With giving Tuesday on the horizon, the season of charity and gift-giving has arrived.

A number of local organizations have launched year-end campaigns and donations drives. We’ve rounded up some ways to help your neighbors and local nonprofit organizations.

Santa’s Ride

Drop off new unwrapped toys, games, books, and gifts to any Fairfax County police station through Saturday, Dec. 11. The items will be donated to Fairfax Hospital, the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center and other children in the community. The Town of Herndon’s police department is also participating.

Toys for Tots

The county’s fire and rescue department is taking part in the annual campaign. Residents can drop off unwrapped and new toys at any Fairfax County fire station through Sunday, Dec. 12.

Knitting Communities Together

Donate new or gently used handmade hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and socks for adults and children. Items are distributed to local nonprofits like Cornerstones, Homestretch and ShelterHouse. Donations can be made through Jan. 5 at a number of locations, including the Herndon Senior Center in Herndon and the Pimmit Hills Senior Center in McLean.

Reston Winter Coat Closet

The Hunter Mill District Office and Cornerstones are collecting new or gently used winter coats and new hats, scarves and gloves for neighbors in need. Donations can be dropped off at the North County Governmental Center in Reston between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Dec. 11 and Jan. 8.

Reston Elf Store

The recently renamed Cathy Hudgins Community Center at Southgate and the Reston Teen Center are collecting a wide variety of items. Suggested donations include candles, robes, nail polish, home goods, gloves, shaving kits and flashlights. Donations can be dropped off through Dec. 10 at the center in Reston.

Gift Cards

The county’s domestic and sexual violence services office is also accepting gift card donations. Mail cards by Thursday, Dec. 9, to Vanessa Cullers at the Domestic Violence Action Center or Gulira Alieva at Domestic and Sexual Violence Services.

The police department’s victim services division is also collecting gift card for child victims and witnesses of domestic and sexual violence. Residents can drop off gift cards or send them to Saly Fayez, Victim Services Section, 12099 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035.

Know of any other local opportunities to get into the giving spirit? Let us know in the comments below.

Metro Cuts Back Service for the Week — Expect reduced Metrorail service through at least the ned of this week as   officials continue their investigation of last week’s derailment. Silver Line trains will operate between Wiehle-Reston East and Federal Center SW only. [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]

Southgate Community Center Gets New Name — The center was renamed after former Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, who helped transform the old county property into a new community center. [Reston Patch]

Appraisal Roadshow Returns — Reston Association’s annual appraisal roadshow returns on Saturday, Nov. 6. Attendees get to take part in a treasure hunt. [RA]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Southgate Community Center will be renamed after former Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins at a formal community day next month.

Hudgins, who represented the Hunter Mill District from 2000 to the end of 2019, solidified the center’s future by recreating it as a county-owned facility in 2006.

The move was pushed forward by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who noted that Hudgins negotiated the land lease with Reston Association, secured funding, and ensured the project was completed.

The community day will take place from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 at the community center (12125 Pinecrest Road) and featuring games, kids’ activities,  food trucks, entertainment, raffles and more.

“Supervisor Hudgins worked tirelessly to negotiate the land lease with the Reston Association, secure the financing, review the building design, monitor its construction, and support the center’s program activities,” Alcorn wrote in a previous board motion.

A former AT&T technical consultant and programmer/analyst, Hudgins became involved in the county government as electoral board secretary and then as chief of staff for former supervisors chairwoman Kate Hanley.

The county revived the shuttered Southgate facility with a multimillion-dollar push in 2006, and it now offers community programs serving residents ranging from kids and teens to people with disabilities and seniors. The programs cover recreational, educational and cultural activities.

“It was her vision and dedication that has made Southgate Community Center the success that it is,” Alcorn’s motion said.

The renaming will be featured during a ceremony at 2 p.m. during the event.

Southgate Community Center is getting a new name.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday (Tuesday) to approve Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s suggestion that the community center be renamed after his predecessor, Catherine Hudgins, who retired from the board at the end of 2019.

The board directed staff from Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services, which operates the facility, to “work with the community” and report back with a plan for implementing the change.

