The eighth annual Washington West Film Festival returns to Reston and other nearby locations this Thursday through Monday. This year’s theme is “Story Can Change the World.”

The festival showcases new films from around the world and aims to bring filmmakers and actors together for conversation in Reston. All net box office proceeds will go to Kids in the Spotlight and the Robert Duvall Children’s Fund.

Opening night on Thursday kicks off with a 7 p.m. screening of My Indiana Muse, a story about an artist who tackles a project that will take more than a decade to complete. The screening at Bow Tie Cinemas (11940 Market Street) will be followed by a reception with light appetizers and drinks.

The festival was founded in 2011 by Brad Russell, who sought to bring films to the area that focus on creating inspiring stories, not just watching them.

To view the full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit the film festival’s website. Other screenings are planned in Arlington, Sterling and Stone Ridge.

Photo via Washington West Film Festival

For the second time in two years, Greater Reston Art Center‘s gallery will be transformed into a public performance space for the Monster Drawing Rally, a live drawing event, and fundraiser.

The event, set for Dec. 1 from 1-5 p.m., draws artists from the Greater Washington area and challenges them to create artwork on-site using their preferred medium. The artwork is hung on the wall and available for purchase for $75 each. If more than one person wants to purchase the artwork, a draw of cards determines the winner.

In a new addition this year, Jessica Stafford Davis, founder of The Agora Culture, a national online multicultural arts platform, and the team at STABLE, a DC-based studio complex, will help event organizers select and invite participating artists.

All proceeds benefit exhibition programming at GRACE.

Here’s more from organizers about Davis and STABLE:

Jessica Stafford Davis is the founder of The Agora Culture LLC (TAC), a national online multicultural arts platform that supports emerging artists of color and collectors at all level through educational programming, art salons, and the annual Art on the Vine exhibition in Martha’s Vineyard. Art on the Vine is one of the only contemporary African-American art fairs presenting critically-acclaimed, institutional level work in the United States, and features a four-week residency created by Ms. Stafford Davis to give young artists of the African diaspora a space to continue to explore their practice.

Ms. Stafford Davis is the 2018 and first recipient of the Arena Stage Emerging Leader Award. She currently serves on the board of The Smith Center for Healing in the Arts, is a member of the George Mason University School of Art Advisory Board and ArtTable. She previously served as a member of the board of Washington Project for the Arts. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science from George Mason University. Jessica resides in McLean, Virginia, with her two sons.

STABLE is a DC-based studio complex that provides visual artists with an active, affordable workspace to pursue their profession. STABLE’s mission is to strengthen DC’s contemporary visual arts community by providing sustainable studio space, fostering an engaged, diverse community, and extending access to local, national, and international audiences through partnerships, programming, and exhibitions. STABLE was co-founded by  Tim Doud, Linn Meyers, and Caitlin Teal Price.

Photo via GRACE

Reston Community Players’ first show of their 52nd season kicks off tonight with a performance of Hairspray. The musical is presented in partnership with Music Theatre International.

Tonight’s show begins at 8 p.m. and performances are scheduled for Saturday and next weekend as well. Details about upcoming shows are available online. Tickets are $28 for adults and $24 for seniors and students.

(Editor’s Note: This is just a limited list of all the events taking place in the Reston area this weekend. If you have an event you would like to ensure is listed on the website, be sure to submit it to our Events Calendar.)

