Tuesday, Jan 19

• Mr (Fictional) President (6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Hail to the fictional chief. A day before a real president gets inaugurated, participate in a virtual conversation with actor Martin Sheen who played President Bartlet in the NBC television drama West Wing. Journalist Ken Walsh will be asking questions about how fictional depictions of government have impacted the real thing and why we view our national leaders the way we do. This event is hosted by the Smithsonian Associates.

Wednesday, Jan. 20

• Bull Run Festival of Lights  (5:30 p.m.) – While this annual show of glimmery holiday lights was extended well into January, this is the final day for the season. So, bring your family, talk a socially distant walk, and appreciate this extra little bit of joy.

Thursday, Jan. 21

• Fiber Art  (9 a.m.) – At Reston Community Center in Lake Anne, five local fiber artists are displaying contemporary quilts. Each artist has a different approach, but uses fabric and thread as their medium. Located in the Jo Anne Rose Gallery and runs through the end of February.

Friday, Jan. 22

• Date Night (5 p.m.) – The Winery at Bull Run has all the pieces for a perfect outdoor but warm date night. A package includes a pair of rocking chairs around a fire pit, two glasses of wine in logos that are yours to keep, and one cozy blanket to snuggle up in together.

Saturday, Jan. 23

• Hunt for Dinosaurs (1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) – There are dinosaurs on the loose at Claude Moore Park in Sterling! Join a park naturalist in the search. Afterward, warm up by a campfire and toast some marshmallows (provided, individually wrapped, and Halel available upon request).

Sunday, Jan. 24

• Notes From the Field screening and Q&A (3 p.m.) – Playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith (best known for her role as Dr. Nancy McNally in the tv show West Wing) screens her new film “Notes From the Field” about systemic racism in the American justice system. Afterwards, she will appear virtually for a question and answer session.

Photo from distelAPPArath/Pixabay

Monday, Jan. 11

• Winter Walk of Lights (5:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.) – Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights in Vienna is now extended a few extra weeks to January 20. Take a socially distant walk through the glittery, wondrous light display.

Tuesday, Jan. 12

• Family Karaoke (6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) – If you ever held dreams of you and your family traveling around in a colorful bus together singing songs like the Partridge Family, here’s your chance… well, sort of. Grab the mic and join the Fairfax County Public Library for virtual family karaoke. All singing abilities and ages welcome. So, you know, pick an appropriate song.

• A Virtual Evening with Melinda Gates (8 p.m.) – Spend the night with one of the richest people in the world. Scrawl Books in Reston Town Center is celebrating the paperback launch of Gates’s book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by offering tickets to an online event to hear her speak.

Wednesday, Jan. 13

• Virtual Yoga (10 a.m. to 11 a.m.) – Start the day with mindfulness and meditation. Join this virtual yoga session led by Jennifer Eubanks, who runs a local yoga studio, through the Fairfax County Public Library.

Thursday, Jan. 14 

• Women Who Lead Speaker Series (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Hosted by the Junior League of Northern Virginia, this month’s features Gwendolyn Bingham. She’s a retired US Army 3-star General and was the first woman to hold a number of roles in the Army, including Quartermaster General. There will be time for questions and answers.

Friday, Jan 15

• Pomegranate-themed oil painting workshop (Noon to 3 p.m.) – Join local artist Suzanne Lago Arthur for a one-day, three-hour oil painting class. Hosted every other month, January’s is themed around the seeded fruit pomegranate. While welcome to work in any media one prefers, the lesson is about oil painting.

Sunday, Jan 17

• Audubon Afternoon (3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) – Hosted by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, learn about how birds stay warm.  Avian evolutionary ecologist Dr. Sahas Barve will lead this workshop which will perhaps provide some advice to us humans on how to stay warm on this winter’s afternoon.

Photo via Unsplash

Virginia Polar Dip Goes Virtual — The annual event is going virtual this year due to the pandemic. Camp Sunshine is allowing participants to take patron several virtual events at any point between Feb. 6-14. [Camp Sunshine]

Microsoft Expands with New Lease — The company is expanding its presence in Northern Virginia by signing a lease in Rosslyn. [Bisnow]

Local Music Students to Perform in Virtual Concert — ‘Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) choral teachers have put together a virtual choral concert and presentation involving 350 middle and high school students from 37 secondary schools. The concert and presentation of student work will air at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27.’ [FCPS]

Photo by Marjorie Copson

Reston Community Center is moving forward with the 36th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration with a mix of online and in-person events with the theme “Are We Keeping the Promise?”

