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
Bring your dog — or make plans to adopt one — to Saturday’s Pet Fiesta at Reston Town Center.
The free event, organized by the nonprofit Good Dogz, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature more than 100 exhibitors with pet products, services and demonstrations.
Here are some of the highlights:
Dozens of pet rescue groups will be on hand with pets to meet. See a list — and check out some of the rescue pets — on the fiesta website.
The Tails on Trails dog walk to benefit homeless pets takes place at 10 a.m. Entry fee is $20 for the first dog; $5 for additional dogs.
There will be live entertainment, including music, pet contests and Dog House of Style fashion show. See the schedule.
Pet Fiesta visitor/file photo
The Initiative for Public Art Reston formally dedicated sculptor Patrick Dougherty’s public art installation at Reston Town Center’s Town Square Park on Saturday.
North Carolina-based Dougherty and a crew spent two weeks constructing the building-sized artwork out of saplings.
The work is already a kid favorite. On Sunday, groups of youngsters played hide-and-seek and chased each other through the adjoining structures. They peered from the “windows,” which give the structure an overall fairy tale cottage in the woods feeling.
The art work will remain on site for at least a year, IPAR says.
Learn more about Patrick Dougherty in this CBS Sunday morning piece.
How can roads be safer and commuting be smoother in Fairfax County?
That’s what the Fairfax County Police want to know, and they are inviting all citizens to attend the Transportation Safety Summit Friday at Reston Town Center.
The Transportation Safety Summit, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be a place for police to “hear your ideas on how to help keep our commuters and residents safe, and give us feedback, comments, and suggestions,” said police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
With the extension of Metro’s Silver Line, roadway expansions, and increased urbanization centers, we are facing a changing landscape in our region, says Caldwell.
FCPD will be joined by law enforcement agencies from across Northern Virginia, as well as the Virginia Department of Transportation, experts in bicycling and pedestrian safety, Drive Smart Virginia, Metro, FCPS school transportation and safety officers, and more.
Activities will be in the pavilion and on closed roads adjacent to the pavilion, says Caldwell.
Police said that between 2011-2014, there were roughly 665 collisions involving pedestrians in Fairfax County. There have been roughly 313 involving collisions with bicycles.
In Reston in the last year, there have been several serious pedestrian and bicycle accidents, including teenager who was killed after a car hit him while he was riding a motorized mini-bike at Reston Parkway and Wiehle Avenue.
Photo: DWI simulator that will be at Friday’s summit/Credit: FCPD
Washington Wine Academy is bringing a special event for beer lovers to Reston Town Center this weekend.
The Beers of the World Festival will take place in the pavilion in two sessions on Saturday, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.
There will be 25 beers to sample in 3 oz. portions. There will also be a Belgian tent that features Weizenbier, blond & amber ales, framboise and tripel abbey ales.
Tickets start at $25 and include:
- Regular Beer Festival admission with 10 sampling tickets for American and international breweries.
- Souvenir Beer Glass for 10 3-ounce beer samples.
- Live music in the Pavilion, including a concert by country singer Shane Gamble from 2 to 5 p.m.
Festival tickets with Belgian tent access are $40. These tickets include five additional testing tickets to use in the Belgian Beer area.
For more information and to purchase advance tickets (that will give you priority access) visit Washington Wine Academy’s website.
Washington Wine Academy will also partnering with Paul’s Ride (a charity bike event that takes place Saturday morning at town center). They will be setting up a special beer bar for riders to be able to come by and have an cold beer and relax after they finish their race, says WWA president Jim Barker.
Bartaco, the new beach-shack inspired taco stand by the parent company that also brought Barcelona to Reston Town Center, is now open.
The restaurant is open for dinner only right now, but is planning on lunch service soon.
Reston’s bartaco has seating, as well as a walk-up take out window. It will also delivery to offices and residences in the town center via old-style bicycles.
Among some of the menu highlights:
Tacos ($2.50 each) with fillings such as falafel, chorizo, duck, cauliflower and pork belly.
Rice bowls ($8) with some of the same fillings.
Sides ($2.50) such as spicy cucumber salad, chipotle slaw, plantains and grilled corn.
A long list of margaritas, beer and other drinks.
Barcelona, which opened Saturday, will also begin lunch service soon.
This is the Connecticut-based chain’s first bartaco in Virginia.
Barcelona Wine Bar, the long-awaited addition to Reston Town Center’s restaurant offerings, is now open for business.
The restaurant, located at 12023 Town Square Park in the first floor of The Avant apartments, had a soft opening over the weekend and will start serving dinner Monday night.
The restaurant is the 11th from the Connecticut-based chain, which also has a location on 14th Street in D.C. It is known for its selection of more than 400 wines, as well as Spanish-style tapas.
Bartaco, located next door, will open sometime this week, store employees said. Bartaco is a beach-inspired taco shack, with inexpensive tacos featuring traditional as well as unusual fillings such as sesame ribeye, duck or curry shrimp.
The Reston location features a walk-up takeout window.
Washingtonian magazine’s Neighborhood Guide takes readers to Reston and Herndon in the May issue, released this week.
It divides a visitors time into three segments: 1. Shop Till You Drop; 2. Day of Family Fun; and 3. Plunge Into the Arts.
Shop Till You Drop guides readers to Lake Anne Plaza (Reston Museum, Cafe Montmartre, Reston’s Used Book Shop, Chesapeake Chocolates), a side trip to sushi spot Ariake at Hunters Woods, and then takes a spin through Reston Town Center with advice to stop in at The Tasting Room, Clyde’s, PassionFish and others 
before visiting Herndon.
