It’s Officially Fire Prevention Week
The City of Fairfax officially proclaims Oct. 5-11 “Fire Prevention Week.”
Bio and Q&A with Gerry Connolly
Q: What do you think are your top three accomplishments in office? A: * The Silver Line. I wasn’t alone, but I'm very proud of my championship of the Silver Line and the fact that it's up and running and succeeding. It took 19 years to sort of get people to reimagine it and get it built. It was a long, tough struggle.
Pounding the Pavement
First annual 5K raises awareness of teen driving safety.
Robin Wallin of Alexandria has been training for this day at Cameron Run Regional Park for three months. She and sister-in-law Carolyn Wiser of Baltimore used a seat-to-5K app on their smartphones to prepare for the Oct. 4 race, encouraging each other through Facebook messaging.
New Packard Center Honors Suffragists in Occoquan
The characteristically humble Jean Packard allowed just a little egotism at the idea of seeing her name on a new center at Occoquan Regional Park.
Gone Girls Next Door
PSA roll-out marks one-year anniversary of “Just Ask” project.
On a sunny afternoon, a police officer pulls over a young male driver. There’s an innocent-looking, girl-next-door type in the back seat of the car. The driver responds to the officer’s basic questions with cold indifference. When questioned, the girl in the back says she’s fine. Maybe she betrays a hint of unease.
Help the Homeless Walk Breaks Record
More than 400 people walk to end homelessness in Reston Town Center.
Just minutes before the third annual Help the Homeless walk, Cornerstones CEO Kerrie Wilson kept tearing up as she looked at the crowd around her in Reston Town Center. More than 400 people showed up during their lunch break to raise money for Cornerstones by walking from Reston Town Center to the nearest shelter on Oct. 2.
Car Show Honors Former Principal
Hayfield Days Car Show benefits Auto Tech and David S. Tremaine Charity.
For the seventh straight year, more than 70 restored and modified icons of American motoring history rumbled into the parking lot at Hayfield Plaza Shopping Center. But for the first year, the funds raised by the Hayfield Days Car Show aren’t just supporting Hayfield Secondary’s Auto Tech Program.
Touring the Decades
Reston Home Tour explores homes of all ages.
This year, Reston Home Tour will take visitors back through the decades. Six homes, built from the 1960s until the current decade, are participating in the Oct. 18 Reston Historic Trust and Museum Home Tour the year the town celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Tysons Rezoning Consternation
MCA debates details of proffer agreements for two businesses.
Like most McLean Citizen Association board members, President Sally Horn is concerned how new Tysons businesses will affect McLean. Members debated two Tysons rezoning resolutions on their contribution to the urban center — stating their hope that the money would be kept in Tysons.
A Cracking Success
Hyland’s 24th Lobsterfest fundraiser fends off foul weather.
How does it feel to chauffeur over 500 head of fresh lobster, direct from Maine? John Harris, co-organizer of Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland’s 24th annual Lobsterfest knows.
MPA Hosts Annual ArtFest
Annual festival melds festival atmosphere and local art.
Artist Julie Lansaw has been showcasing her paintings depicting her travels on paint and canvas at McLean Project for the Arts ArtFest since its first year. The local artist said it is the best way for neighbors to socialize and buy work in the area. The eighth annual MPAArtFest attracted thousands of art and music lovers to McLean Central Park Sunday to enjoy the crisp autumn day with drawing lessons, local art and apple cider donuts.
Temporary Fire Station Nearly Ready
Current Herndon fire station is oldest in the county.
Firefighters at the Spring Street station will be moving to a temporary station in early November. The temporary station will be home base for the crew as the location, currently the oldest operating station in the county, is leveled.
Herndon Elementary’s New Sponsorship Program
PTA asks businesses for money to buy necessities for school.
Herndon Elementary is leaning on local businesses so they can lean on parents less. The school Parent Teacher Association started its new corporate sponsorship program at the beginning of the school year to help raise money for school needs that do not fit in the budget.
Children’s Studio of Great Falls
Students learn about art techniques through history.
In a cabin near Difficult Run Stream, Josie Gillespie paints a pear. She and two other girls are Karen Graham’s art students at Children’s Studio of Great Falls on Fridays, a two-year-old local business that doesn’t just teach children to make art — it teaches children to appreciate art.
350-plus Against Cluster Development
Basheer and Edgemoore rezoning proposal leads to citizen-backed petition.
There is a growing opposition to a cluster development proposal seeking rezoning in the village. After residents found out that the Brooks Farm pasture might be rezoned by developer Basheer and Edgemoore to residential estate to increase the number of homes built on the property, more than 350 of them signed a petition voicing their disapproval.
Fordson Place Shopping Center Holds Grand Opening
Lookout, Starbucks: There’s a new Peet’s in town. Peet’s Coffee and Tea was one of six new shops at Fordson Place Shopping Center that held a grand opening celebration Wednesday Oct. 1.
Going, Going, Gone
Contents of Old Town Theater auctioned off.
The entertainment phrase “bringing down the house” held a different meaning this week as the contents of the Old Town Theater were dismantled and auctioned off Oct. 7 after the landmark venue dimmed its marquee lights for good earlier this summer.
La Zona Rosa
NVFAA benefit held at historic Athenaeum.
The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association held its second annual La Zona Rosa reception Oct. 5 at the historic Athenaeum in Old Town. “This is a way for us to thank our supporters and board members as well as to welcome our incoming board,” said NVFAA board chair Amy Heiden. “This is the second year for this fundraiser and a fun way for us to say ‘thank you’ to our members.”
Art on the Avenue
Record crowds attend Del Ray festival.
A record 55,000 people took to the streets of Del Ray Oct. 4 for the 19th annual Art on the Avenue, one of Alexandria’s premiere events and largest arts festivals in the mid-Atlantic region.