• If you’d rather see a show about South Africa’s fragile democracy, you can take part in a viewing and discussion on the topic at Reston Regional Library today from 2-4:15 p.m.
• Halloween is just around the corner and kids between the age of six months and 12 years can enjoy the first-ever “Boo at the Pool” at the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center from 1:45-2:30 p.m. Registration is $4 for Reston residents and $8 for all others. Treat will float for little ones and others will sink into the pool for a little more adventure.
• If you’d rather keep water out of Halloween fun, infant and kids up to 8 years old can take part in Halloween Family Fun Day at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. The event includes carnival games, a musical performance and a puppet show. The event is free.
• Keep Reston beautiful by taking part in a fall stream clean up on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants will meet up at Hunters Woods Village Center to help restore Reston’s streams. All ages are welcome but kids under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
• Reston Association also needs help monitoring local streams on Saturday from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Volunteers will work with a small team to collect data and identify insects, with the ultimate goal of assessing the health of the stream.
• A book club about books and their movie adaptations is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. at Scrawl Books. This month’s book is Crazy Rich Asians.
• Reston Town Center will become the site of a 4K walk and run organized by Shatterproof, a national organization that aims to end the stigma against addiction. The event runs from 8 a.m. to noon.
• RA is also organizing a chartered bus trip to Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Reston’s sister city of Columbia, Md. Participants will enjoy a buffet lunch and see “Ain’t Misbehavin'”. The event will run from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tickets are $75 for RA members and $85 for all others.
• On Sunday, bestselling author and LGBTQ activist Armistead Maupin will speak at the RCC Hunters Woods at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for Reston residents and $30 for all others.
• Kids can test their opening tactics and ending strategies at Reston Regional Library’s chess club for kids on Sunday from 2-3 p.m.
• The 20th anniversary of Acoustic Jam is on for Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The event, which takes place at Frying Pan Farm Park, is free.
• And Professor Harry Butowsky’s six-part lecture series on the history of World War II continues on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at Reston Regional Library.

Photo via Reston Community Players

(Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Wednesday, Oct. 17 to indicate Governor Ralph Northam will no longer be in attendance). 

Shatterproof, a national nonprofit that aims to end the stigma associated with addiction, will host a 5k walk and run at Reston Town Center on Saturday (Oct. 20).

Participants can take part in activities like a “shatterproof community village,” which will showcase substance abuse disorder resources from local organizations; the “memorial gallery,” which will feature photos and stories of lost loved one; and a “celebrate recovery” space, which will gather people in recovery.

Governor Ralph Northam, who was scheduled to attend the event as of Tuesday (Oct. 17), will no longer be attending. Mark Herring, the Attorney General of Virginia, is expected to take part. Local families impacted by addiction will also present stories about their experiences.

Registration is free and is open online. The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

Photo via Shatterproof

Driving skills change as you age — prompting Reston Community Center to hold a free session on safe driving for older adults.

The program is set for Oct.23 (Tuesday) from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at RCC Hunters Woods. The event is free and registration is not required.

Participants will learn how to stay safe on the road and assess when to stop driving altogether. Workshops will include information about equipment, using technology to find rides, helping neighbors who do not drive and other ways of finding safe and reliable transportation.

More information is available on RCC’s website.

Photo via RCC

The South Lakes High School homecoming parade is scheduled for Oct.26 (Friday), and students are taking advantage of the opportunity to fundraise for a good cause.

The school’s leadership class will fundraiser for Hungry for Music, an organization that buys instruments for children who cannot afford their own. The class aims to raise $1,000 to purchase 20 instruments for an after-school program. Collection baskets and tables at homecoming activities will be open for donation throughout the week of the parade.

The parade, which is set for 5-6 p.m., will feature student organizations, class councils, clubs, team, community groups, elementary schools, and the school’s marching band, The Spirit of Reston. Student-built boats will reflect the theme of “Tune in to South Lakes.” Each grade will select a music genre and the grand marshall this year is SLHS teacher Chris Moorhead, according to information provided by the school.

The parade begins at 5 p.m. from Hunters Woods Shopping Center. It will continue north on Colts Neck Drive, turn east onto South Lakes Drive and finish at SLHS. A small food court will be set-up in the stadium-side parking lot with food trucks from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

The football game against Yorktown High School begins at 7 p.m. shortly after the parade. Admission is $5 and the Class of 1998 will also be on-site to celebrate their 20th reunion.

Photo via Lyn Fiscus

The Reston Historic Trust & Museum’s annual home tour is back for its 17th year tomorrow. Participants can take tours of six Reston homes that have undergone major redesigns.

Homes on the tour include a 1968 Dutch Colonial in South Reston and Reston Town Center’s Signature apartments. Tickets can be purchased online today and will need to be purchased at Reston Museum on the day of the tour. All proceeds benefit the Reston Historic Trust & Museum.

If historic house hopping isn’t your cup of tea, there’s still plenty to do in the area this weekend, including a Fall Carnival and Farm Harvest Day this weekend at Frying Pan Farm Park:

(Editor’s Note: This is just a limited list of all the events taking place in the Reston area this weekend. If you have an event you would like to ensure is listed on the website, be sure to submit it to our Events Calendar.)

