The new Sisters Thai in Tysons remains a work in progress, but community members will get a taste of what’s to come next month at Perchfest.
Set for May 19-21, the spring edition of Capital One Center’s biannual festival at The Perch (1803 Capital One Drive) will feature food tents for three of the development’s upcoming restaurants, along with live music, lawn games and other activities offered in the past.
In addition to Sisters Thai, which is building its biggest location yet at 7730 Capital One Tower Road, showcases are planned for Stellina Pizzeria (1610 Capital One Drive) and the upscale American restaurant Ox & Rye (7770 Capital One Tower Road).
“Capital One Center is delighted to host the next celebration of Perchfest — our biannual signature event at The Perch, which has become an exceptional rooftop experience for our community and Capital One associates,” Meghan Trossen, Capital One Center’s marketing and community affairs manager, said in a press release.
Trossen said there are no updates yet on actual opening dates for the restaurants. Sisters Thai and Stellina were previously projected to open in the later half of 2022, while Ox & Rye is slated for winter 2023.
The Tex-Mex restaurant Ometeo and a Spanish concept called Santi are also on the way, but they won’t be among the food offerings at next month’s festivities.
Capital One Center, the mixed-use development around the financial giant’s Tysons headquarters, has turned Perchfest into a spring and fall tradition since The Perch opened atop Capital One Hall in 2021. The festival typically draws about 15,000 people over three days, according to Trossen.
Next month’s festivities will include live music by local bands, kid-friendly activities like face-painting and inflatable lawn games, a morning fitness class, and a pop-up box office for Capital One Hall, which will sell fee-free tickets for upcoming performances.
The Watermark Hotel will also have a presence, offering merchandise and prizes as well as “VIP” packages with “special access to festival perks, an upgraded suite overlooking The Perch, welcome amenities and more,” per the press release.
Starr Hill Biergarten and the Perch Putt mini golf course and food trucks will be open throughout the weekend.
Perchfest will run from 4 p.m. to midnight on May 19, 11 a.m. to midnight on May 20, and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 21. Admission is free, but Capital One Center recommends registering in advance and making a donation to its charity partner, Lucky Dog Animal Rescue.
Easter will be a decidedly secular affair at Capital One Center this year.
The Tysons development will host an Easter at The Perch celebration in the skypark atop Capital One Hall (1805 Capital One Drive) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 8), a day before the religious holiday is observed.
The highlight of the event is an egg hunt, which will begin at 10 a.m. with a 9:30 a.m. check-in time. Kids are required to have tickets to participate. The $20 price tag covers admission and a goodie bag, though it doesn’t include a $3.18 processing fee or the sales tax.
The rest of the festivities are open to the general public, according to a media advisory.
Post-egg hunt activities will include:
- Live entertainment featuring Captain Seawalker and his Yacht Rock EGGS’travaganza
- A petting zoo with alpacas, bunnies, and other animals from My Pet Alpaca
- Easter k’EGG Roll
- Easter-themed arts and crafts station
- Easter-themed sack races
- Temporary tattoo stations
- An Instagram photo booth station
- Meet and Greet with the Easter Bunny
Capital One Center also recently reopened its Perch Putt mini golf course after a winter hiatus. Players during Easter at The Perch will get music, giveaways and prizes from the hosts of the radio show Toby and Chilli in the Morning on WASH FM 97.1.
Raffle prizes will also be offered from Capital One Hall and The Watermark Hotel.
For those looking to celebrate spring without the Easter tie-in, Capital One Center’s now-biannual Perchfest is scheduled to return the weekend of May 19-21, per the media advisory.
Just one day after Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, Capital One will kick off the inaugural season of its newly built baseball stadium in Tysons.
Capital One Park, located at 1600 Scotts Crossing Road, will host its first-ever games on March 31, introducing itself to the neighborhood with a double-header between Arlington’s Marymount University and Centenary University from New Jersey.
“Capital One Park, when it comes online in late March, will be an attraction for the community to come together and experience America’s favorite pastime,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said.
Approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in October, the park represents the first step toward developing the 6.9-acre site known as Capital One East.
Previously occupied by a parking lot, the property will be an extension of the Capital One Center campus where the financial company has its headquarters. It was part of the planned Scotts Run North development until Capital One acquired the land in May 2019.
Though a representative for Capital One told the planning commission it would discuss letting residents of the adjacent Gates of McLean condominiums use the field when it isn’t booked, Griffith says the baseball stadium isn’t designed for casual recreational use like a public park.
Instead, it’s meant to be “an attraction for friends, families, and community baseball aficionados to experience the game played at a high-intensity level,” he said.
Primarily made out of artifical turf, the field was built to meet NCAA standards. The facility can seat over 300 spectators and has picnic areas, restrooms, and a press box.
A schedule of games through Aug. 1 is now on the Capital One Center website.
In the spring and fall, the stadium will host college and high school baseball as well as the Northern Virginia Travel Baseball League. In the summer, the Potomac League — a wooden bat league for D.C.-area college players — will take over with nightly double-headers.
“In planning for Capital One Park, we have worked to ensure that the fan experience is front of mind with easy parking, game-day activations, and a robust concession program all as elements to complement and amplify the action on the field,” Griffith said.
Capital One plans to have an official grand opening celebration for the stadium in June.
Intended to be temporary until the site is built out, Capital One Park will later be joined by a publicly accessible urban park with a water feature, landscaping, a playground, a fitness zone, a plaza with seating, and food truck parking, according to the plan approved by the county.
According to Griffith, construction on that next phase of Capital One East is expected to begin later this year for a potential opening in late 2024.
Capital One Center has landed another brand-new restaurant concept.
Billed as a “new classic American restaurant,” Ox & Rye signed a lease in mid-December for an 11,000-square-foot, 318-seat space at 7770 Capital One Tower Road in Tysons, the Washington Business Journal reported on Friday (Jan. 13).
Developed by the Arlington-based Wooden Nickel Bar Company, whose existing establishments include Copperwood Tavern and The Pinemoor, the restaurant will focus on “local cuts of beef and unique twists on American classic dishes,” according to a press release.
Per the WBJ, menu items will include oysters, steak, wagyu, and lobster fettuchini. As implied by the name, rye whiskey will be prominently featured on a cocktail menu, along with selections of local beers and regional wines.
“We are excited to bring a new dining option to Tysons and can’t wait for guests to experience the unique flavors and atmosphere of Ox & Rye,” owner Reese Gardner said in the press release.
According to its website, Ox & Rye is anticipating a winter 2023 opening. The restaurant will include a “rye lounge” and private dining room for special events.
The announcement brings the number of restaurants expected to join Capital One Center this year up to five. Previously reported tenants include:
- Sisters Thai, which is opening its fifth and largest venue at 7730 Capital One Tower Road
- Ometeo, a Tex-Mex restaurant from the team behind Ballston’s The Salt Line
- Santi, a new concept from Cranes chef Pepe Moncayo that will focus on “Spanish culinary tradition,” per its website
- Stellina Pizzeria, which is filling the vacated Starbucks space in Capital One’s headquarters tower
A Capital One Center spokesperson says no opening dates have been set for any of the restaurants, but the development is “delighted to grow our retail portfolio with five new restaurants opening here in 2023.”
The budding mixed-use development around Capital One’s headquarters is currently a little light on dining options, though it added food trucks last spring with the opening of the Perch Putt mini-golf course on top of Capital One Center.
Known as The Perch, the elevated park also hosts Starr Hill Biergarten and provides access to Wren, the Japanese restaurant and bar in The Watermark Hotel’s lobby.
Designed to accommodate 6 million square feet of development when fully built, Capital One Center is nearing completion of a new office and retail tower. Bisnow reported last week that Capital One has started moving workers into the high-rise, but the company didn’t confirm that it will be delivered this month.