Located at 12125 Pinecrest Road, the Southgate Community Center provides a variety of recreational, cultural, and educational programs, along with access to county and community resources. Recently, the facility has hosted regular COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

According to Alcorn’s board matter, Hudgins was instrumental in establishing Southgate as an essential community facility during her nearly two decades as supervisor.

“It was her vision and dedication that has made Southgate Community Center the success that it is,” Alcorn said.

The full board matter is below:

Mr. Chairman, for two decades, Cathy Hudgins tirelessly served our communities in Hunter Mill District, from 2000 until 2019 when she retired from the Board of Supervisors. She was a community builder with a passion for improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods that are often overlooked. One of Supervisor Hudgins’ biggest accomplishments and one that is a lasting legacy is the re-creation of the Southgate Community Center as a County-owned facility in Reston in 2006.

From the day this renewed facility’s doors opened, Southgate Community Center has been a mainstay of the surrounding neighborhoods, providing residents of all ages a place to meet, learn and play. There is a gymnasium, teen center, computer lab, multi-purpose rooms, and other accommodations. Children in need have been fed, pro bono legal advice has been given, English lessons have been provided, COVID vaccinations delivered, and teens have had a safe place to go after school.

Supervisor Hudgins worked tirelessly to negotiate the land lease with the Reston Association, secure the financing, review the building design, monitor its construction, and support the center’s program activities. It was her vision and dedication that has made Southgate Community Center the success that it is.

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, in honor of Cathy’s passionate and successful efforts, I move that the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) work with the community to re-name Southgate Community Center in recognition of Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins, and I further request that NCS to report back to the Board about the name change and an implementation plan.

A pop-up vaccination clinic will be open at Southgate Community Center in Reston on Thursday (April 8) for a portion of eligible county residents.

The clinic is for residents 65 and up as well as individuals aged 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions. It will run from 1:30-4:30 p.m. and is in partnership with the Fairfax County Health Department.

Appointments are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To make an appointment, county residents can go to the community center at 12125 Pinecrest Road or call 703-860-0676 to sign up.

Supply is very limited, though, with only 120 doses available for those looking for their first shot.

In fact, appointments almost were already filled up, as of late Tuesday afternoon, Southgate Community Center director Richard Cabellos told Reston Now.

The community center was just alerted about 48 hours ago that it will be hosting the pop-up clinic, but few appointments remain available due to Southgate’s walkable location and demand.

“It shows how many people want vaccines in Reston,” Cabellos said.

This will be the second pop-up clinic at the community center. The first one took place on March 18 and had only 60 appointments available. Those, too, got snapped up quick.

Residents who got their first shot on March 18 are being invited back for their second in the morning of April 8.

The doses for those in need of their second shot have been set aside and do not factor into the 120 slots available for first-timers.

Cabellos says there are plans to do another pop-up clinic in the future, due to popularity and the ease in which the community center can set up a clinic on short notice.

Fairfax County’s Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) community centers are scheduled to reopen beginning today (Tuesday). Reston’s Southgate Community Center is included in the nine community centers reopening. 

To visit the community center, community members must make reservations and sign a waiver in advance, according to a press release from the NCS. 

The centers will be open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., offering self-directed activities, technical support and the Parent Connect program only. Organized sports and activities will not be permitted, according to the release.

Children who are under 9 years old must be accompanied by an adult. 

The community centers will be holding temperature checks and health screenings upon arrival. They will also be requiring masks, social distancing, and will be frequently cleaning high touch surfaces. 

To make a reservation, participants can call their local NCS community center. More information is available on the reopening website. 

Image via NCS

Southgate Community Center will host community day on Oct. 19.

The event at the center, which is located at 12125 Pinecrest Road, includes music, raffles, moon bounces, cakewalks, a talent show, and food vendors, takes from place from 11 to 4 p.m.

The day is presented by Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services, which promotes the wellbeing of individuals, families and the community by providing a mix of recreation, educational and development programs.

More information about the event is available online. The event is free and open to all.

File photo

The Reston Association’s Design Review Board will consider tomorrow (June 18) artist Ben Volta’s vision for public art at the Colts Neck Underpass.

Volta hopes to combine hundreds of drawings inspired by the concept of pathways to transform the underpass into a work of art.

