Reston Community Center’s weekly summer family fun entertainment series is back in Reston Town Center next month.
All shows are free and take place every Saturday from June 15 through August 3 from 10-10:45 a.m. All ages are welcome and no registration is required.
The series kicks off on Saturday, June 15 with the Uncle Devin Show, an interactive music experience that takes audiences through the land of percussion instruments.
On Saturday, June 22, attendees immerse themselves in the instruments and sounds of West African music with Kwame Ansah-Brew’s African Sounds. This show will include audience participation.
Mark Lohr takes attendees through a family vaudeville show on Saturday, June 29 when he shows off his circus skills and a sprinkle of magic.
The remaining schedule is as follows:
- July 6: Rocknoceros
- July 13: Guava Jelly
- July 20: Turley the Magician
- July 27: Groovy Nate
- August 3: Dixie Power Trio
Reston Town Square Park is located at the corner of Market and Explorer streets.
Parking is free on weekends in RTC.
Photo courtesy Reston Community Center
The American Diabetes Association will host its annual Tour de Cure in Reston Town Center next month.
The event, which is set for June 2, is the ADA’s premier cycling fundraising event and the nation’s largest diabetes cycling event.
Participants of all skill levels will use four routes ranging from 20 miles to 106 miles, as well as a 5k run and walk.
Online registration, which is $25, closes on May 31. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Fundraising minimums are $250 for riders age 13 and above and $50 for riders age 12 and under. Minimums do not apply to walkers and runners.
Photo courtesy ADA
Book lovers can get their hands on thousands of used books at the Friends of the Reston Regional Library’s semi-annual sale this weekend.
Although the spring sale started on Thursday for the public, the event continues today through 5 p.m., on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Reston Regional Library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive).
No children’s books will be offered at the sale. The next book sale is in mid-August right before the next school year begins.
Tomorrow (May 4)
- Reston Pet Fiesta (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) — Dogs and their owners can enjoy this outdoor festival at Reston Town Center. The free event brings together businesses, rescue groups and pet owners for activities, demonstrations and entertainment.
- Spring Festival (1-5 p.m.) — Enjoy entertainment, animals, craft making for kids, and displays from local environmental groups at the Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive). An animal show, interactive performance and puppet show are also planned.
- Tapestry of Peace and Justice (4-7:30 p.m.) — This “mixed-art” performance and exhibit combines music and images from artists of The Reston Art Gallery & Studios and League of Reston Artists, as well as poems from The Poetry Society of Virginia. Tickets are $25 for adults.
- Crescent Community Yard Sale (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) — If you missed Reston Association’s big community yard sale last weekend, now is your chance to comb through items at the Crescent Apartments’ sale (1572 Cameron Crescent Drive).
Sunday (May 5)
- Hopecam 19th Annual 5k Run/Walk (9:15 a.m.) — Hopecam’s annual event helps children with cancer. The race begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony and post-race celebration at 1890 Preston White Drive.
- Sunday Country Western Dance (5:30-8 p.m.) — Swing the night away to popular western tunes played by Reston Community Center’s DJ. The monthly event takes place at RCC Hunters Woods. Dancers must be 18 years or older.
- HGRTC Marketplace (noon to 5 p.m.) — Reston Town Center will host a home and garden marketplace for all plant lovers. The event is the first of its kind in the town center.
File photo
Since the Capital Bikeshare program began in late 2016, Reston’s stations have outperformed all others in Fairfax County. Given this success, the county plans to add 11 more stations by early 2020.
The county has logged roughly 16,000 trips every year since the program began in Reston and as more stations are added to the network, that number is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years. Stations in Tysons Corner are also seeing dramatic increases in utilization, especially as more corporate sponsors come on board to back new stations.
Most of Reston’s new stations are planned in south Reston. Exact locations will not be disclosed until the county finalizes places with state transportation officials, according to the county. The corridors at North Shore Drive, Baron Cameron Avenue, South Lakes drive and Glade Drive are likely candidates.
