The boats are ready to go for summer. Thursday, May 22 is the first day of boat rental season at Lake Anne Plaza.
Reston Association provides boat rentals by the hour Thursday to Sunday until Labor Day weekend.
Rental tickets can be purchased at Reston’s Used Book Shop, 1623 Washington Plaza (near the fountain). Contact the book shop by calling 703-435-9772.
Hours:
Thursdays, 4 – 8 p.m.
Fridays, 4 – 8 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sundays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Cost:
$6 per boat for 1-hour rental
Things to Know:
There are canoes, rowboats and pedal boats available. Boat operators must be 16 or older and a parent or legal guardian (18 years of age or older) must sign a waiver/agreement and accompany passengers under the age of 16.
Swimming is not permitted. Pets are not allowed in boats.
There will also be paddleboard lessons at Lake Anne this summer. Surf Reston Stand Up Paddleboarding will begin in early June, says owner Steve Gurney.
Lake Anne Plaza’s bricks will be turned into a fresco gallery June 7-8 as it hosts its first Chalk on The Water festival.
Chalk on the Water is a two-day street-painting festival where participants can create street art. Lake Anne has partnered with Murals of Baltimore for the event.
Murals of Baltimore, led by artist Michael William Kirby, specialized in all forms of mural painting and public art such as fresco, marouflage, keim, plastering, decorative, faux, mosaics, sculpture, and street painting known as “chalk art.”
Lake Anne is teaming with Initiative for Public Art-Reston (IPAR) to bring this public art event to the plaza. Funds raised from the festival will be donated to IPAR.
Here’s how it works:
Festival-goers can purchase a plot of brick space on the plaza and paint to their hearts delight whatever flows from their imagination. Cost for spaces are $5 for children, $10 for adults, and $15 for professional artist.
Participants can register at www.chalkonthewater.com. Only 100 spaces/plots are available. There will be cash prizes:
- Elementary (First Place $50; Second Place $25; Third Place $10)
- Middle and High School (First Place $150; Second Place $75; Third Place $25)
- Professional Artist (First Place $1,000; Second Place $350; Third Place $200)
Want to learn ahead of time how to draw chalk art masterpieces? Lake Anne will host a free workshop on Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the plaza.
The festival will also include food, entertainment, local vendors, an array of children’s activities.
To close out the family fun weekend, Up, the second movie in the free Lake Anne Summer Film Festival, will be shown Sunday, June 8 at sundown.
Prior to the movie, viewers can get a preview of IPAR’s 15-minute short film titled Fun, Beauty, Fantasy: Reston’s Public Art (2012).
Market Master John Lovaas will ring the old Inca cow bell at 8 a.m. on Saturday, announcing to the community that the Reston Farmers Market at Lake Anne Plaza is open for the season.
Lovaas says the 2014 market has come a long way since it began in 1998 with 12 vendors.
This season, there will be 28 vendors at Lake Anne — featuring everything from seasonal produce to naturally-raised meats to fresh baked goods and speciality items such as Colonial Kettle Corn and Fresh Crunch Pickles.
The Farmers Market, under the direction of Fairfax County, will also take Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this year. The county received two grants to support expansion of SNAP’s at-market benefits program, formerly known as food stamps. The 2014 grants will allow for an expanded program that will make farmers markets more accessible to low-income families shopping for fresh, locally produced food, says Fairfax County.
Expansion of the program was made possible through partnerships with Cornerstones, Arcadia, INOVA and the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, says Fairfax County.
The farmers market will be open Saturdays through November (except for Sept. 28), 8 a.m. to noon.
The farmers market is located in the parking lot of Lake Anne Plaza. Nearby on the market is the Reston Market, where local crafters and artisans sell their wares. The craft market is sponsored by the Friends of Lake Anne.
This is a sponsored column by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. She writes twice weekly on Reston Now.
Lake Anne Plaza is home to some of Reston’s funkiest mom-and-pop shops. Lake Anne has always welcomed small businesses — in fact, you won’t find any chain stores here. Instead, you’ll find small business owners that bring a little something special to our community.