However, several pre-announced events are being canceled or rescheduled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This includes the keynote address from Ibram X. Kendi, author of the book How to Be an Antiracist (which was very popular this summer at local bookstores). The event is being rescheduled for early 2022.

“We have planned meaningful events that will ask important questions and look toward the future as we as a community and nation reckon with this year’s revelations of the inequitable impact of the pandemic and the continuing systemic racism that is our national reality,” said RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham in a press release. “At the same time, we are dealing with a rise in COVID-19 cases, so it is important to keep public health and safety in mind as we structure the opportunities for our community to tackle these critical issues.”

The celebration weekend is presented by the RCC along with a number of religious and civic organizations including the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church on North Shore Drive, Reston Community Orchestra and Reston Association.

The celebration commences this week with a toiletry drive to support local families with items being provided to the non-profit Cornerstones for distribution.

On Saturday, Jan. 16 and Monday, Jan. 18, there will be a small, socially distant community projects where volunteers can sort items from Herndon’s non-profit thrift shop The Closet, and make bag lunches for those at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter.

On Sunday, D.C.-native jazz vocalist Akua Allrich is paying tribute to musicians Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba with a performance at the CenterStage at Reston Community Center. Folks can attend, though capacity will be capped at 30% and masks are required.

For those who do not wish to attend events in person, the Reston Community Orchestra is debuting their performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing on RCC’s Youtube page  at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Also on the RCC’s YouTube page, there will be Akua Allrich presenting a performance specifically for Reston schools as well as a number of community leaders offering their reflections on Dr. King and his legacy.

Here’s the calendar of events, after the jump:

Read More

Monday, Jan. 4

• Equity Matters — Reston Community Center’s CenterStage will screen Harriet, a movie about Harriet Tubman. The show, which is free, begins at 10 a.m. Registration is required.

Tuesday, Jan. 5

• Housing Discussion — The Herndon Town Council is hosting a discussion on housing policy tomorrow. The panel discussion, which begins at 10 a.m. online, will feature comments by a panel of three experts, including state Sen. Barbara Favola, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, and Jeff Gore, a consultant who represents clients involved in housing issues. Anyone who wishes to participate can register online. 

Wednesday, Jan. 6

• Reston Farmers Market — Enjoy fresh produce and farm favorites at the Reston Farmers Market, which is located at 11900 Lawyers Road.

Thursday, Jan. 7

• Mathnasium Open House — The center’s directors will take part in an hour-long discussion on the program from 6-7 p.m. via Zoom.

Saturday, Jan. 9

• Make a Bird Feeder — Learn how to make a bird feeder while learning about different kinds of birds at Lake Fairfax Park. The workshop takes place from 1-2 p.m.

• Planning for a New Baby — Reston Hospital Center is hosting a virtual session from 10 a.m. to noon on how to prepare for your baby.

Sunday, Jan 10

• Raptors Up Close — In this activity for all ages, residents will explore nature with naturalists at the Walker Nature Center from 2-3 p.m. Registration is required online.

An end to 2020 is almost upon us. If ever a year deserved a send-off of champagne and confetti, it was this one, but as they did with many other traditions, concerns about COVID-19 have curtailed or put on hold many of the usual New Year’s Eve parties.

Still, there remain plenty of options for ringing in the new year.

Many local restaurants are offering special meals to eat in or take home as well as festive cocktails created by local bartenders and mixologists that you can order or try to recreate yourself.

For people who like to close out the year with a song, the Times Square Ball Drop will feature singer Andra Day headlining an evening of live performances. The event is closed to the public this year, but it will still be broadcast on TV and online.

The great outdoors also offers a world of possibility.

The Fairfax County Park Authority is turning its annual First Hike Fairfax program into a three-day affair that starts on New Year’s Day. People who send in a photo of their hike by Jan. 3 will be entered into a contest to celebrate the park authority’s 70th anniversary.

How do you plan on ushering in 2021? If you have a special New Year’s tradition that’s not included below, feel free to share in the comments.

Image via Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Although last year’s festival was postponed and eventually canceled, organizers anticipate that the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival will be on for 2021.

The festival, which typically takes place in the spring and is hosted by the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), will take place on Sept. 10-12.

“Even with news that a nationwide roll out of a COVID-19 vaccine will be available, there is still uncertainty that an outdoor event will see a return to normalcy by May. We believe taking this proactive step will better ensure that we can safely host our annual vibrant celebration of the arts,” said Jaynelle Hazard, GRACE Executive Director and Curator.

Erica Harrison, GRACE’s associate curator and festival director, added that the same reasons that motivated the center to cancel the festival this year guided decisionmaking for 2021.