Chris Wells, the county’s bicycle and pedestrian program manager, said that the new stations will help transform the program by expanding their use beyond a quick ride to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station or Reston Town Center.
When a new station was added near Lake Anne, trips indicate that people used the bikes to run errands and pick up groceries at Harris Teeter in Spectrum Center. Wells says this suggest the functionality of the bikes is changing in the suburban community.
So far, the station at Wiehle-Reston East Metro tops all others with 4,743 annual trips last year. The RTC station came in second with 2,650 annual trips. The station at Sunset Hills Road and Isaac Newton Square brings in 1,782 annual trips, according to county data.
The county is considering moving the station at Reston Regional Library — the least popular station with just 16 trips last year — to another site until construction of Reston Town Center North is completed. The newest station and the only one south of the toll road is at Campus Commons.
A pilot program launched last year to bring battery-operated bikes to Reston was also successful, Wells said. Nearly 500 new electric bikes will be added to the Maryland, Virginia and DC network over the next few months.
Overall, utilization dipped slightly last year due to construction at Wiehle-Reston East, Wells said. He hopes to more people using bikeshare in Reston as the network becomes more connected.
“As there are places to go, we expect utilization to get even better organically.”
File photo
The following is a statement from Scott Brodbeck, founder and CEO of Local News Now, the Northern Virginia-based online publishing company behind Reston Now.
Yesterday, Reston Now announced the results of its poll to help name the two peregrine falcons that were found nesting at Reston Town Center.
Most of the announcement was devoted to rehashing the paid parking fiasco at the Town Center, because the top vote-getter in the poll, by far, was the names “Free” and “Parking.”
In the end, however, I made the call to select the runners up — Robert and Anne (as in Robert E. Simon and Lake Anne) — as the “official” names of the falcons. I felt the falcons deserved better than to be named after an acrimonious local parking dispute, and as a relatively new parent I did not think it fair for adults to ruin what could have been something fun for kids to participate in and learn from.
As we said, to the extent we have the power to decide such things, “Free” and “Parking” can be the birds’ unofficial nickname and considered the “People’s Choice” option.
The reaction to the announcement was disappointing. While we expected some push-back, and would understand some mild frustration, the cursing and threats of boycotts posted by some on Facebook were uncalled for. This was intended to be a light-hearted contest to name a couple of falcons, and instead the result has grown adults cursing and becoming angry.
It was reminiscent of the UK’s “Boaty McBoatface” kerfuffle, with more unironic invective.
Let’s set a few things straight about how this all came about. Boston Properties and its PR reps approached Reston Now with the idea of running a naming contest for the falcons that had been nesting at RTC. We agreed — I made the decision to move forward — because it sounded fun for readers.
Despite some wording about working with Boston Properties on it, we ran the contest on our own and made our own decisions, like including “Free” and “Parking” in the final poll. RTC’s owner let us know that they did not like “Free” and “Parking” as names, but we moved forward anyhow. Finally, when push came to shove, I made the decision to pick the second-place names — which were, let’s be honest about it, better names — over the first-place novelty names.
To be clear, there was no money or favors that changed hands as a result of this contest, it was done informally and for fun. Boston Properties is not a current Reston Now advertiser and its only recent ad purchase from us was a sponsored post that was published in March 2017. We have also not recently solicited advertising from Boston Properties or Reston Town Center.
The fact that we now have Boston Properties upset at us, for including “Free” and “Parking” in the poll to begin with, and readers angry at us for not selecting those names as the official winner, is frustrating to say the least. But life — and the news — goes on. Hopefully this statement clears some things up.
Scott
Two weeks ago, Reston Now kicked off an attempt to name the two peregrine falcons in Reston Town Center. About 60 name suggestions and more than 850 votes later, one option clearly stood out: Free and Parking.
“Free parking” is a reference to Boston Properties’ paid parking at RTC, oftentimes serving as a rallying cry for protests against RTC or as an inside joke among Restonians. Reston Now frequently finds calls for free parking in comments under articles about business closures at RTC.
