Send announcements to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454.
This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost.
Ashburn Fire and Rescue Department annual photograph fund-raiser is underway. Make arrangements with the authorized staff in Ashburn Fire and Rescue shirts who are going door to door in the neighborhoods. For a donation to AVFRD, receive a free photo shoot and 11 by 14 photo. Or visit the Ashburn Fire House, 20688 Ashburn Road, Ashburn to make a donation and have photo taken.
Bring family, friends, co-workers, baseball team, pets or just yourself. Photo shoot July 16, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Call the Fire House at 703-729-0006.
Artists living within a 75-mile radius of Leesburg are invited to submit work to the fifth annual "Something Hot" juried exhibition hold by Gallery 222. Artists may submit two pieces of original artwork for a $25 entry fee. Artwork will be accepted at the Gallery Saturday, July 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Selected works will be displayed at the Gallery between Aug. 2-26, and an opening reception will be held Friday, Aug. 4, during Leesburg's First Friday event in the downtown historic district. A prospectus is online at www.gallery222.com or contact Gallery 222 at 703-777-5498.
Northern Virginia Family Service is seeking donations for its 2006 Back To School Drive, which helps children of low-income families prepare for the school year ahead by equipping them with new school supplies.
Participants will be provided with a childÕs first name, age, gender and grade level as well as what they will need to begin school. A typical donation would consist of a backpack and several items such as notebooks, paper, pencils, etc. Gift cards or monetary donations are also accepted. Supplies must be collected by July 31.
For more information on how to donate school supplies or volunteer time to this project, call 703-219-3978.
Voce Chamber Singers, a 24-member mixed choral ensemble, will hold auditions for its 2006-2007 concert series. There are openings in all voice parts, and all soloists are selected from within the ensemble.
Voce rehearses on Monday evenings, September through May, in Vienna, and performs in Northern Virginia.
Auditions will be scheduled on the evenings of Aug. 30 and 31, and at other times by appointment. To schedule an audition, leave a message at 703-277-7772 or send an e-mail VoceVA@hotmail.com with your choral experience and contact information. Visit Voce's Web site at www.voce.org.
Leadership Loudoun, a 10-month program dedicated to developing and engaging leaders who work together to serve the good of Loudoun County, is accepting applications for the Class of 2007. The program begins in October.
During the program year, participants explore current challenges facing the county and learn how to become agents of change.
Graduates of the program are active in the county as they serve on boards, commissions and committees and volunteer with area nonprofits and community organizations.
The application deadline is Sept. 1. Contact Robin Geiger at 703-771-5511 or by e-mail at rgeiger@loudoun.gov.
The Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra will hold auditions for the 2006-2007 season. Open to young musicians age 10-18 years who have had a minimum of two years of private instruction or who have participated in a school band or orchestra program for two years. The orchestra meets weekly in Leesburg, performs three-four times per year and is conducted by Mark Allen McCoy. Auditions will be held Saturday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 17, at Loudoun Country Day School in Leesburg. There is no audition fee, however, individuals must preregister to arrange an audition.
The audition requirements are a short solo, scales up to three flats and three sharps, two or three octaves, and sight-reading. Students must provide their own instrument. A limited number of financial aid scholarships are available. Contact the Loudoun Symphony office at 703-771-8287 or e-mail LSYO@loudounsymphony.org.
The Loudoun Symphony announces performing opportunities for paid principal string positions and for nonpaid section strings and brass positions for the 2006-2007 season. Paid principal string positions are assistant concertmaster and principal viola. Nonpaid positions are second trumpet, fourth horn and section strings. Auditions will take place in the afternoon Sunday, Sept. 10, in Leesburg. The orchestra rehearsals for the 2006-2007 season are Wednesday evenings, September 2006-May 2007.
Individuals interested in auditioning should specify the instrument and send name, address, and daytime phone number along with a $5 nonrefundable fee payable to: Loudoun Symphony, P.O. Box 4478, Leesburg, VA 20177. Repertoire and an audition time slot will be forwarded by mail. Call the Loudoun Symphony office at 703-771-8287.
Leesburg Crossroads' ÒFall into the ArtsÓ committee invites all Northern Virginia artists, in any fine-art media, to submit work for a juried art exhibit at LeesburgÕs fourth annual ÒFall into the Arts festival.Ó This yearÕs festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 14, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., in historic downtown Leesburg.
