The Washington West Film Festival — which screens films with the theme “Story Can Change the World” returns to Reston and other area locations later this week.
This is the fourth annual Washington West Film Festival, which was founded by Dulles Community Church Pastor and area resident Brad Russell.
One hundred percent of the net proceeds of the film festival are donated to nonprofits benefitting children in poverty. This year’s charity is One Voice.
Here is what you need to know about some of the festival highlights:
The Feature Narrative film headliner is Revenge of the Green Dragons, produced by acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The film recently premiered at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival. The movie, based on a true story, is about two brothers who immigrate to New York in the 1980s. The film will screen Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Bow Tie Cinemas Reston. Click here for ticket information.
The Documentary film Generosity of Eye, directed by Brad Hall and starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will be the closing night feature on Sunday. Both Hall and wife Louis-Dreyfus have been supporters of the festival. They aired the short film Picture Paris, and participated in an audience Q-and-A, in 2012. The movie is about the vast art collection of Louis-Dreyfus’ father, William, who sells the collection to create an endowment for the Harlem Children’s Zone. Click here for ticket information.
Other Reston events at Bow Tie Cinemas:
Thursday, Oct. 23, 7:00 p.m. — Opening Night Film, Alive Inside, winner of 2014 Sundance Audience Award. Reception with special music guest Justin Trawick.
Saturday., Oct. 25, 4:30 p.m. — Behind the Scenes with Hollywood Legends. Meet Hollywood actor Ed Asner (Up, Mary Tyler Moore”) and Emmy-award winning composer W.G Snuffy Walden (“The West Wing,” Nashville, Friday Night Lights, and The Wonder Years. Walden will score scenes live for the audience.
Sunday, Oct 26, 12:00 p.m. — Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Mary Poppins.
There will also be a festival kickoff party Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at The Hamilton in Washington D.C. Los Angeles recording artist Sara Niemietz and Walden (The West Wing, Nashville, Wonder Years, Under The Dome), will perform and set the tone for the week of celebrating the power of story at the festival.
More than a dozen other films will be screened in Reston and at the Angelika Film Center in Merrifield. See the entire film lineup on the Washington West Film Festival website.
Get ready for bagpipes, beer gardens and sauerkraut.
Oktoberfest will take over Reston Town Center this weekend, with carnival rides set up starting Friday night and live music, food vendors and more on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is free, but you’ll need tickets for beer, wine, food and carnival rides. Visit the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s website to purchase tickets in advance, or buy them on site.
The Guns ‘n Hoses Chili Cookoff will be fought Saturday starting at noon. Firefighters and police officers from across Northern Virginia will show off their cooking skills and compete for prizes and bragging rights.
There will be live, traditional German music during the day, and pop tunes at night at stages in the pavilion and in Library Street. Children can try the “Ultimate Fire Fighter Kids’ Obstacle Course” from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. The full entertainment lineup can be found here.
Food
Vendors will be located on Market Street, including:
- Buffalo Wing Factory
- Clyde’s
- Milwaukee Custard
- Naked Pizza
- Paisano’s Pizza
- The Melting Pot
Beer
The pavilion beer garden will open at noon both days, as will the craft beer area on Library Street. Here’s what’s on tap:
- Pavilion Beer Garden — Blue Moon, Miller Lite, Samuel Adams and Yuengling Traditional Lager
- Craft Beer Garden — Old Ox, Old Bust Head Brewing Co., New Belgium, Flying Dog and D.C. Brau
Cornerstones and Mayflowers are gearing up for the third annual Reston Town Center Help the Homeless Walk Thursday at noon.
Cornerstones says more than 300 participants have signed up for the walk, in which participants will walk from Mayflowers to Embry Rucker Community Shelter and back.
Several groups from Reston Town Center-based businesses such as Microsoft and Leidos will also participate. Two businesses making an impact: Primatics, which will present a $25,000 check at the event as well as well as Cooley, the law office that will give $25,100 that employees have raised to help the homeless.
Participants will walk for a family or individual housed through Cornerstones’ Rapid Re-Housing Challenge. Cornerstones’ goal for the project is to house 15 families and 25 individuals from July through September.
The first 200 people to check in will receive a floral umbrella from Mayflowers.
Want to walk? Here is what you need to know?
Entry fee is $25 ($20 for youth). Sponsorship of families in need is also available. Visit Cornerstones online to register.
Participants will gather at Mayflowers Floral Studio, 11959 Market St. in the Promenade, for opening remarks by organizers and Delegate Ken Plum and Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.
Photo: Mayflowers owner May Bernhardt with floral umbrellas to give away at walk on Thursday/Credit: Mayflowers
The streets of Reston Town Center will turn into a beer garden and carnival Oct. 11 and 12 as the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s Oktoberfest Reston returns.
Here is what you need to know:
Oktoberfest runs noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12.
The carnival rides only will be open Friday, Oct. 10 from 5 to 10 p.m.
Admission is free, but you need tickets for beer, wine, food and carnival rides. Visit the Chamber website to purchase tickets in advance or buy them on site.