His work draws from the following statement by Henry David Thoreau: “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

Seniors form the Hunters Woods Fellowship House and more than 800 students from Hunters Woods and Dogwood elementary schools, as well as Southgate Community Center, are working together to create the artwork.

Volta expects to use between 600 and 1,000 designs to construct the final project.

The complete proposal, which contains draft conceptual renderings of the project, is available online.

If the DRB approves the project, installation could be complete as early as September, Anne Delaney, executive director of Public Art Reston, told Reston Now.

Photo via Public Art Reston

Reston Community Center will hold a series of events this weekend to kick-off the 33rd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration.

Tamika Mallory, co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, will deliver a keynote address on Monday at noon at RCC Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road). Tickets are $5 for Reston residents and $10 for all others. A community lunch will follow the speech.

Mallory, a nationally recognized advocate for social justice, worked closely with the Obama administration to push for civil rights, health care, equal rights for women and ending gun violence.

Leila Gordon, RCC’s executive director, said Mallory is among the “new and urgent voices” pushing the country toward realizing Dr. King’s vision.

“Reston’s annual celebration of his birthday has always been designed to reinvigorate our commitments to the goals of the civil rights movement and the values of Reston’s founding. We look forward to Ms. Mallory’s visit and her call to action,” Gordon wrote in a statement.

Tickets are available for purchase at CenterStage box office or online.

A breakdown of events scheduled for the celebration weekend is below.

Read More

Lake Anne Plaza is going to get colorful this weekend, and you can be a part of it.

Reston Art Gallery & Studios is hosting “Painting on the Plaza” from 4-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. According to an event information on Lake Anne Plaza’s website:

“Experience the beauty and vibrancy of the Lake Anne Community as the Plaza comes alive with artists painting en plein air. Join in the fun by painting or watching the artists as they work. Purchase an original artwork to take home. And while you’re at Lake Anne, don’t forget to vote for your favorite painting and enter the drawings for door prizes. Winners will be announced on Sunday at 5:30. The event will be held rain or shine.”

The event is being produced by the Lake Anne Merchants Association and the Friends of Lake Anne. It is sponsored by Pat and Steve Macintyre along with Reston Art Gallery & Studios. For a full schedule and information about how you can participate, check out the event details.

There is plenty else scheduled to take place this weekend in the area as well. Take a look at our list below.

(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.)

• Reston Association’s semi-annual yard sale (8:30 a.m. to noon) and the Reston Expo (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) are both scheduled for Saturday at 1900 Campus Commons Drive.
• The JamBrew series wraps up this weekend in Herndon. Tonight, live music will be offered from Right On Records, Tommy Gann and Todd Wight, and Black Masala. The free event is slated for 6-10 p.m. at the Herndon Town Green (777 Lynn St.). On Saturday, from noon to 10 p.m., the OktoBrewFest will rock the town green. Music will be provided by Bach 2 Rock, Darlingtonia, Unsullied, Dr. Robinson’s Fiasco and Throwing Plates. There will also be cold beverages from Aslin Beer Co., wine, nitro brew coffee from Weird Brothers Coffee, pizza from Brama Italian Cuisine, Nordic Knot Pretzels and much more.
• In celebration of 11 years of service to the community, the Southgate Community Center (12125 Pinecrest Road) will host its annual Family Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. According to information provided by the center, the event will include giveaways, music, moon bounces, refreshments and games.
• Chicano rock band Quetzal will perform Sunday at 3 p.m. at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) as part of Reston Community Center’s Professional Touring Artist Series. Tickets are $20 for Reston residents and $30 for non-residents.
• Friends of the Reston Regional Library will be continuing their fall book sale through the weekend at the library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive). The fundraiser for the library will be open until 5 p.m. today; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and from noon to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
• “Sue Wrbican: Well Past the Echo” will be on view at Greater Reston Arts Center (12001 Market St.) through Nov. 18.
• The Reston Farmers Market will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Lake Anne Village Center.
• The 16th annual TFcon, a convention for fans of the “Transformers” franchise, is taking place this weekend at the Hyatt Regency Reston (1800 Presidents St.). Check out its website for the full schedule and admission prices.
• Pulitzer Prize-winner display “Disgraced,” exploring Muslim assimilation and identity in America, will wrap up this weekend at NextStop Theatre Company (269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon). Performances are tonight at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 8 p.m.; and at a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. Tickets range in price from $17.50 to $55.
• The National Kidney Foundation’s Northern Virginia Kidney Walk is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at Reston Town Center. Proceeds benefit awareness of kidney disease, a top 10 public health problem.
• Many restaurants and bars in Reston will have live music this weekend. These include Crafthouse (1888 Explorer St.) every Friday and Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.; and Tavern64 (1800 Presidents St.) every Friday from 6-10 p.m.
• Kalypso’s Sports Tavern (1617 Washington Plaza N.) will have live music from The Vandalays tonight from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.; and DJ Kram will play Top 40 hits during those hours Saturday night.