It’s always worth a trip to the plaza to see visit the shops. Next time you’re at Lake Anne Plaza for the farmer’s market (which starts this Saturday), dinner on the lake, or a summer concert, visit one of these shops–you never know what you’ll find.
Reston’s Used Book Shop is the place “Where Books and People Meet.” With thousands of gently used books lining the shelves, you are guaranteed to find a great read. In fact, a few generations of young Restonians have gained a life long love of reading by perusing the vast children’s selection. Once a month, you can also attend a great bluegrass jam too.
Small change consignments has been a warm nurturing place to buy and sell children’s clothes, toys and equipment since 1981. This friendly neighborhood shop is a gathering place for parents and grandparents looking for brand name and imported clothes, shoes, dancewear, cleats, toys, videos, strollers, cribs, high chairs, exercisers and joggers — most at well under half the original price. For people with growing families, a visit to small change is a must.
If you’re in the mood for a great fresh juice or some of the best kale chips you’ve ever tasted, pop into New Family Naturals ~ Holistic Healing Center & Juice Bar. Their inventory is small, but always interesting. You can find some of the best natural/organic snacks, soaps, and other items on the shelves. And did we mention the kale chips and juice? You will feel yourself getting healthier just walking into the shop.
Lake Anne Florist, Virginia Wine and Gourmet
Whether for a large celebration or an intimate personal observance, you can find fresh floral arrangements and unique gift baskets to help make the occasion memorable. When flowers aren’t enough, you can find Virginia’s Finest™ specialty food items made locally and throughout the state of Virginia. And then there is the local wine selection. Virginia has some very fine wines, and it’s fun to taste them and try something new (yes, they have frequent wine tastings).
Nestled in the same space as the Lake Anne Florist you’ll find some of the finest chocolates in the DC area. The word chocolate says it all, really. Milk, dark, semi-sweet, with nuts, without nuts, truffles–you name it, you can find it at Chesapeake Chocolates. Their signature item is a solid chocolate crab in your choice of dark, milk, or white chocolate. Unlike the real thing, these chocolate crustaceans are available year round. A chocolate treat is a great balance for that healthy juice you get at New Family Naturals!
These are just a few of the shops you’ll discover down at Lake Anne Plaza. Visit today and see what else this historic shopping district in Reston has to offer.
The Lake Anne Summer Film Festival will return to the plaza May 11, with themed outdoor movies airing monthly through September.
Lake Anne Plaza held its inaugural summer showings in 2013, and based on that success has expanded it for 2014.
This year’s movie categories include Date Night, Family, Retro, and Classic. So get out your lawn chairs and a picnic and head to the plaza for the free shows under the stars.
SCHEDULE:
MAY 11 – MAMMA MIA! (MOTHER’S DAY)
JUNE 8- UP (FAMILY)
JULY 13 – BREAKFAST CLUB (RETRO)
AUG 10 – CASABLANCA (CLASSIC)
SEPT 14 SKYFALL (DATE NIGHT)
Movies begin at sundown (about 8 p.m.)
Photo Credit: Lake Anne Plaza
When Jasmine Cafe owner Eduardo Faubert found his restaurant, Jasmine Cafe, chained shut earlier this week, it marked a public view of a landlord-tenant battle.
It also gave a glimpse as to the unusual way Lake Anne Plaza’s retail properties are managed.
Most shopping centers are owned by one company and have a uniform management policy. Because of its mixed-use status, Lake Anne’s retail spaces are owned by individual owners and part of a condo association, Lake Anne Reston Condo Association (LARCA), that includes both residential and business members who sometimes have differing interests and priorities.
While a typical shopping center such a Reston Town Center has standard leases and property management standards that regulate everything from business hours to signage, Lake Anne is subject to many different personalities and perspectives.
That has both plusses and minuses, says Rick Thompson, president of LARCA.