Saturday will also feature the Guns ‘n Hoses Chili Cookoff, where firefighter and police officers from all over Northern Virginia show off their cooking skills and compete for bragging rights and prizes.
Beer
The pavilion beer garden opens at noon both days, as does the craft beer area located on Library Street. Here is what is on tap:
- Pavilion Beer Garden — Blue Moon, Miller Lite, Samuel Adams, Yuengling Traditional Lager
- Craft Beer Garden — Old Ox, Old Busthead Brewing Co., New Belgium, Flying Dog, D.C. Brau
Food
Vendors will be located on Market Street, including:
- Buffalo Wing Factory
- Clyde’s
- Milwaukee Custard
- Naked Pizza
- Paisano’s Pizza
- Tailgater by Toby NOVA
- The Melting Pot
Entertainment
There will be live, traditional German music during the day, and pop dance tunes at night at stages in the pavilion and in Library Street.
Full entertainment lineup here.
Photo Courtesy of Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce
Market Street at Reston Town Center was turned into a colorful gallery on Saturday as chalk artists took part in the Initiative for Public Art Reston’s (IPAR) first ChalkFest.
The winners:
Professional Artist
1st prize: Penny Hauffe
2nd prize: Erica Fallen
3rd prize: Lynn Nguyen
Audience Choice
1st prize: Penny Hauffe
2nd prize: Daniela Munoz
3rd prize: McKinley Gillespie
Families & Kids
1st prize: Oishee and Rovnakwie
2nd prize: Alexa Alfeo
3rd prize: Anisha Shetty
Amateur Artists
1st prize: Daniela Munoz
2nd prize: McKinley Gillespie
3rd prize: Kara Brownback
For more photos, including the winners and their works, visit IPAR’s Facebook page.
There is still time for amateur artists to register for tomorrow’s ChalkFest at Reston Town Center.
The Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) is sponsoring the first ChalkFest at RTC. A similar event took place and was well received earlier this year at Lake Anne Plaza.
The event is open to amateurs of all ages, as well as to professional artists.
Here is what you need to know:
- Visit IPAR’s website to register and reserve your chalk plot. You must register in advance.
- Space reservations are $15.
- Professionals and teams of more than three started work on Friday. Other artists will work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.on Saturday.
- Cash prizes will be awarded for each category: professionals, amateurs, audience choice and families and kids.
- IPAR will provide the chalk.
- For more information, read these rules and tips from IPAR.
- Watch the video above to see a clinic and tips from a professional mural artist.
Plans to open a Pure Barre studio on Market Street at Reston Town Center have fallen through, a company spokeswoman said.
Pure Barre, a franchised exercise studio with locations nationwide, announce in December that it had signed a lease for space at 11990 Market St., on the ground-floor of the Midtown Condo.
A local rep had said the studio expected to open in February, but little action towards building out the space could be seen as time went on.
The spokesman said that “unforeseen issues with permitting in our intended space for the Reston studio,” led to the cancellation.
Barre exercise — as in ballet barre — is a recent trend where participants do small muscle movements, similar to the workouts of ballet dancers, to create long, lean muscles. Fees are $25 for single 55-minute class, but packages are available. There are nearby Pure Barre locations in Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Fairfax, Rockville and McLean.
Photo courtesy of Pure Barre
Reston artists: Gather your best mural ideas and head to Reston Town Center Sept. 5 and 6.
The Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) is sponsoring the first ChalkFest at RTC. A similar event took place and was well received earlier this year at Lake Anne Plaza.
The event is open to amateurs of all ages, as well as to professional artists.
Here is what you need to know:
- Visit IPAR’s website to register. You must register in advance.
- Space reservations are $15 ($20 for professionals)
- Professionals and teams of more than three can begin their work Friday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. Other artists will work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.on Saturday, Sept. 6.
- Cash prizes will be awarded for each category: professionals, amateurs, audience choice and families and kids.
- IPAR will provide the chalk.
- For more information, read these rules and tips from IPAR.
Graphic: IPAR
The dog days of summer have everyone, including pets, looking to cool off.
That’s why Unleashed by Petco is trucking in snow to Reston Town Center on Saturday, Aug. 23. Pets can frolic like it is February at an enclosed off-leash area.
Unleashed’s Reston store held smaller version of the snow day in the parking lot at Hunters Woods in 2013. Moving to RTC will better accommodate more dogs.
There will be areas for big dogs and small dogs, as well as family friendly events and animals for adoption.
The snow day will run from 9 a.m. until the snow melts. Admission is free. Limited numbers of dogs can enter the pen at one time.
Photo: Unleashsed Summer Snow Day/Credit: Unleashed
Reston has long touted the Reston Town Center as its urban core. Now town center has an urban problem.
Reston Town Center management has notified residents that Reston Town Square Park is experiencing a rat issue.
Here is the memo that residents of The Midtown Condominium received Wednesday morning
Dear Midtown Resident,
The following notice was received from Reston Town Center. Dog owners should pay particular attention!!!!
As you have probably heard we have rats in the Town Square Park for the first time. What you may not know is that there has been an explosion of rats in the entire Town Center. I am not sure why except that perhaps the Avant construction provided stimulation for them to get into the rest of Town Center.