Artists may submit up to three original works as photos, slides or jpegs to ÒFall into the Arts Jury,Ó c/o Loudoun Academy of the Arts, 222 South King St., Leesburg, VA 20175 or e-mail jpegs to lcapraro@leesburgva.gov. The entry deadline is Sept. 14. Call 703-737-7084 or visit www.fallintothearts.org.
Loudoun Volunteer Services seeks nominations for Student Volunteer of the Month. Loudoun students will be recognized for their volunteer efforts during the 2004-2005 school year. Nominate students, or groups of students, elementary-12th grade, who volunteer their time in a variety of ways in their schools, churches, and towns. A one-page narrative may be sent to the Loudoun Volunteer Services Board at pivs@loudoun.gov or to 1 Harrison St., S.E., P.O. Box 7000, Leesburg, VA 20177.
The one-page narrative should include the student's name, address, telephone number, school and a description, including length of service of the exemplary volunteer efforts of the student. Contact information for the person nominating the student should also be included.
Volunteers will be featured in the Loudoun Volunteer Services Newsletter and on the Loudoun County Government Web site. Contact Lisa Rose, volunteer coordinator, at
703-777-0113.
The Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management (OSWM) recently helped arrange a donation of 1,000 unused bicycle tires to the nonprofit group Bikes for the World.
Wavecrest Laboratories LLC contacted the OSWM concerning proper disposal of 1,000 unused bicycle tires. Kate Glass, Loudoun County's recycling coordinator, contacted Keith Oberg, director of the Arlington-based group Bikes for the World about the tires. The 1,000 bicycle tires will ultimately be transported to a Bikes for the World warehouse for placement in community development programs in developing countries.
Glass reminds businesses that they are required to recycle and that the OSWM can provide assistance identifying recycling opportunities for everything from newspapers to bicycle tires. More information about business recycling requirements is available on the Loudoun County
Web site at www.loudoun.gov/oswm/recycle/business.htm.
Bikes for the World accepts donations from corporate and private donors. More information is available on the group's Web site at www.bikesfortheworld.org.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma SocietyÕs Team In Training (TNT) program has guaranteed race entries into the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon. TNT trains participants with help from certified coaches who develop a training program. In addition to running, the TNT also has a walk and run/walk program where participants with different abilities can alternate running and walking.
As participants train for the marathon, they also help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise money to fund cancer research and patient support services.
Individuals interested in joining the TNT program for the Marine Corps Marathon or any of TNTÕs fall season events, call 703-960-1100 or visiting www.teamintraining.org/nca.
The grassroots nonprofit organization, Operation Pinecone, based in South Riding, strives to support the service members and their families by sending care packages abroad and delivering comfort items and providing support in various ways to service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. There are collection boxes for donations for this cause throughout Loudoun County. Visit Operation Pinecone, www.operationpinecone.org.
The Loudoun School Community Coalitions sponsor the ÒParents Who Host Lose the MostÓ campaign to reduce underage drinking and is asking parents to take a survey by visiting www.loudoun.k12.va.us, and click on the Òfor ParentsÓ button, then ÒCoalitions,Ó then the George Mason University survey button. It takes about three minutes, then hit the submit button.
Sponsored by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Preloaded Playaway, a self-playing, self-contained digital audio book, audio books will be available by the end of June at all Loudoun County Public Library branches. Each palm-sized unit is permanently loaded with one audio book. Each Playaway is packaged with earphone, a lanyard and batteries.
Residents and businesses using the Loudoun County Recycling Drop-off Centers are reminded that the recycling centers accept only mixed bottles, cans, and paper. Specifically, items that are accepted at the recycling centers include clear- and colored-glass bottles and jars; aluminum and steel cans; plastic bottles and jugs Ñ beverage, detergent and squeeze bottles and jugs only; newspapers; magazines; phone books; catalogs; junk mail; office paper; cardboard; and paperboard such as cereal boxes.
Items that are not accepted at the centers include plastic bags; plastic flower pots; Styrofoam; or any other type of plastic that is not specifically a bottle or jug; window glass; plate-glass; porcelain; wood; yard waste; furniture; needles; nails; construction materials; electronics; hazardous chemicals or chemical containers; and motor oil containers.
If an item is not listed on the sign as acceptable for recycling, do not deposit it in the recycling bin, and instead call the Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management at 703-777-0187. For more information visit www.loudoun.gov/oswm.