The shift from free parking to the ParkRTC paid parking initiative at RTC began at the start of 2017. In June 2017, Boston Properties, RTC’s owner, changed its paid parking structure to allow for more free parking, following a major outcry from tenants and customers.
Even with the changes, the controversy has still continued to this day, including boycotts and two lawsuits by restaurants — one ended in a settlement.
With 64 percent of the vote, the Reston Now Readers’ Choice Award for Falcon Names goes to Free and Parking — the falcons’ new nicknames. But for the official name, upon further reflection, it was clear that the regal birds deserved a more befitting, less joke-y name.
So like Boaty McBoatface before it, “Free” and “Parking” will be how the birds are remembered by many, but the clear second place winner in the voting — “Robert” and “Anne,” a reference to Reston’s founder Bob Simon and Lake Anne — will become the falcons’ actual names.
Happy name day, Robert and Anne.
Photo courtesy Boston Properties
Dogs and their owners are invited to a Pup Social tomorrow at Hyatt Park in Reston Town Center (1800 Presidents Street). In this on-leash dog event, dogs and their owners can socialize with their neighbors from 2-4 p.m.
Attendees will also get the chance to get a professional portrait of owners and their dog. Attendees can also enter a raffle for a $100 RTC gift card. Refreshments will be provided by EagleBank. The event is hosted by Public Art Reston.
Tomorrow (April 27)
- Woofie’s Grand Opening (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) — The business, which offers pet sitting, dog walking and a mobile pet spa, will host a grand opening event at Jimmys Old Town Tavern (697 Spring Street).
- Community Yard Sale (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) — Eighty families will sell a variety of items in this event hosted by Reston Association at 1900 Campus Commons Drive.
- Spring Carnival (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) — The spring carnival by Reston Children’s Center includes food, carnival games, fire truck visits, a treasure hunt and more. Entrance is free but game tickets cost 50 cents per ticket. The carnival will take place at Reston Children’s Center (11825 Old Crafts Drive).
- Opening Reception of Things That Don’t Have Names (5-7 p.m.) — Join the Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market Street) for the opening reception of this exhibit by DC-based artist Stephanie Williams. The exhibit of objects apparently doesn’t have names.
- Annie (8 p.m.) — Reston Community Players kicks of a performance about the comic strip heroine, Little Orphan Annie. Additional performances are planned through May 18.
Sunday (April 28)
- Bird Walk (7:30-10:30 a.m.) — Beginners and experts will search for birds across a variety of sites starting from Glade Stream Valley Trail. The event is for adults only and registration is not required.
- Healthy Kids Day (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.) — Kids can awaken their imagination by exploring new activities and healthy habits with activities like swimming in a pool and a petting zoo. The event takes place at the YMCA in Reston (12196 Sunset Hills Road).
- Bike Drive for Kids and Bike Maintenance Check (12-4 p.m.) — Athletes competing in the Reston Sprint Triathlon and the BeAMYazing Reston Youth Triathlon can get free bike safety checks at The Bike Lane (1150 Sunset Hills Road). Event organizers will also accept like-new or gently-used bikes for low-income kids.
Reston Town Center will host a home and garden marketplace for all plant lovers next month.
The “HGRTC” marketplace brings live music, presentations, plants and vendors to RTC (11900 Market Street) on May 5 from noon to 5 p.m.
WTOP’s Mike McGrath will teach attendees how to
grow tomatoes in gardens and give a lecture called, “Grow a Crazy Mixed Up Garden.” McGrath will offer two lectures at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. McGrath has been a garden editor for WTOP since 1999. He also hosts the nationally syndicated public radio show “You Bet Your Garden.”
At 12:30 p.m., Mina Fies, a remodeling expert with Synergy Design and Construction, will offer a workshop on how to transform your home into a zen zone.
