People

Helping Families Enjoy Holidays

ECHO continues its holiday food program to serve members of the Springfield community.

Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO) has been serving members of the Springfield and Burke community for over 40 years. The all-volunteer organization provides assistance to those suffering from poverty and emergency situations year-round.

Connolly to Hold Health Plan Workshop

Federal employees, retirees, and annuitants are invited to attend Congressman Gerry Connolly’s annual Open Season Workshop this Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Fairfax County Government Center.

Lake Fairfax Still Open As End of the Year Approaches

Although Reston’s Lake Fairfax park’s outdoor Water Mine Swimmin’ Hole is closed until May 2014, the park remains open to visitors and patrons.

Reston Exhibit Shows Wildlife of Africa

Photo exhibit on display until Nov. 30.

On Nov. 14, there was an evening reception at the Reston Center for photographer Patricia Deege’s exhibit "Africa The Living Wild."

NextStop Theatre to Present Two Holiday Shows

Herndon's NextStop Theatre is giving audiences two new Holiday theater treats. The two shows "have a tremendous amount of heart and can appeal to anyone who loves the holiday season.

Classical Ballet Theatre Presents Nutcracker

Annual production will run Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

The Classical Ballet Theatre will present their annual production of “The Nutcracker” starting Nov. 30 at the Northern Virginia Community College Annandale campus.

Herndon Cadets Visit Boot Camp

Naval JROTC cadets train at Parris Island, S.C.

Members of the Herndon High School Naval Junior ROTC got a chance to train in the same place as members of the Marine Corps for 48 hours, experiencing life at boot camp firsthand.

Haddad Ballet Presents Annual Nutcracker

Production will be at Madeira School Nov. 30, Dec. 1.

For the 22nd year, the Margaret Haddad Studio of Classical Ballet will present their performance of “The Nutcracker.”

Brooksfield School Celebrates 25 Years

School brings Montessori education with emphasis on ‘mindfulness.’

More than 25 years ago, Mary Anne Duffus was almost at the end of her rope. She was chasing her dream of opening her own Montessori school, but after searching at multiple local churches for space, she couldn’t find one that would work.

A Lesson on Thankfulness

Chanukah and Thanksgiving are deeply connected.

For the first time since 1888, and not for at least another 77,798 years, the festivals of Chanukah and Thanksgiving converge. It is a rarity that invites us to take a closer look at the underlying message of both, the common theme they both share.

Column: Invest in the Young

There is no program or service for which public dollars can be invested that will have a greater return than those invested in the care and education of young children. People who work in early childhood and day care programs have known intuitively and anecdotally for a long time that children in their programs were much more likely to be successful by a number of different measures than were children who did not have access to their programs.

Column: Election Day 2013

Some friends who work on election issues for the Democratic Party have pestered me to stand up and serve as an election officer. The last couple of elections Republican election officers substantially outnumbered Democrats working the polls—not a healthy situation. So, I bit the bullet and signed up.

Letter: Bad Plan for County Libraries

I find it very disturbing that after many hours of public meetings, hundreds of speakers, and thousands of emails and petition signatures about the proposed "strategic redirection" of Fairfax libraries you can still believe that absolutely dreadful plan contains many ideas "of value" which "should continue to be explored."

Letter: Response to Sharon Bulova

Perhaps I am mistaken, but your recent article ("Library Reorganization Deserves More Work," The Connection, Nov. 13-19, 2013) sounds to me like a repudiation of the hard-fought community efforts over the last several months to maintain strong library services. It also appears to be a pre-emptive strike against the Library Board of Trustees presentation to be made on Nov. 19.

Treasury of Art Show and Sale

Vienna Arts Society exhibition runs from Nov. 22 through Nov. 24 at the Vienna Community Center.

You can see art treasures in museums and art shows around the world, but, to see a treasury of art, one must visit Vienna the weekend of Nov. 22.

The Connection