“It does allow for variation,” he said. “We are not a cookie-cutter shopping plaza. On the other hand, it allows for outliers. We have owners who take a sabbatical and shut down for two months at a time. That is not helping the plaza. We reasonably should have the expectation that they should be open certain days and hours.
“There has always been some conflict,” he said. “People have their own ideas on what is best. But if some people don’t care, there is no one in charge to say ‘I am the property manager’ ”
Thompson says the condo association and the voluntary Lake Anne Merchants Association both have rules, but they are not enforced as strictly as a typical commercial center. Read More
Jasmine Cafe, a mainstay of the Lake Anne Plaza dining scene, has abruptly closed.
A “no trespassing” sign has been placed on the chained door.
Chef and owner Eduardo Faubert says he was just made aware of the situation Tuesday afternoon. He said he did not close the restaurant and the lock was placed by the property owner.
Faubert says he does owe the owner some money, but hopefully the situation will be settled quickly.
Jasmine Cafe had been located at Lake Anne for more than 20 years. The restaurant has a local following for Faubert and his seasonal menu, as well as outdoor seating on the plaza.
Unlike most retail centers, which are owned by one company, Lake Anne Plaza storefronts are owned by individual owners.
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.
More than a dozen years ago, the idea was hatched to offer commemorative bricks to Restonians for a permanent place at Lake Anne Plaza.
Since then, nearly 700 bricks have been dedicated at Reston’s original village center, says Lynn Lilienthal, longtime Reston resident and former chair of the Reston Historic Trust.
And with Reston’s 50th anniversary and founder Robert E. Simon’s 100th birthday approaching next month, 2014 will be a big year for commemorative bricks. About 50 bricks will be dedicated at the 2014 Founder’s Day on April 5. That’s about twice as many as in a typical year, says Lilienthal.
“When we started the project, we thought it would be a good fundraiser,” said Lilienthal.
While the nonprofit Reston Historic Trust does make some money from the bricks, Lilienthal says she is proud of the way the bricks have turned into a historic timeline of Reston founders, original residents and other people who have had an impact on the community over the years.
Most of the bricks honor people who still live in Reston, but many memorialize those who are no longer with us. The latter is particularly important at the 50-year mark, as many founders have died, Lilienthal says.
Simon purposely designed Reston without a cemetery as he thought the funeral home business was money-hungry. So the bricks serve as kind of memorial, though Lilienthal makes it clear “they are commemorative, not a graveyard.”
Among some of the people memorialized in the bricks are members of Simon’s family: his parents Robert E. Simon Sr. (1877-1935) and Elsa (1885-1964), as well as sisters Helen, Betty and Carol, and his late son, Paul.
Other memorials include former Reston Used Book Shop co-owner Victoria Reid, who died in 2004; arts and civic leader Ann Rodriguez (2009); and Leonard Taylor, Norma Cruz Kahn and Norma Lang Steuerle, who perished on American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11, 2001.
This year, seven bricks have been purchased by “The Kids on The Plaza,” a group of people who grew up in Reston and are now in their 40s and 50s. They raised money to honor 11 among them who died young but will now be memorialized near where they spent so many good times at Lake Anne.
If you are looking for a particular brick, stop by the Reston Historic Trust and Museum at Lake Anne Plaza. The museum has a database of where each brick is located.
Just Cats Clinic, a new veterinarian practice, will open at Lake Anne Plaza on April 15, the clinic’s owner says.
The vet clinic specializing in feline care will take over the Millennium Bank building at 1601 Washington Plaza. The building’s ground-floor space has been mostly vacant since the bank moved out in 2009.
Veterinarian Elizabeth Arguelles, a resident of Herndon and the clinic’s owner, said on the Just Cats Facebook page this week that their county permits are finally progressing.
Remodeling crews have been busy renovating the 6,600-square-foot space for several months. Arguelles had said she hoped to be open in March.
Arguelles formerly worked at NOVA Cat Clinic (formerly known as Capital Cat Clinic) in Arlington. She told Reston Now in January that the area needs a dedicated cat clinic.
