Cameron Ave.). The event is free, but registration is required.
• NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon) is performing “Boeing, Boeing,” and the show has been extended through May 7. Performances this weekend are tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., along with 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $35-$55.
• The Blue Street Blues Band will perform tonight from 7-10 p.m. at Café Montemarte (1625 Washington Plaza N.).
• Award-winning author Hena Khan will be reading from her new book, “Amina’s Voice,” from 2-3:30 p.m. Sunday at Scrawl Books (11862 Market St.)
• Kalypso’s (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music tonight, 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., from Sista Pat & One Vibe. DJ Kram will play Top 40 hits Saturday night.
• Vinafera Wine Bar and Bistro (11750 Sunrise Valley Drive) has live music from 7-10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night in April. In addition, legendary local DJ Cerphe Colwell will be signing copies of his new book from 3-5 p.m. Saturday.

The 26th annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is just a little over a month away.

Thousands of people are expected to enjoy the festival, which will take place May 19-21 at Reston Town Center. The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.).

Around 200 exhibiting artists will be filling the streets to show off their wares during the event. The festival is an honoree in the America’s Best Art Fair Awards competition, which recognized it as one of the top juried art fairs in the country.

The event will begin with a kickoff party Friday, May 19 from 6-9 p.m., featuring complimentary food and wine along with the opportunity to mingle with artists and other dignitaries. Tickets are $50.

The festival itself will follow the next two days, with admission a $5 suggested donation for adults. It will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 20; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 21.

All interior streets of the Town Center will be reserved for pedestrians only, leaving an 11-block art walk. Boston Properties’ parking fees will be waived during the event, including during the kickoff party Friday.

File photo

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).

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.

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.

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) welcomes a new exhibition to the gallery at Reston Town Center Friday.

Synthetic Transformations is an installation by Taiwanese multimedia artist and TED Talk fellow Shih Chieh Huang.

The installation features interactive elements created from a variety of materials including LED lights, motion sensors, computer parts, screens, and mundane objects such as plastic bags and Tupperware.

Says GRACE: “With these humble components, the artist creates magical, immersive environments, featuring sculptures that respond to the viewer’s presence with movement, sound, and illumination.

Inspired in part by phosphorescent deep-sea creatures, Mr. Huang’s work exists at the intersection of art, science, and technology.”

GRACE will hold and opening reception Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be at GRACE until Nov. 19.

Greater Reston Arts Center is prepping for a new exhibit, Wells & Barnes: Seats of Power, opening this week at the Greater Reston Arts Center.

Says GRACE:

“In this upcoming exhibition, Gayle Wells Mandle and her daughter, Julia Barnes Mandle, use the motif of chairs as a vehicle to examine society’s eternal power struggle.

Inspired by events in the Middle East and the United States, this series explores political and economic inequality through a variety of media, including large-format photography, painting, sculpture, installation, and embroidery.

Gayle Wells Mandle is based in Massachusetts and Julia Mandle resides in the Netherlands, where she recently received support from the prestigious Mondriaan Fund.

Gayle Wells Mandle says it is her responsibility as an “artist to draw attention to world events that affect our well-being. “

“My inspiration is drawn from crumbling infrastructure and detritus left by ‘civilization,’ ” she says in her artist’s statement. “For years I’ve been questioning the ever-growing global economic imbalance.”

There will be an opening at GRACE, 12001 Market St. at Reston Town Center, Friday, April 22, 6 to 8 p.m.

The exhibit opens Thursday and will run until June 18. Admission is free.

Work by Wells and Barnes/Courtesy GRACE

After a successful couple of winter sessions where the Greater Reston Arts Center introduced meditation in the midst of an art exhibit, GRACE and Beloved Yoga will team up for more.

“Contemplating Creativity,” for adults and teens takes place Wednesday, April 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at GRACE, 12001 Market St. at Reston Town Center.

From GRACE:

The contemplative practices in yoga that include simple movement, breath work and mental clarity offer space for creativity to expand.

Maryam Ovissi, GRACE board member and owner of Beloved Yoga Studios, will share insight into creativity, the concept of play, Lila, and how important it is for our meditation practice.

The evening will focus on exploring the importance of contemplative meditative practices for expanding creativity.

Come get inspired! If you are an artist, this workshop  will offer you new tools to approach your work and process – but all who are curious are welcome!

Ages 13 and up. Free for GRACE members. $5 donation for non-members.

