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.
Mothers First-Ashburn is dedicated to supporting women who have chosen to alter their careers to raise their children at home. Activities include parent/child morning meetings and field trips, moms' nights out and lectures. Call 703-827-5922 or visit www.mothersfirst.org. Upcoming meeting is May 23, 10:15 a.m., at the Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn.
Loudoun County Master Gardener Volunteers invite the public to attend a free monthly meeting Thursday, June 1, at 7 p.m., at the Master Gardener Volunteer Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee Park, 60 Ida Lee Drive, Leesburg. In case of inclement weather the program will be in the downstairs conference room at the Loudoun Extension Office, 30-B Catoctin Circle, S.E., Leesburg.
Kelley Wagner, forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry, will speak to us about "The Urban Forest and the Effect Our Green Areas Have on Our Mental Health." Call 703-777-0373.
La Leche League of Ashburn will hold its next meeting June 2, at 10:15 a.m. The topic is "The Advantages of Breastfeeding to Mother and Baby." Pregnant and nursing women as well as their children are welcome to attend. Meeting location is the Ashburn Library located at 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. Free. Call a La Leche League leader at 703-723-9891.
Northern Virginia Writers First Friday event, June 2, 7:30-9:30 p.m., at Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. Author and consultant Sam Horn talks about how to create book titles and proposals that pack a punch.
The program is open to all who have an interest in writing. Program is followed by refreshments and networking. Cost is $4 for members of The Writer's Center and Leesburg residents, $6 for the general public. Contact nvw@writer.org or call 301-654-8664.
On Saturday, June 3, the Potomac Valley Shetland Sheepdog Club (PVSSC) is sponsoring two canine educational seminars.
The morning seminar will feature Dr. Bruce Hansen, a Board Certified Veterinarian specializing in dermatology and allergies, problems occurring in many dog breeds.
The afternoon seminar will feature Cathi Gorman, sheltie and collie judge and president of the American Shetland Sheepdog Association (ASSA), addressing "Breeding Shelties in the 21st Century."
On Sunday, June 4, PVSSC will hold a Sheltie Match and All-Breed Rally ShowN'Go (all levels) at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling. For additional information and register for the seminars, visit PVSSC's Web site at http://www.shetlandsheepdog.us/.
S.T.O.P.S (Survivors Together Offering Personal Support) will meet June 5 and all Mondays thereafter, at Broadlands Nature Center, 21907 Claiborne Parkway, Ashburn, at 6:30-8 p.m.
ST.O.P.S is a fellowship of young girls and women who may share their experience, strength and hope with each other, so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from the trauma of being sexually abused. Primary purpose is to heal and help other victims of sexual assault become survivors.
Mothers First-Leesburg is dedicated to supporting women who have chosen to alter their careers to raise their children at home. Activities include parent/child morning meetings and field trips, moms' nights out and lectures. June's meetings are June 6 and June 20, at 10 a.m., at the Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Road. Call 703-827-5922 or visit www.mothersfirst.org.
Mothers First-Sterling is dedicated to supporting women who have chosen to alter their careers to raise their children at home. Activities include parent/child morning meetings and field trips, moms' nights out and lectures. June's meetings are June 6 and June 20, at 10 a.m., at the Eastern Loudoun Regional Library, 21030 Whitfield Place. Call 703-827-5922 or visit www.mothersfirst.org.
Mothers First-Ashburn is dedicated to supporting women who have chosen to alter their careers to raise their children at home. Activities include parent/child morning meetings and field trips, moms' nights out and lectures. June's meetings are June 13 and June 27, at 10:15 a.m., at the Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. Call 703-827-5922 or visit www.mothersfirst.org.
Active retiree group, newcomers welcome, at Congregation ShaÕare Shalom, 19357 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg. June 19, 11 a.m., ÒOpera: A Feast for the Eyes, Ears and Intellect!Ó A discussion of 20th century opera sprinkled with musical favorites from the Virginia Opera CompanyÕs fall schedule.