“We are moving associates into our new tower with a multi-phased approach and continue to offer a flexible work environment,” the Capital One Center spokesperson told FFXnow.
Capital One has officially gotten permission to build a temporary baseball diamond and two permanent parks near its headquarters in Tysons.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved two separate plans for recreational amenities on Oct. 26, setting the stage for work on the baseball field to potentially finish in time for the upcoming spring season.
Options for sports and recreation at Capital One Center are currently limited, aside from the Perch Putt mini golf course that opened this spring. The campus previously had an interim baseball field that was later replaced by Capital One Hall and other buildings.
“Having these amenities provides more things to do, reasons to visit, reasons to stay longer, and that dynamic is fantastic from a recruiting and retention standpoint for Capital One,” said McGuireWoods Managing Partner Greg Riegle, who represented the banking company at the public hearing. “It supports the growing retail program, and it’s equally beneficial to the surrounding community around the [McLean Metro] station.”
The first application calls for an urban park on the existing Capital One Center campus near the Metro tracks. Built on an underground parking garage, the park will have a water feature, landscaping, a boardwalk, a playground and an area for food trucks.
A temporary retail building and athletic facilities, including volleyball and pickleball courts, are also planned. They will eventually be replaced by a 33-story residential building and a 20-story office building.
The second approved application details plans for Capital One East, previously known as Scotts Run North until Capital One bought it from developer Cityline Partners in 2019.
Currently occupied by a parking lot used for Capital One Hall, the 6.9-acre property at 1820 Dolley Madison Blvd will host a 33,410-square-foot, publicly accessible park and up to 1.5 million square feet of development when fully built out.
Capital One East Park will include a water feature, landscaping, a play area, a fitness zone, a plaza and seating area, and food truck parking, according to a county staff report.
Before those future buildings come into place, Capital One will provide a baseball field primarily intended to serve travel and college-level summer leagues. While the private facility may be available to other patrons, the schedule is already mostly filled, according to Riegle.
“Demand for the ballfield has been substantial. In fact, we are effectively fully committed with leagues and tournaments and so forth,” he told the planning commission, saying the facility will free up the county’s other fields for schools and community groups. Read More
Halloween is showing up on Tysons Corner Center’s doorstep a couple weeks early this year.
The mall’s Fall Festival this weekend will include a full Halloween experience, with trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and other activities.
The festivities will mostly unfold on the Plaza, where Maniac Pumpkin Carvers founder Marc Evans will put on live pumpkin-carving demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be face painting, a photo booth, a vender market, a beer garden from Barrel & Bushel, and a Seasons52 wine tent.
Live entertainment will be provided by country musician Scott Kurt and the bands Under the Covers and The Moonlighters. In addition, the Traveling Players Ensemble will stage a puppet show from 1-5 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday).
There will also be a kids’ corn maze set up on Sunday (Oct. 16).
Kids who arrive between noon and 2 p.m. on both days can participate in Tysons Mall-o-Ween, where they’l be able to collect candy from over 40 retailers in the mall. Free tote bags will be handed out at the Plaza.
Advance registration is required for Mall-o-Ween, but only one ticket is needed per family, according to an announcement on Facebook. The mall encourages kids to don costumes, but Halloween masks won’t be allowed inside.
The Town of Vienna is also getting a head start on the season of ghosts and ghouls with Halloween on the Green.
From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, the parks and recreation department will offer snacks, games and prizes, story times, moon bounces, crafts and pumpkin decorating at the Vienna Town Green. The event page says a limited number of pumpkins will be available.
For area residents who’d prefer to celebrate closer to the actual holiday, Vienna will have its annual Halloween parade at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26. Saturday, Oct. 29, will bring costume contests to The Boro and The Perch at Capital One Center, and a Festival of Frights to McLean Community Center’s Old Firehouse.
The Mosaic District in Merrifield will close the weekend with a Halloween Spooktacular, which will feature trick-or-treating and a screening of the 2019 “Addams Family” movie on Oct. 30.