A fight escalated to the point of gunfire Saturday afternoon in South Reston.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the incident took place at about 5:45 p.m. in the 2200 block of Stone Wheel Drive. Police say groups of people were arguing in a parking lot near the Southgate Community Center. At some point, people in each group pulled out guns and shots were exchanged.

No one was hurt; however, police say “several vehicles” were damaged by bullets. Evidence was collected and the investigation in ongoing, FCPD says.

Anyone with information should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or text “TIP187” plus the message to CRIMES(274637).

Lake Anne Plaza will host its first National Night Out block party Tuesday evening, one of several celebrations slated throughout the area.

The goal of National Night Out is to enhance the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while celebrating a sense of community. Its intent is to provide an opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

At Lake Anne Plaza, beginning at 4 p.m., National Night Out events will include kids’ activities, dance crews, a DJ and live music, food specials, a moon bounce, hula demos and more.

For the third straight year, the Hunters Woods Neighborhood Coalition will sponsor a midday National Night Out event, beginning at noon. Several other National Night Out events will take place in Reston, including an evening program at the Southgate Community Center.

In Herndon, National Night Out will be observed from 4:30-8:30 p.m., and HPD will begin by visiting the Harbor House. From there, two motorcades will visit 14 more neighborhoods throughout the town.

“This annual event is one of the highlights of year for the police department and another great opportunity to further enhance the our partnership with the community,” HPD says.

The Fairfax County Police Department will visit as many activities around the county as possible.

National Night Out was first observed in 1984. Thousands of communities across the United States, Canada and worldwide military bases participate in National Night Out each year.

Fairfax County officials will help unveil a new outdoor soccer court at Southgate Community Center tomorrow afternoon.

The community center at 12125 Pinecrest Road is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its new soccer area Tuesday at 4 p.m.

“We are very excited to celebrate the opening of our new outdoor soccer court,” said Richard Cabellos, director of the Southgate Community Center, in a statement. “This has been an outstanding example of county-community engagement and participation in turning what was once a little-used tennis court into a highly-popular and exciting activity facility for kids and teens in the area.”

As Jennae Duarte of the county’s Neighborhood and Community Services explains, it was the kids that made it happen. Read More

When D.C. United plays Real Salt Lake Friday night, one local group of fans will be watching closely: youth players at Reston’s Southgate Community Center.

D.C. United will donate $500 of soccer equipment to Southgate for every save the team’s goalie, Bill Hamid, makes in the match.

Southgate Director Richard Cabellos said the players at Southgate’s intramural program could really use new gear, including balls, nets, goals and shin guards.

“There is a huge disparity in our community with kids who cannot afford to play in expensive soccer leagues,” he said. “This will definitely help out with new materials and some cool stuff.”

The donation is part of “Every Save Makes A Difference,” a program established by MLS WORKS, Allstate and Univision Deportes  to benefit Hispanic community groups in Major League Soccer markets.

D.C. United’s Community Relations Coordinator Amanda Ortega says Southgate was chosen because of its commitment to the community and its large Latino population.

“Soccer is huge here at Southgate,” said Cabellos. “Not only is it a game that many of the kids and teens in the Reston area enjoy; but it’s also a means of bringing our diverse youth population together to develop the physical, mental and social skills that will help them achieve their potential.”

Cabellos said the youths are also looking forward to a visit from D.C. United players, who will drop by Southgate to deliver the equipment next week.