In response both Boston Properties and RUCA are taking steps to initiate a major effort on our properties to get rid of the rats. RUCA is also working with Triple “S” Pest control. They did a survey of the Town Square last week and found rodent burrows in the big planting bed on Explorer St, and in the beds facing Market St.
We have contracted with them to do intensive treatment doing 9 visits to inspect and aggressively treat the existing burrows for the first month and then follow up with monthly treatment. This will include installing 9 tamper resistant bait stations in key areas of the property including flower and shrub planting areas. These will look like a fake rock and will contain a rodenticide which I have been told will not harm dogs, but dog owners should keep their dogs away from them.
Dog owners must be very careful about cleaning up dog poop and putting it in the stations. If the stations are getting too full too quickly please let me know. Rats are attracted to the waste.
We also ask that residents be sure to clean up any food and trash and if possible take it with them out of the park for disposal.
Thank you,
Midtown at Reston Management
Photo: File photo of Reston Town Square Park
A woman was robbed Sunday night when she was walking in the 12000 block of Bluemont Way at Reston Town Center, Fairfax County Police said.
The woman told police she was approached from behind by a man at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday night.
The suspect pushed the woman and took her wallet, police said. The victim did not require rescue. The suspect was described as black, 20s, and about 6 feet tall.
Boston Properties’ plans to build on Reston Town Center’s last remaining undeveloped parcel have been given the go-ahead by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The Supervisors on Tuesday approved Boston Properties’ plans, which include include two high-rise residential buildings with up to 549 units and nine levels of underground parking.
The plans also call for a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas. The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot zoned for office development.
Reston Citizens Group Reston 2020 expressed disapproval last spring when it was determined that the Presidents Park area near Blocks 4 and 5 could lose 60 feet of green space to the new development.
Boston Properties purchased the site at Fountain Drive and New Dominion parkway in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, Boston Property executives said they planned to change the zoning from office space to residential
According to the county planning staff report, which recommended approval of the project, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
Boston Properties will move the office part of the development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning that three-story retail/office building into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The board also approved a reduction in parking of 22 percent (up to 192 fewer spaces) because of its proximity to future mass transit. The planned Reston Parkway Silver Line Metro Station is a half-mile away.
Photo: Block 4/5 Residential Development Proposal/Credit: Fairfax County
There are three special events in Reston this weekend that are mark-your-calendar worthy.
Saturday
Ukulele Festival: The fifth annual Lake Anne Ukulele Festival takes place at Lake Anne Plaza. The fun begins at noon, with live performances and workshops that will run until 6 p.m.
To see a full schedule of performances, see this previous Reston Now story.
Sunday
Police Sports Extravaganza: With the 2015 World Police and Fire Games opening in Fairfax County in exactly a year, organizers want to give residents a sneak peak of some of the competition that will take place here.
There will be a Police & Fire Sports Extravaganza from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Reston Town Center.
There will be a full day of sports, music and fun so visitors can get a sneak peek at the 2015 World Police & Fire Games events, which organizers say is the largest multi-sport competition ever staged in the Washington metropolitan area.
Among the activities: live demonstrations of Honor Guard, Muster Carts, K9, Police Motors, Lawfit, Tug of War, Darts, Martial Arts and Sub Grappling; a Kids Zone; and a touch-a-truck area where youngsters can explore a police cruiser and fire engine.
Reston Town Center will be a hub of activity for the 12,000 athletes and nearly as many spectators here next summer. Town Center will serve as the athletes village for nightly special events. There will also be several competitions in Reston, including the Open Water Swim in Lake Audubon.
Summer Film Festival: Lake Anne Plaza continues its outdoor summer film festival with a showing of “The Breakfast Club” on the plaza a dusk (about 8 p.m.).
Bring a lawn chair or blanket and your own popcorn — though plaza restaurants will be open and ready to serve.
Photo: 2o13 Ukulele Festival at Lake Anne/file photo
What are you doing for lunch today?
Starting Wednesday, June 25, Reston Town Square Park will host food trucks the last Wednesday of the month. The event will run through late October.
Here is who will be parked at Town Square Park (at Explorer and Market Streets and Town Square Park in Reston Town Center) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today: Doug the Food Dude, The Big Cheese, DC Empanadas, and That Cheesecake Truck.
Another popular food truck spot in Reston is on Business Center Drive off of Sunset Hills Road. A rotating group of three or four trucks is parked there daily.
Fairfax County is considering new zoning rules that will make it easier and less expensive for food trucks to do business here.
CVS opened its newest Reston location on Sunday, finally bringing a convenience and drugstore inside the Reston Town Center.
The new store is located at the corner of Town Square and St. Francis Streets, in the ground-floor space of The Avant residential building.
While Reston Town Center has seen much expansion in recent years, some of the residents who live at town center lamented lack of a store for basics there. They could get a new outfit or eat at any number of good restaurants, they said, but were without a place to quickly pick up pain reliever or paper towels without getting in a car or walking several blocks to Harris Teeter.
The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
