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Tysons to celebrate new mural with live painting, a food truck, and more

A glimpse of artist Rodrigo Pradel’s new mural for the PARC at Tysons on Route 7 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Get ready to paint the town — literally.

Celebrate Fairfax, the nonprofit best known for organizing the annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, will unveil a new public mural tomorrow (Saturday) for the PARC at Tysons.

Painted by Northern Virginia resident and artist Rodrigo Pradel, the colorful artwork can already be seen covering the squat building at 8508 Leesburg Pike that previously housed a Container Store.

“It is a stunning piece of work and its outward visibility from the Metro and surrounding area will be a fun draw to the venue,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said in a news release. “The PARC brings events focused on Tysons’ art and culture offerings as well as numerous events focused on local retail and small businesses.”

A collaboration between Celebrate Fairfax, Tysons Partnership, and the alternative art gallery ArtWhino, the mural will make its official debut with a free party from noon to 5 p.m.

In addition to live painting demonstrations by Pradel, the celebration will offer kids’ activities, music from DJ Cabezon, and a market with local artisans and craftspeople. The food truck Pakos Fresh Mex and Caboose Brewing Company will also be on hand to provide sustenance.

Noting that PARC stands for “People, Arts, Recreation and Community,” Celebrate Fairfax spokesperson Katie Rorer says the organization saw the mural as “a great way” to highlight the importance of the arts to the venue.

“The goal was to deliver something colorful and bold to activate the new space with something that captures the vibrancy of the surrounding community,” Rorer said. “Rodrigo’s abstract approach combined with his experience and apprenticeships on several major mural installations in Tysons made him an ideal fit for this project.”

Acquired by Fairfax County in 2019, the former Container Store served as a storage facility for personal protective equipment and a hypothermia shelter during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic before the PARC launched in September.

The events venue has become a key part of the county’s effort to give Tysons a stronger sense of place beyond the malls and office buildings that defined the area for decades.

“The mural at the PARC is just one more example of how Tysons is building our community to engage all residents, business, and visitors,” Tysons Partnership Deputy Executive Director Drew Sunderland said. “We are focused on driving sustained economic interest which will continue to fuel our future growth. We love the PARC design and look forward to celebrating with everyone involved.”

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Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.

To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!

We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!

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Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!

Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.

Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!

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Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!

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