• Bring light to the darkness of cancer through today’s Northern Virginia Light The Night Walk from 5-9 p.m. The annual walk seeks to raise funds for blood cancer research. All registered walkers will get an illuminated lantern.
• It’s not too late to sign up for a trip to the Ronald Reagan building today from 5:45-10:30 p.m. to see the Capitol Steps perform live. Registration is $52 for Reston Association members and $62 for all others.
• Another tour is set for Saturday from 10 to 3 p.m. RA is offering a bus tour for newcomers to Reston. The tour begins and ends at The Lake House.
• Simon’s Junction will play at Lake Anne Plaza in front of Reston’s Used Book Shop on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Greater Reston Arts Center is hosting an art panel about art school on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday. Panelists include art educators from George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College and local county schools.
• Yes, Halloween is just around the corner. Author Sue Fliess will read from and sign her new book, Haunted Halloween, on Saturday at Scrawl Books at 11 a.m.
• Award-winning author Alfredo Del Arroyo will present his book Martes de Infamia: y Otros dias fatales, and poet and novelist Fernando Gudiel will present several of his works, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Saturday from 2-3:30 p.m. at Reston Regional Library.
• Enjoy an afternoon of dance at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods on Sunday from 2:30-4:30 p.m. The event is open to ages 18 and up. Western country dance is up from 5:30-8 p.m.
• You can also go on a (free!) search for birds in Reston on Sunday from 7:30-10:30 a.m. at Bright Pond. The walk is sponsored by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and The Bird Feeder store.
• Later in the day on Sunday, you can take a family trip to Corn Maze in the Plains, a five-acre corn maze that includes entertaining outdoor activities. Reston Association is organizing transportation to the event on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets, which cover the event fee and transportation, are $18 for all participants.
• But if you’d rather listen to a lecture about the history of World War II on Sunday, you can do so at Reston Regional Library from 2-4 p.m. Professor Harry Butowsky will be presenting.

Photo via Reston Historic Trust & Museum

Public Art Reston will celebrate its 11th birthday with an annual ‘PARty!’ on Oct. 18 (Thursday) from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Unlike previous years, limited-edition artwork will be available for sale, with all proceeds benefiting Public Art Reston.

The program will be launched with photographs of sculptures at Lake Anne Village Center by Reston-based artist and photographer Charlotte Geary, according to Chelsea Rao, chair of Public Art Reston’s reception committee.

“The 2018 Annual PARty! offers attendees a fun opportunity to celebrate the public art of Reston, the ongoing initiatives of Public Art Reston as well as its sources of inspiration,” Rao said.

This year’s event will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Public Art Master Plan for Reston. The master plan was adopted by the board of Public Art Reston in December 2008, solidifying the organization’s commitment to ensuring the planning process integrated public art in a manner that enriched community life and spirit. Since 2008, a dozen permanent artwork and another dozen temporary installation have been commissioned in Reston.

The event will take place at Comstock’s Reston Station on the 16th floor. It’ll include a cocktail party with catering by Ridgewells and an art installation created by Marco Rando, a local artist, teacher and Public Art Reston board member.

“The installation design is intended to visually play with the raw space of the Jahn building. The geometric forms are created to be an illusion of a three-dimensional space. At first glance, the lines creating polygons are received as correct proportions, but with closer examination, one discovers the optical illusion. The colored lines are intended to enhance the playful and whimsical overall design,” Rando said.

Tickets, which can be purchased online, are $60, two for $100, and $55 for attendees 25 and under.

Photo by Sarah Mccue

Google eyes Reston Station — Google is considering leasing a block of office space near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. The Mountain View, a California-based company, is in talks to lease about 100,000 square feet from Comstock Cos. at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza, the building designed by architect Helmut Jahn. [Washington Business Journal]

If you’re coming to the football game — At South Lakes High School’s football game, don’t forget to bring a donation for the school’s food pantry. They’re looking for cereal, toothpaste, deodorant, canned veggies, applesauce, and/or beans. [SLHS Food Pantry via Twitter]

An artful run and a run in the arts — Three runners who also happen to be artists will show off their work beginning today at Reston Community Center. The exhibit ends on Nov. 5. [Reston Community Center]

Photo by Bako Glonti

Flavors of Fall, Northern Virginia’s largest outdoor food festival, returned to Reston Town Center this weekend.