“Recent guidelines influenced this decision, including the Governor of Virginia’s modified stay-at-home orders, strongly urging all Virginia residents to limit indoor and outdoor in-person gatherings to no more than 10 people, and the Centers for Disease Control statement encouraging the continuation of social distancing and avoidance of mass gatherings and crowded places.”

Harrison said Boston Properties, its onsite partner and sponsor, could accommodate the new dates.

“The board and staff of Greater Reston Arts Center, and our community partners do not make this decision lightly, knowing how deeply this impacts our artists, our audience, and the organization. We look forward to next year, the Festival’s 30^th anniversary, and delivering another culturally-enriching, successful, and safe experience for all.”

Photo via GRACE

An exhibit featuring Chinese brush painting on silk and paper is on display at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods through Jan. 4.

The exhibit, titled “Naturescape Narrations,” features the 6,000-year-old Chinese art form with an animal-centric display.

Here’s more from artist Tracie Griffith Tso, who began painting her first brushstrokes at the age of 12 at a studio in California:

“Compositions strive to be interactive, and success is when they prompt a reaction, an emotion. Whether it be the adoration of slumbering rabbits, disgust of pesky squirrels, tranquility from a gliding fish, heartbeat of the cantering horse. Interactions are central, either between the rendered subjects or with the artwork and the viewer. Connecting with consciousness and tapping into the experience of a viewer is what drives deeper art. A story is told by ink: The flight of an insect, the posture of a bear, the glance of a bird. These tales are yours to decipher, let them flow like a brush trailing on paper,” she added.

Griffith Tso, who lives with her husband in Reston, specializes in Chinese flower-bird painting. She lectures and teaches about Chinese brush painting across the country.

The exhibit is on display through Jan. 4. Paintings are on display in the main area and masks are required in the county-run facility. The hours are 9 a.m. to 9. p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Photo via Tracie Griffith Tso

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Reston area.

Monday (Dec. 14)

• Silent Night (10 a.m.) — Enjoy a screening of Silent Night during this free event at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. The movie features a “fact-based World War II story on Christmas Eve,” according to RCC’s website. Registration is open online.

Tuesday (Dec. 15)

• Babes in the Woods (10-11 a.m.) — Toddlers between the ages of 18 and 35 months can take part in this monthly activity. Due to COVID-19, the number of registered participants is limited.

Wednesday (Dec. 16)

• Lake House Open House (Noon to 2 p.m.) — Join Reston Association for community time and light refreshments at the Lake House, which is located at 11450 Baron Cameron Avenue.

• COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall (7 p.m.) — Community and medical leaders. Will host a virtual downhill to answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Friday (Dec. 18)

• Holiday Lights on the Farm (5:30-8:30 p.m.) — Thousands of lights will line a mile-long route through Frying Pan fARM park on select evenings. Multiple dates are available.

Saturday (Dec. 19)

• Reston Market Saturdays (8 a.m. to noon) — The weekly Lane Anne Reston Farmers and Crafters Market returns to Lake Anne Plaza.

Photo via Reston Farmers Market

New COVID-19 Measures Go Into Effect on Monday — Gov. Ralph Northam’s latest executive orders calls on all residents to stay home from midnight to 5 a.m., imposes a universal mask requirement, and lowers the limit on social gatherings to 10 people. [Fairfax County Government]

Leidos to Buy Company for $215 Million — “Leidos Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) jumped back into the mergers and acquisition market late Thursday, acquiring 1901 Group in a $215 million cash on hand deal. The deal would shift the Reston-based managed information technology services and cloud solutions provider into Leidos’ defense business segment.” [Washington Business Journal]

Performance Comes to Reston Community Center with No Audience — “The Ravel Dance Studio will take the stage at the Reston Community CenterStage December 12th without an audience. They will be filming their Nutcracker Ballet and although the production will not be open to the public the school and their students are thrilled to be able to keep this holiday tradition alive.” [Reston Patch]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Reston area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Reston, Herndon and Great Falls. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Monday ( Dec. 7)

• Free Ballet Classes — (December 7-30) at Conservatory Ballet Foundation (11495 Sunset Hills Road) — Participants of ages two and above and enjoy two weeks of free live and virtual ballet classes. To register, use this link.

Tuesday (Dec. 8)

• Paper Ornament & Snow “Friend” in a Bag (Online) – 11 a.m. — Reston Community Center will host a virtual Handmade Gifts class on its Facebook page, the website said.
• Spanish Chat — 1-2 p.m. (virtual) — Practice Spanish conversation informally online in this event organized by Great Falls Library. Registration is open online.

