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Pathway to Zero in Alexandria

December 27, 2017

Viewpoints in McLean

January 2, 2018

Week in Vienna

Candidates Meet & Greet Forum in Vienna

Social Action Linking Together (SALT) and four co-sponsor groups will host “Fairfax County (NOVA) Candidate Meet & Greet Forum” on Saturday, Sept. 28, 9 to 11 a.m. in Patriot Hall at The Vienna American Legion Post 180. The address is: 330 Center St. N., Vienna. The phone number is 703-938-9535. Representatives of the sponsoring groups will moderate the forum. The public is invited.

Honor Flight Network Brings 90 Veterans to WWII Memorial

On Saturday, Sept. 20, mostly on the spur of the moment, I drove out to Dulles Airport to join my daughter and 4 of her children to greet WWII and Korean War veterans flown to Washington by the Honor Flight Network. My daughter had received an email earlier in the week from a home-schooling friend to invite her to the event.

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Fall Fun Abounds in Vienna

Festive events, the arts, and family activities keep the season busy.

The Vienna-Oakton Connection offers a snapshot of fall fun around the area. Look for our holiday fun guide in November, with details of the Church Street Holiday Stroll, breakfast or lunch with Santa, holiday bazaars, and the Wolf Trap Sing-a-long. In the meantime, grab a sweater, swish your shoes in falling leaves and enjoy the crisp, sunny air. And don’t forget school fall festivals and book sales, as well as The Barns of Wolf Trap, which presents performances almost daily. Over at Waters Field, there are VYI football games all day and under the lights … and the football fun is free. The Vienna Farmers’ Market, in the church parking lot across the street from Waters Field, is open through the end of October.

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Supporting Growing Hope

Optimist Club of Greater Vienna hosts eighth annual Walk & Family Fun Day for Growing Hope.

Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Vienna Town Green, 144 Maple Avenue East. Activities: *3-mile fundraising walk on W&OD trail, musical entertainment by Donaldsons’ Run, games, moonbounce, facepainting, balloon artistry. Dunk tank featuring teachers, government officials and Optimists volunteers, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. *Food and refreshments available for sale; proceeds to Growing Hope.

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Tour Houses to Represent Four Centuries

Ticket sales for Holiday Homes Tour to start in early October.

Ticket sales for the McLean Woman’s Club annual Holiday Homes Tour will begin on Oct. 1 at three retail stores in McLean, Vienna and Great Falls and will continue through Thursday, Dec. 5, the day of the tour. The stores are Mesmeralda’s Gifts of McLean (1339 Chain Bridge Road), Karin’s Florist (527 Maple Ave., E., Vienna) and Great Dogs of Great Falls (9859 Georgetown Pike). Tickets will also be sold on Dec. 5 at the tour houses and at a free “MarketPlace” at Trinity United Methodist Church, in McLean (1205 Dolley Madison Blvd.). The latter event will start at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m., concurrent with the tour. Tickets for the tour will cost $25 before Dec. 5th and $30 on that date.

McLean Theatre Company Launches New Season

The 2013-14 season opens with the exclusive concert performance of “The Last Five Years.”

he award winning McLean High School Theatre Company (MTC) introduces 2013-14 season—beginning with an exclusive concert performance of Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years,” Sept. 28, the family-favorite, “Annie,” the hilarious satire “Bald Soprano” as the Virginia High School League (VHSL) competition entry, the modern American classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” Performances appear in the Burks Auditorium or Black Box Theater and are led by Artistic Director Amy Poe. Advance tickets are available at www.mcleandrama.com or directly at www.brownpapertickets.org.

McLean Orchestra Begins ‘A Season of Festivity’

The McLean Orchestra has announced its 42nd season, A Season of Festivity. Embarking on Maestra Miriam Burns' second season as music director and conductor, the McLean Orchestra will offer five classical concerts with an illustrious array of soloists, including pianists, jazz vocalists, bagpipers, organists, dancers and more.

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Small Church, Rich History

McLean’s Shiloh Baptist Church celebrates 140th anniversary.

Late in the 19th-century, three figures converged in Northern Virginia, leading to the creation of one of McLean’s first African American churches. Cyrus Carter was a local pastor whose goal was to establish four black churches in Northern Virginia. The plan was to organize churches in Chesterbrook, Vienna, Arlington and in west McLean where Shiloh Baptist Church now stands. In 1873, Carter was able to broker a deal with local landowner, Charles Elgin, and Shiloh Baptist Church was born. “At the time, there were no black churches. Although this is where the majority of African Americans were living in those days, who were free,” said Pastor Robert Cheeks. “They migrated to this area as D.C. was beginning to grow. This was a predominantly African American community,” he said. Carter recognized the need for the community to have a place to worship. And after securing the necessary property, which still stands at the intersection of Lewinsville and Spring Hill Roads, Carter and the new congregation needed a place to worship while they raised money to start building a church. “It was difficult in that time, right after slavery, for people to save their money,” said long-time member Archie Borgus. But they were able to raise the capital, and the cornerstone was laid in 1887.

Elinor Scully Becomes New Head of The Langley School

The Langley School is kicking off the 2013-2014 school year under the leadership of a new head of school. Dr. Elinor Scully assumed her role as Langley’s next leader on July 1, following the retirement of Doris Cottam who served as head of school for 13 years.

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‘Science Is Fun’ at Churchill Road

‘Science Is Fun’ at Churchill Road

Laura Brown’s third grade class at Churchill Road Elementary learned scientific principles via hands-on experiments conducted by optical physicist (and parent) Dr. Jinendra Ranka. Dr. Ranka wanted to show the students that “science is fun and everyone can do science at home” (with proper supervision of course). The students enjoyed creating ooblek, a non-newtonian fluid, which has properties of both a liquid and a solid. They also demonstrated centrifugal acceleration by balancing a penny on a coat hanger. Dr. Ranka also demonstrated a laser beam and the chemical reaction created by mixing soda and Mentos candy. The grand finale of experiments was a rocket launch on the school’s back field, capturing not only the interest of Mrs. Brown’s class, but all the fifth grade classes who were out at recess.

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The Ultimate Guide to MPAartfest

Q&A on MPAartfest, to be held on Sunday, Oct. 6, at the McLean Central Park.

What and Where What: McLean Project for the Arts presents the 7th annual MPAartfest Where: McLean Central Park at the corner of Rt 123 and Old Dominion Drive When: Sunday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., rain or shine Info: www.mpaart.org/artfest.php

Chimney Installed at Runnymede

Structure will serve as local habitat for bird species.

Visitors to Runnymede Park over the past few weeks might have noticed a new feature in the median of the parking lot, a freestanding chimney.

NatureFest Returns to Runnymede

Annual festival will take place Sunday, Oct. 6.

The Town of Herndon Parks and Recreation Department and the Friends of Runnymede Park will team up to host this year’s NatureFest Sunday, Oct. 6. The annual event gives local residents a chance to explore the plants and animals that live in the 58-acre park.

Fully Accredited (Almost): One School Fails to Meet Minimum Standards

School officials were ready to celebrate victory until state included Arlington Mill High School.

The news couldn't have been better for Arlington Public Schools. Preliminary reports indicated that the Virginia Department of Education was on the verge of releasing standardized test data that would show all 31 public schools in Arlington would be fully accredited. Then the bottom fell out.

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Fall Comes to Reston

Multicultural Festival, Reston Home Tour highlight fall events.

This fall, several new features will come to two of Reston’s signature events. The Reston Multicultural Festival, which will take place at Lake Anne Saturday, Sept. 28, will begin with the annual naturalization ceremony.

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