Dozens of restaurants offered up their favorite fall items for samples during the event, which is hosted by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce.

The festival also included live entertainment and events for the family.

Photos by Don Renner

As fall weather descends on Reston today, Flavors of Fall is set for tomorrow (Oct. 6) in Reston Town Center from noon to 11 p.m. The festival features area restaurants and their favorite fall menus, entertainment, live music, fall beers, and family activities.

Tickets are required to purchase food, beer, and wine. The event is produced by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. The following day, GRCC will host the Reston Pumpkin 5K & Kids’ Pumpkin Dash, which begins at 8:15 a.m.

The following is a list of selected weekend events in the area:

(Editor’s Note: This is just a limited list of all the events taking place in the Reston area this weekend. If you have an event you would like to ensure is listed on the website, be sure to submit it to our Events Calendar.)

• Young adults with special needs and their buddies get to take a tour of Frying Pan Farm Park, ride on a wagon, and learn to do social dancing at the farm today at 6 p.m. Registration is $12.
• Kids between the ages of 6 and 11 can make thermoformed foam masks at Reston Regional Library on Saturday from 2-3 p.m. Registration is open online.
• If you’re planning to stop by Reston Town Center for Flavors of Fall (or anything else), you can swing by Reston Hospital Center from 9-11 a.m. for a free bleeding control training class.
• Old Town Tradition will offer a free lunchtime concert outdoors at Lake Anne Plaza on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is sponsored by Reston Used Book Shop and Friends of Lake Anne.
• On Sunday, the 2018 Arts Herndon Children’s Literary Festival kicks off from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at ArtSpace Herndon. Organizers anticipate “record crowds” at the festival, which features guest authors, publishers, and illustrators from the area, along with live entertainment and art projects. The first 300 kids get a free book.
• But if history is your cup of tea, you can listen to a lecture by Dr. Harry Butowsky of George Mason University for a talk on the history of World War II on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at Reston Regional Library.
• Join Rebecca as she leads a free community yoga session on Sunday at Lake Anne Plaza from 9-10 a.m. The event will be followed by a yoga happy hour at Lake Anne Brew House.
• The work of DC-based artist Caitlin Teal Price will be on display at Greater Reston Arts Center through Nov. 24. The exhibit is called “Green is the Secret Color to Make Gold.”

Photo via Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce

A fall bazaar, which will feature a mix of craft jewelry, decor, candles, and homemade baked goods, is set for Oct. 13 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church (11400 North Shore Drive).

A silent auction will also take place during the event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is the second year the free event has taken place.

Family activities include Zumba by the YMCA, book readings for children and an activity led by Beloved Yoga.

Event organizers are no longer accepting applications from vendors. For more information, email [email protected].

Flickr pool photo via J0nathan

Not so thrilled with Metro — Real estate development icon and attorney John Hazel, 87, thinks that Metro is a political failure. Hazel plays a leading role in developing Fairfax County and Northern Virginia. [Washington Business Journal]

Meet the artist event this afternoon —  Cabaret singer Beverly Cosham will perform selected songs from the Great American Songbook and other favorites. Cosham has won numerous awards for her musical performances. [Reston Community Center]

Reston Corner development under consideration — The Fairfax County Planning Commission will consider a proposal to rezone office property allow residential development on the southwest corner of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive, along with more office space. [Fairfax County Government]

Lots to do at the library — Reston Regional Library has several events of note today, including a downsizing seminar planned for tonight and a book club for millennials.

Photo by Ray Copson

Aside from several stand-out pieces, there are a lot of art displays to explore around Lake Anne Plaza.

On Friday, Oct. 10, art historian Phoebe Avery will offer a walking tour of art around the plaza. The tour begins in front of Lake Anne Coffee House.

The event is presented by Reston Association and Public Art Reston. Registration is $5 for Reston Association members and $8 for all others. The tour will run from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Other tours are also planned by RA, including a newcomers’ bus tour on Saturday and a Hunter Mill Road historical tour on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

File photo