“At my former clinic, I would see clients coming from Reston and Leesburg,” she said. “There is a market and a need here. A cat-only clinic is a much better environment than a dog and cat clinic. Getting a cat to the vet is so hard. We try to make it as easy as possible.”
Arguelles — “Dr. Elizabeth” to her patients — said she is excited about opening at Lake Anne. She did not want to be located in a strip mall, and the the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bank building also appealed to her.
“Lake Anne has unique shops, and a cat-only vet is a unique venture,” she said. “Cats feel much more at home if they have light and can see out of windows.”
In addition to vet services, Just Cats intends to offer luxury cat boarding. Arguelles says boarders will not be in cages, but will be in cat condos with a view to the outside.
Alfredo and Rocio Melendez will flip the last burger and scoop the last ice cream cone at Cafe Lakeside on Wednesday.
The couple is closing up their lunch counter located inside Lakeside Pharmacy. The pharmacy, the longest continuously operating store at Reston’s historic Lake Anne Plaza, is under contract and will likely close this spring.
Alfredo Melendez said with the last day of the pharmacy unknown, he didn’t want to operate without a plan.
“We’re going to unwind and relax and generate new energy,” he said.
The Melenedezes were relaxing before they opened Cafe Lakeside in 2011. The lunch counter has been owned and operated by various people under various names throughout the years.
The couple has owned and operated the lunch counter at the pharmacy three times since 1990, Alfredo says. They also formerly owned the Lake Anne Coffee House across the plaza. The Melendezes were retired three years ago when the pharmacy food space became available again.
Ready to make a go of it again, they moved back into the space serving breakfast and lunch. Cafe Lakeside is particularly popular with residents on the plaza and visitors to the Saturday farmers market and craft market, many of whom take their orders to the outside tables on the plaza.
Alfredo says he has not ruled out opening another diner in Reston. He also said he hopes the buyers of the pharmacy keep the vintage counter and stools as part of a bar or restaurant.
Real estate sources say the prospective owner is an investor who plans to lease out the space, so future plans are still unknown.
Lakeside Pharmacy pharmacist and owner Larry Cohn has had the property on and off the market several times in the last few years as he eyed retirement.
Cafe Lakeside will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.
There is still time to be a part of Reston’s 50th anniversary and also a permanent part of historic Lake Anne Plaza.
The Reston Historic Trust is taking orders for commemorative bricks on the plaza. This year’s bricks will be unveiled on Founder’s Day 2014. Founder’s Day 2014 is on April 5 Reston will celebrate its 50th anniversary as well as founder Robert E Simon’s 100th birthday.
Bricks start at $100.
For more information or to order a commemorative brick, visit the Reston Museum and Historic Trust website.
Residents can also send birthday greetings to Simon in a special commemorative program. For more information on how to send your greetings, download this form and return it to RHT by March 1.
The RHT is also honoring younger Restonians who were raised in Reston have returned to here to work and raise their own families. If you know someone who should be honored, download this form and return it to RHT by March 1.
Photo of bricks courtesy of Fairfax County.
Lake Anne Development Partners showed Reston residents at a meeting Monday its timeline for the transformation of Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne area.
LADP, a division of Republic Land Development, was chosen by Fairfax County last summer to revitalize the county-owned affordable housing neighborhood and the surrounding area, which ideally will lead to a renaissance at Reston’s original village center.
LADP plans include replacing the aging 181-unit Crescent Apartments with slightly more affordable housing, as well as mix of townhomes and multifamily dwellings. In all, about 1,000 new residential units are planned, as well as a new retail plaza, new access points to historic Lake Anne Plaza and nearly 200,000 square feet of new retail and office space.
Republic President and CEO David Peter says the zoning application has been submitted to the Fairfax County’s Planning and Zoning board and is now under formal review.
He outlined the expected review process at an open house at Reston Community Center Lake Anne on Monday. If all goes as planned, the developers expect to meet with county planning and zoning and Reston Design Review Board several times this spring. Peter says the plans should go to the county planning board between July and September of this year, which would put it before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors early next fall.