Vendors include Mayflowers, L’Occitane, Fairfax Master Gardeners, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Virginia Master Naturalists, Synergy Design & Construction, Pick-A-Pot Pop-Up and more.
The event concludes with a 5:30 p.m. showing of “Hometown Habitat” at Bow Tie Chinemas. Free tickets will be distributed from 12-5 p.m.
Photos via Myers Public Relations
If you’re looking for a new four-legged family member or interested in improving your relationship with a pet your own, the Pet Fiesta returns to Reston Town Center (11900 Market Street) on May 4. Local pet businesses, community members and animal rescue groups will be on-site to promote local adoption and educate owners about dog ownership.
The event kicks off with a Dog House of Style fashion show at noon. The latest canine couture will be modeled by rescue dogs, who will be up for adoption. Face painting and caricature artists will also be on-site during the fiesta, which begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m.
It’s hosted by Gooddogz.org, a Reston-based nonprofit that educates future dog owners about dog selection and care. The organization also supports rescue groups.
Last year, the Pet Fiesta drew more than 10,000 visitors, according to event organizers.
Photo by Don Renner
Reston Town Center is celebrating National Picnic Day with a pop-up picnic today (Tuesday).
Several town center businesses will offer deals for the picnic, which will be located at 11900 Market Street. All are encouraged to bring lunch to the pavilion to “celebrate great weather” and a “fun picnic atmosphere,” according to event organizers.
Restaurants will offer the following specials:
- Balducci’s (1871 Fountain Drive) — 10% off entire purchase all day
- Le Pain Quotidien (11909 Democracy Drive) — Receive a free drink with purchase of the Tartine of the Day (Salmon & Ricotta)
- Peet’s Coffee (11830 Freedom Drive) — Purchase one pound of coffee and receive $2 off and a free drip coffee
- Ted’s Bulletin (11948 Market Street) — Receive a free Ted’s Tart with purchase of any take out meal
Photo via TAA PR
More than 200 fine artists from across the country will come for Greater Reston Arts Center’s 28th annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
The outdoor festival will take place at Reston Town Center (11900 Market Street) on May 17 through May 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
On Friday (May 17), town center merchants will offer “Festival Friday” deals. A “Festival Party” on Saturday (May 18) from 7-10 p.m. will feature this year’s awards of excellence. Food is catered in-kind by Not Your Average Joe’s and the event is sponsored by M Group Architects. The party is free for GRACE’s sponsors, supporters, and all festival artists, according to event organizers.
A movement installation by Heidi Latsky will celebrate the beauty of differences. The performance is sponsored by Reston Community Center and will take place on Saturday (May 18) at 7 p.m. during the party and at Reston Town Square Park on Sunday (May 19) at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Artists featured in the festival were selected by an independent panel of professional jurors, with some help from GRACE’s curatorial staff. Sofia Blom, GRACE’s gallery and communications manager, said the following about the selection process:
The three highly qualified jurors for the 2019 Festival are Nehemiah Dixon III, a widely exhibited native Washingtonian artist; Lauren Hilyard, a Washington-based art advisor with 20 years of experience working for the Guggenheim Museum and Christie’s Auction House among others; and Laura Roulet, an independent curator and writer and frequent contributor to Sculpture Magazine. These three jurors will also judge each artist booth on Friday and Saturday to select the ten Awards of Excellence. Each winner will receive a $500 cash prize, a blue ribbon for booth display, and automatic acceptance into the 2020 Northern Virginia FineArts Festival.
Over 500 volunteers are needed for the event. Signup is available online.
Photo by Charlotte Geary
A joint effort between Reston Now and Boston Properties wants readers’ help naming the two falcons, who call Reston Town Center home.
Last week, Reston Now asked readers for their name suggestions for the two peregrine falcons that call Reston Town Center home.
The pair are both around 7 years old and are expecting four chicks. The dad hails from Maryland while the mom came from Pennsylvania.
About 60 people commented with name ideas below the profile last week and on Reston Now’s social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
From today (April 22) to the end of the week, readers can vote for the two names from this list of readers’ suggestions.