 

Saturday (Dec. 12)

• Martial Arts Class — 11 a.m. at Life Champ Martial Arts of Reston (11160 South Lakes Drive) — Kids can enjoy a free martial arts class and receive a free t-shirt. To register, use this link.

Photo via Life Champ Martial Arts of Reston/Facebook

This holiday season will look different with social-distancing, face coverings and other safety measures and recommendations from the Fairfax County Health Department.

For the first three weeks of this month, Reston Community Center will be hosting virtual events every Tuesday and Thursday that will get you active, creative and in the holiday spirit, according to its press release.

The following events will take place on the Reston Community Center’s Facebook page and registration is not required:

• Zumba Gold – Thursday (Dec. 3) at 11:30 a.m.
• Paper Ornament & Snow “Friend” in a Bag – Tuesday (Dec. 8) at 11 a.m.
• Zumba Gold – Thursday (Dec. 10) at 11:30 a.m.
• Paper Weight Gift – Tuesday (Dec. 15) at 11 a.m.
• Zumba Gold – Thursday (Dec. 17) at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about RCC’s virtual holiday events, visit the center’s website.

Other holiday festivities will take place in Reston this month, including the Christmas Festival in Herndon. This free event will take place at Emily Rose Lewis Ministries (503 Carlisle Drive). Guests will be able to enjoy free food, drinks, festive decorations and a free Christmas photo, according to the website.

This Sunday only, families of five or less can receive a free holiday photo from Worldgate Centre (13007 Worldgate Drive). All guests will have their temperature taken and are required to wear a face covering until their photo is taken, the website said.

For the first three weekends of this month, families can receive another free family photo from Santa’s Workshop at Woodland Park Crossing (12960 Highland Crossing Drive).

Guests are also encouraged to donate new and unwrapped toys during this time as the company raises donations for Toys for Tots. Toys will be accepted at Woodland Park Crossing until Sunday (Dec. 13).

Train rides will be available every Saturday and Sunday of this month in Reston Town Center (11900 Market St.). The cost is $20 and each ride will run for approximately 15 minutes. Guests are also required to wear a face covering throughout the duration of their ride.

Photo via Reston Town Center/Facebook

Although the pandemic changed plans for Reston Community Center’s Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration, a community-based virtual choir is in the works.

RCC is partnering with Reston Community Orchestra, South Lakes High School’s choral director Rita Gigliotti and SLHS alum Harrison de Wolfe for a special virtual event on Jan. 16. The participants will produce a virtual recording of Lift Every Voice and Sing, which is also known as the Black National Anthem.

“This year, due to the pandemic, the concert has been canceled so we intend to join together in song with a virtual celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement,” wrote Kevin Danehar, RCC’s community events director, in a statement.

Members of the public can take part in the performance by following a step-by-step instructional video guide that will include major parts of the vocal track and how to record with a smart phone, tablet or laptop.

The deadline to register for the community virtual choir is tomorrow (Wednesday). All video recordings are due by Dec. 8. The complete video will be released on RCC’s website.

The center is seeking 50 performers. The registration form is available online.

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Reston area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Reston, Herndon and Great Falls. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Monday (Nov. 23)

• Thanksgiving Food Drive (November 1-23) — Patrons, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to drop off non-perishable food and other items at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road) and Lake Anne facilities, the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, and a variety of other drop-off points throughout the community, the website said. View this link to see the most needed items.

Tuesday (Nov. 24)

• Spanish Chat (1-2 p.m.) — Residents can practice Spanish conversation informally online at this virtual event, which is organized by Great Falls Library. A Zoom invite will be sent to registered participants one day before the discussion.

Friday (Nov. 27)

• Chocolate Factory Band (7 p.m.) — The Chocolate Factory Band will grace the stage of P.J. Mulligan’s once again. Patrons are encouraged to come early as COVID-19 restrictions will be in effect at the location (2310 Woodland Crossing Drive).

Saturday (Nov. 28)

• Carriage Rides (November 28 – December 19) – 4-9 p.m. at Reston Town Center (11900 Market St.) – For $30, enjoy a journey along the streets of Reston Town Center and benefit local charities, the website said. The carriage will depart from the Pavilion on Market Street. Groups are limited to five people and masks are required. To register, use this link.

Sunday (Nov. 29)

• Train Rides (November 29 – December 20) – 12-3:45 p.m. at Reston Town Center (11900 Market St.) – For $20, enjoy a mini train ride with the family through the streets of Reston Town Center and benefit local charities, the website said. The train will depart from the Pavilion on Market Street. Groups are limited to four people and masks are required. To register, use this link.

Photo by Wade Gilley