There will be public meetings to gather input along the way, said Peter.
If the process goes smoothly, construction could begin in 2015. LADP has said it will be a multi-year process.
The current part of Lake Anne Plaza has historic designation and will not be redeveloped. However, with modern retail additions planned for where Lake Anne Plaza’s current parking lot is located, developers envision a stronger retail atmosphere overall.
Reston founder Bob Simon calls the plans “a fabulous project.” He was the original planner of Lake Anne — and will celebrate his 100th birthday and Reston’s 50th anniversary on the Plaza in April.
“I hope it goes through the bureaucracy very fast,” he said.
Would you jump into a 34-degree lake?
More than 250 people did on Saturday at the 7th Annual Freezin’ for a Reason Virginia Polar Dip at Reston’s Lake Anne Plaza.
The event, organized by the Toth family of Oakton, raises money for Camp Sunshine in Maine, a sleepaway camp for children with cancer and their families.
Adults, children and costumed teams all paid at least $100 to make a splash and hit the water in front of a cheering crowd. Crews had to use chainsaws to cut a “swimming hole” in the six-inch-thick ice.
Organizers said the event said $87,424 – a record amount that will help send 44 area families to Camp Sunshine.
Lake Anne Redevelopment Partners (LARP) will update the Reston community on Monday about the plan to revitalize Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne area.
LARP (a division of Republic Land Development) was chosen by Fairfax County summer after a Request for Proposals process that took more than a year. Since then, LARP has offered up renderings of the vision, and a few key events have happened as the project moves forward.
Principals will give an update on the progress at an open house at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at Reston Community Center Lake Anne.
The county issued the RFP to make over the 16-acre site housing the county-owned Crescent Apartments, an aging affordable housing complex close to Lake Anne Plaza. Republic had many meetings with residents, Lake Anne business owners and Reston founder Bob Simon, among others, to determine what the community wanted to see for the area.
The retail and residential of Lake Anne Plaza itself will not see big changes, as historic designation prevents that.
However, an interim agreement is in place for LARP to proceed with the process of county planning, Reston Association Design Review Board and other land use approvals necessary to rework the surrounding areas. The approval of the project design and land use permits is expected to take more than a year, said Republic president and CEO David Peter.
People may have been skating over Reston’s frozen lakes the last few days — but now is their chance to jump in one of them.
Crews are hard at work cutting a hole at Lake Anne Plaza big enough for participants in the 7th annual Freezin’ for a Reason Virginia Polar Dip to make a very cold splash this weekend.
Will you be one of them? The good news is Saturday’s forecast is for temperatures close to 50 degrees. Alas, the water will still be freezing.
Virginia Polar Dip events begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Lake Anne Plaza. Dippers will get started at 2 p.m.. The event benefits Camp Sunshine, a summer camp in Maine for children (and their families) with life-threatening illnesses.
The Virginia Polar Dip was started in 2008 by the Toth family of Oakton, whose daughter, Jennifer, had attended Camp Sunshine after a battle with cancer at age 3 (she is in her 20s now and doing great).
Last year, intrepid Reston-area participants — many of whom are in wacky costumes — raised more than $70,000 to aid the campers. This year, the goal is to raise $100,000, which will help 50 Mid-Atlantic residents to attend Camp Sunshins. Reston Association president Ken Knueven will be among the high-profile residents taking the plunge.
To jump in the lake, participants have to pay a minimum $100 donation. You can also opt for the “chicken dip” and just dangle your toes in the water.
The event is emceed by 97.1 WASH-FM morning show radio personality Chilli Amar.
The event is sponsored by Lake Anne, David Madison Photography, Reston Association, Reston Community Center, Spotted MP Marketing & Public Relations, Jasmine Café, Fairfax Christian School, Tropical Smoothie Café, 97.1 WASH-FM, and Sheraton Reston Hotel.
For more information or to register to participate, visit www.freezinforareason.com.