The winning names for the mom and dad falcons will get announced at the end of April.
Photo courtesy Boston Properties
A group of Muslims who live and work in Reston hope to open a permanent prayer space before Ramadan, the month of fasting, begins in early May. It will be located on the second floor of an existing building.
Organizers behind the Reston Islamic Center said the mosque serves a critical need: the closest mosque in the area is roughly 20 minutes away. For several years, the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation (1441 Wiehle Avenue) has served as a satellite location for Friday prayers. The site is one of several set up by the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (46903 Sugarland Road) in Sterling — which will continue operating and is a separate initiative from the new mosque. Currently, there is no dedicated space in the area to offer the five daily prayers that are central to the religion.
The new location is opposite Reston Town Center at 11701 Bowman Green Drive, which is also home to a church on the ground floor, according to organizers. They hope the center will make offering prayer easy for RTC-goers and local Muslims.
“In Northern Virginia, we have seen the Muslim community grow and the [mosques] grow with it. For Reston, however, we have yet to reach that point,” an organizer told Reston Now. “Due to the busy nature of this area… we want to form a space for families, children, and individuals to be able to get a break from that lifestyle and get back to learning the [religion],”
Paperwork and permitting is underway. The group set up a LaunchGood campaign to raise $10,000. So far, $6,419 has been raised to finance the effort. The group hopes that donations from mosque-goers will sustain the mosque over the next couple of years.
Photo via Reston Islamic Center
“LOVE” will tour around Fairfax County this summer. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan, the iconic letters will take a trip across the county to promote the message “Love is at the heart of every Virginia vacation,” according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
Fairfax County received a $10,000 grant from the corporation for its first permanent “LOVEwork” sign, which kicks off its tour in Tysons next month. It’ll make stops at Roer’s Zoofari (May 21-27), Reston Town Center (May 20 to June 4), and Frying Pan Farm Park (July 26 to August 4).
The tour concludes in August at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton — the permanent home of the letters.
Virginia’s slogan was coined by Richmond-based advertising agency Martin & Woltz in the late 1960s. After playing with different slogans like “Virginia is for History Lovers” and “Virginia is for mountain Lovers,” the firm chose the catch-all phrase “Virginia is for Lovers.” In 2009, the marketing campaign was recognized by Forbes.com as one of the top ten tourism marketing campaigns of all time.
Photo via Virginia Tourism Corporation
For the final Reston Then and Now — a series where we’ve used Fairfax County’s aerial photography to track changes in the area — we’re looking at the area overall and at how far it’s come since its founding.
Reston was founded in 1964, but some of the paths that are roads today — like Baron Cameron Avenue — are still visible in photography from 1937. Reston’s iconic man-made lakes are also absent, leaving most of the area that’s Reston today just open fields.
By 1976 though — 10 years after Reston was founded — the region was starting to take shape in the neighborhoods around Lake Anne and Lake Thoreau. The village design envisioned by founder Robert E. Simon is still apparent in those early aerial photographs showing retail and residential areas clumped together.
But over the years, those isolated communities start to become increasingly interconnected to the point of being almost indistinguishable from above. By the mid-1990s, the only major patch of green space around Reston is Colvin Run near Lake Fairfax and southeast of Lake Anne.
After the Reston Town Center starts showing up in aerial photography in 1990 (construction began in 1988) the development starts to shift west of the original area and more toward major transit routes.
In the photography from 1990, construction also starts to bunch around the Dulles Toll Road in the Reston Station neighborhood. The Toll Road was built in 1982, and by the early 2000s, the urban centers of Reston shift away from the villages to the north and south and more towards the developments along the major highway. This density starts to ramp up in 2011 as the area builds up for the Silver Line’s opening in 2014.
The density continuing to focus around the Silver Line is poised to continue as developers plan new mixed-use buildings near Woodland Park by the planned Herndon Silver Line Metro station.