Ashburn Classics holds its regular monthly meetings on the second Saturday of each month; usually at the Ashburn Library in Hay Road, with registration at 10:30 a.m. and refreshments. Guest speakers, seminars, short local trips and outside events make up the yearly calendar. Call Pamela Halston; chairperson, 703-771-7041. For people 50-plus years young who wish to make new friends and find new interests. The next meetings will be held on June 10 and July 8. There will be no meetings in August. The meetings will commence on Sept. 9.
Vestal's Gap Walking Club, for ages 18 and up, enjoy walking at a moderate pace with a lively group. Adults are welcome to walk with this club each Thursday; the club meets outside the Visitor Center and walks for approximately 60 minutes, depending on the route. Walkers with dogs on a leash are welcome. Must preregister. Walks are canceled if there is inclement weather. Free, runs through June 15, from 6-7 p.m. Claude Moore Park, 21544 Old Vestals Gap Road, Sterling. Call 703-444-1275.
Weekly Master Gardener Volunteer's Lunch and Learn at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, Ida Lee Park, Leesburg. Every Tuesday, at noon, beginning in May, Loudoun County Master Gardener Volunteers will make a 20- to 30-minute educational presentation followed by a question-and-answer session and a tour of the Ida Lee Demonstration Garden. The public is invited to attend these programs free, no registration is required. In case of rain, the program will be held, Thursday evening, at 7 p.m.
Topics include May 30, Proper Mulching; June 6, Growing Herbs; June 13, Colonial Garden; June 20, Pressing Flowers; June 27, Gardening for Hummers and Butterflies; July 11, How Bees Benefit Your Garden; July 18, Square Foot Gardening; July 25, Shade Gardening; Aug. 1, Gardening with Native Plants; Aug. 8, Growing Worms; Aug. 15, Water Gardening; Aug. 22, What You Need to Know about Lyme Disease; Aug. 29, Lasagna Gardening; Sept. 5, Harvesting Herbs; Sept. 12, Composting;
Sept. 19, Fall in the Garden and Sept. 26, Planting Bulbs. Call the Loudoun Extension Office at 703-777-0373.
The "Happy Hookers," a knitting and crocheting group based out of the Loudoun County Senior Center at Cascades in Sterling, donated a record 344 hats, 252 afghans and numerous other warm hand made items to the less fortunate in 2005. This group uses its talents to make and deliver handmade items to premature and newborn babies, long-term care and dialysis patients and the homeless.
The group is currently seeking donations of yarn, crochet hooks and knitting needles. The group meets on Fridays. from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., at 21060 Whitfield Place, adjacent to the Cascades Library. Contact Debra Williams at 703-430-2397 or dwilliam@loudoun.gov. The next meeting will be on May 26.
Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn, will be holding the Virginia Young Readers Book Club, 7 p.m., each month for elementary-school level, grades third-fifth, children. Includes reading one-two books each month, games and refreshments. Parents encouraged to join children in reading the selections. A limited number of free copies of each selection are available at the library for participants. Register in advance by calling 703-737-8105.
The book discussion group at Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, meets the third Tuesday of each month at 12 p.m. Call 703-430-2397 for the monthly book selections. The next meeting will be on June 20.
Are you a Virginia 4-H All Star? The Loudoun County 4-H program is trying to contact past All Star recipients who now live in Loudoun County. Contact the Loudoun County Extension Office at 703-777-0373 or by e-mail at kred@vt.edu.
The Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace hosts a Lunch Bunch the first Friday of each month at a local restaurant. A minimum of six people is required for each outing. The bus leaves the center, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, at 11:30 a.m. and returns by 1:30 p.m. Call 703-430-2397 to sign up. The next meeting will be on June 2.
At the CountrySide Women's Club's will resume meetings is September. The club is open to all women in CountrySide and the surrounding area; and meets at the Parkway Meeting Room in CountrySide, Algonkian Parkway. Call the president, Teresa Bettac, at 703-444-3035.