Email [email protected] to register.

More than 200 artists from all over the country will be at Reston Town Center May 16 and 17 at the 24th annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.

The event is the premier arts festival in Northern Virginia, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to Reston.

Here is what you need to know:

Arts festival booths will be open rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 16 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 17. Admission is free, but a voluntary donation of $5 is suggested (and will get you a festival map and town center dining discounts).

There will be a festival launch party on Friday, May 15 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the pavilion. Admission is $75 and will benefit Greater Reston Arts Center programs. There will be food, drinks, entertainment and a silent auction.

There will be a Family Art Park with hands-on activities such as making two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, a collaborative community art project and face painting.

There will also be music and dance entertainment on two stages.

Volunteers are still needed. Fill out this form on the Festival website to inquire.

Reston Limousine will provide free shuttle bus service from the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station to Reston Town Center. The shuttle will operate from 9:45 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 9:45 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Passengers can board the bus on Reston Station Boulevard on the north side of the Metro station, west side of the Kiss and Ride garage entrance. The shuttle will depart every 20 minutes.

2014 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival/file photo 

A new public art installation planned for Reston Town Center has signed a Loudoun housing community as a major sponsor.

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) and Initiative for Public Art-Reston (IPAR) announced in December that IPAR had been recommended for a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks Grant to support the creation of a temporary, site-specific, large-scale public art work in Reston by artist Patrick Dougherty.

Willowsford — a planned community in Loudoun County with an emphasis on sustainability and nature conservancy — has signed on to become the lead sponsor for the temporary project, committing $30,000.

“We are so excited to have Willowsford joining this project,” said GRACE Executive Director and Curator Holly Koons McCullough. “With their focus on the natural environment and architectural quality, Willowsford is an ideal partner.”

Willowsford spokesman Laura Cole said the sculpture — which will use natural materials such as sticks — “is a wonderful metaphor for what we are building in Loudoun.”

Willowsford will provide saplings from the property to be used in the sculpture, Cole said in a statement.

“This was important to us, to be a real partner and participant in this exciting endeavor, not just a passive investor,” said Cole. “It fits well with who we are, with 2,000 of our 4,000 acres cared for by the Willowsford Conservancy, and set aside for environmental preservation, recreation, and agricultural use. The goal is to provide a complete living experience, and world-class art is certainly a part of the essential life.”

Dougherty is an internationally-renowned sculptor who has created more than 230 sculptural installations worldwide. Dougherty will be creating project in Town Square Park, directly across from the GRACE gallery.

The sculpture, which will take several weeks to build, will be open to the public on April 25. It is anticipated to remain on site for up to two years. Because Dougherty works with natural materials, his sculptures have a limited life span.

Photo: Patrick Dougherty outdoor work “Call of the Wild, Tacoma WA/Credit: Duncan Price  

The Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) announced on Tuesday that it is among 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive a National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Art Works grant.

IPAR has been recommended for a $20,000 grant to support the creation of a temporary, site-specific, large-scale public art work in Reston by artist Patrick Dougherty.

IPAR, in collaboration with the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), will commission Dougherty to create a public art work in Reston Town Square Park in Reston Town Center over a three-week period in April 2015.

The project will feature local saplings and will involve local artists, youth, and other community members, GRACE and IPAR officials said.

The Dougherty installation will remain on site for one to two years. There will also be a tandem exhibition in the GRACE gallery from April to July 2015. The display will document the installation and explore Dougherty’s work throughout the world through photographs, sketches, models, and video. There will also be a series of related public programs at GRACE.

“We are thrilled by this significant support for the Dougherty project and its related programming,”said IPAR Executive Director Anne Delaney.  “The NEA Art Works grant will enable the Initiative for Public Art Reston to realize this major temporary art installation. IPAR is delighted to collaborate with GRACE and other Reston organizations in a public art project that will engage the community at-large.”

“The project reflects the spirit of the Public Art Master Plan for Reston, which encourages working with other community organizations to commission public art projects that energize public places and engage the community,” she added.”

Delaney said this is the first time that IPAR is the recipient of a NEA Art Works grant. It is also the first time the group made a submission attempt, she said.

Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts, according to the NEA. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, visit the NEA website. For more examples of Dougherty’s work, visit his website.

Photo: Patrick Dougherty outdoor work “Call of the Wild,” in Tacoma WA/Credit: Duncan Price