Family Fun recommends Reston Association’s Walker Nature Education Center and Fairfax County Park Authority’s Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, as well as back to town center for meals at Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food and Ted’s Bulletin and dessert at Red Velvet. Small Change Consignment and Baby Blossom at Lake Anne get a nod, as do local farmers markets.
Plunge Into the Arts recommends the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, which returns to town May 15-17, as well as ArtSpace Herndon, Herndon’s Friday Night Live , Reston Community Center’s CenterStage and Herndon’s NextStop Theatre Company.
What do the residents say? If you live here, the guide likely featured nothing new, but may have left off your favorite places, off the beaten path or otherwise unknown to Washingtonian’s editors.
If any of your local favorites were not mentioned, tell us in the comments to offer some real insider information.
Top, Nature House at Walker Nature Education Center. Bottom, PassionFish/file photos
Reston Town Center will soon have a new tenant. Bluemercury, an upscale cosmetics store, has filed Fairfax County construction permits to open a store at 11918 Market St.
The space has been empty since Gap/Gapkids closed in January.
Bluemercury, which carries high-end brands such as Bobbi Brown, NARS and Le Mer, is a national chain that was founded in Washington, DC, in 1999.
The company, still operated by founders Barry and Marla Beck, recently sold the chain of 60 stores to Macy’s for $210 million.
Bluemercury also offers spa services, such as facials, massage and waxing. Other Virginia locations include Clarendon, Old Town Alexandria and Fairfax Corner.
The store’s opening at Reston Town Center will be direct competition with Sephora, a similar cosmetics store located at at 11960 Market St.
Photo: Bluemercury in Clarendon/Credit: ARLnow.com
Tuesday, April 14 is national Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s.
Reston’s Ben & Jerry’s, located at 11928 Market St. at Reston Town Center, is participating from 12 to 8 p.m.
Stop by for your free cone and make a donation. All proceeds will benefit charity. The Reston store will give donations to SafeSpot Children’s Advocacy Center of Fairfax County.
Ben & Jerry’s says Free Cone Day is “our way to celebrate and say thanks for another year of support, and we’ve kept it up every year since, spreading the peace, love & ice cream around the globe!”
Ben & Jerry’s also has some tips on how to pass time in line on Free Cone Day.
Capital Restaurant Concepts says it has hired HapstakDemetriou+, a top Washington, DC, restaurant architecture and design firm, to remodel Paolo’s Ristorante at Reston Town Center into the new Neyla Mediterranean Bistro.
“The creative and talented team of HapstakDemetriou (is) designing a casual, elegant ambience, while chef Erich von Gheren an authentic Eastern Mediterranean menu,” Neyla General Manager Souheil Moussedik, wrote on Paolo’s Facebook page on Monday.
Moussedik said he hopes Neyla will be open at Reston Town Center in early May.
Paolo’s closed last week after 24 years at Reston Town Center. The Georgetown location remains open.
The changes are part of a reworking at Capital Restaurant Concepts, which owns Paolo’s as well as other Washington-area restaurants such as J. Paul’s and Georgia Brown’s. It also owned the former Neyla, which was located in Georgetown before closing in 2014.
Some of HapstackDemetriou’s other clients include Rose’s Luxury, Brasserie Beck, Fiola Mare and Zaytinya in D.C. and Gypsy Soul in the Mosaic District.
Photo: Interior at Fiola Mara designed by HapstakDemetriou+/Courtesy Fiola Mare
Work began over the weekend in Reston on a large-scale public art project by North Carolina sculptor Patrick Dougherty.
Dougherty, who is well known for his works that use natural materials, will spend three weeks building the structure out of saplings. It will be unveiled to the public on April 25 and will remain in the park for over a year (since his sculptures are made from natural materials, they do not last indefinitely, said officials with the Initiative for Public Art Reston.
The Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) announced in December that it received a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Art Works grant to support the project.
Willowsford, a Loudoun County housing community, has also given a large grant to the project. Many of the saplings used in the project were also harvested at Willowsford.
Volunteers are helping Dougherty prepare materials and build the art work.
Paolo’s Ristorante, a mainstay of Reston Town Center for two decades, will close for good Sunday night.
Capital Restaurant Group announced last month that the Reston Paolo’s will morph into a Mediterranean-themed spot. The Georgetown location will remain.
Paolo’s in Reston will become Neyla, which was formerly located at 3206 N St. in Georgetown. Neyla, also part of CRG, closed in August after 15 years at that location. The owners said at that time they were “actively looking for a new location for Neyla.”
Neyla was praised in Yelp reviews for its Lebanese food — as well as the belly dancing show.
Paolo’s employees said on Monday it will take about a month to make the changeover to the new concept.
Reston Town Center’s Mercury Fountain has scaffolding around it so it can undergo spring cleaning and maintenance.
After its spring scrub, the fountain will be ready for a big birthday.
There will be a celebration of the fountain’s 25th year on Wednesday, April 22 at 1 p.m.
The celebration, presented in conjunction with Reston Community Center, will feature live music and refreshments.
What’s missing from Market Street at Reston Town Center?
The Gap and Gap Kids closed at 11924 Market St. in late January, giving up prime real estate on town center’s main street.
There are renovations planned for the space, but current Fairfax County construction permits show it is for an “unknown tenant.”
What do you think would be a good fit for the space? Tell us in the comments.