Finally, on Halloween itself (Monday, Oct. 31), Celebrate Fairfax will throw a party at The PARC (8508 Leesburg Pike) with “face painting, balloon twisting, mad science activities, and of course candy and other treats,” according to the Facebook event page.
One year ago, Capital One Center launched The Perch, a 2.5 acre park with mini-golf and a biergarten adjacent to the Capital One headquarters. To celebrate the anniversary, Capital One Center is launching a weekend-long festival.
Capital One Center said guests are invited to come play elevated mini-golf at Perch Putt or drink at Starr Hill Biergarten while musicians perform at the venue’s amphitheater stage. Other features of the festival include a meet-and-greet with adoptable puppies and a pie-eating contest.
“Participate in bocce tournaments hosted by DC Bocce,” the center said in a release, “enjoy specialty treats from community vendors; dig into one of the Wegmans-sponsored pie eating contests; play with Wolf Trap Animal Rescue’s adoptable puppies; and make an impact by supporting the Perchfest charity partner, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington DC.”
The celebration is scheduled to start on Friday, Sept. 16, from 4-11 p.m. It will continue on Saturday, Sept. 17, from noon to 11 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 18, from noon to 5 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. Online registration enrolls guest into a raffle.
It has been one year since The Perch opened, providing a slice of publicly accessible, recreational space on Capital One’s growing Tysons campus.
To celebrate the first anniversary of its elevated park, Capital One Center announced yesterday (Thursday) that its now-biannual Perchfest will return on Sept. 16-18 — almost one year to the date after the grand opening in 2021.
The three-day festival will feature live music from local artists, mini golf and bocce tournaments, pie-eating contests, community vendors with “specialty treats,” and adoptable puppies from the nonprofit Wolf Trap Animal Rescue.
While the event is free to attend, Capital One Center recommends registering in advance to get alerts and enter into a raffle. Participants are also encouraged to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, D.C., which assists families with sick children and is the fest’s official charity partner.
“We are delighted to celebrate this milestone with our community and Capital One associates,” Capital One Center Manager of Marketing and Community Affairs Meghan Trossen said in a press release. “The openings of The Perch and Perch Putt attracted close to 20,000 guests…and we look forward to hosting another memorable festival and raising awareness and funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities.”
Located 11 stories in the air on top of Capital One Hall, the performing arts venue, The Perch initially opened in August 2021 with a dog park, lawn games, an amphitheater and Starr Hill Biergarten. The park’s second phase was completed this spring, introducing a mini golf course and food trucks.
So far, Perchfest has been tied to key milestones in the park’s development, but Trossen previously told FFXnow that Capital One Center hopes to make it a staple event of every spring and fall.
The music schedule for this fall’s Perchfest is below:
Friday, Sept. 16
- 4-6:30 p.m. — Sidemen Band
- 7-10 p.m. — Advanced Party Solutions
Saturday, Sept. 17
- Noon-2 p.m. — The Dad Guys
- 2:30-4:30 p.m. — Nowhere Men
- 5-7:30 p.m. — 8 Track Jones
- 8 p.m.-10:30am Lil’ Maceo with DJ/MC Captain 2nutz
Sunday, Sept. 18
- Noon-2 p.m. — The Wilson Springs Hotel
- 2:30-4:30 p.m. — Pebble to Pearl Band
By this time next year, Anastasia, Aretha Franklin and Gloria Estefan will all have graced the stage at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road).
As its inaugural season draws to a close, the Tysons performing arts venue is starting to fill in the schedule for year two. Among the highlights will be the return of its musical theater-focused “Broadway in Tysons” series, which kicked off last October.
Announced earlier this month, the series’ second iteration will have five visiting shows instead of three, beginning on Nov. 25 with the 2019 Tony Award-winning adaptation of “Tootsie”:
- Tootsie (Nov. 25-27)
- Hairspray (Jan. 20-22, 2023)
- Anastasia (Feb. 3-5, 2023)
- R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (March 22, 2023)
- On Your Feet! (April 21-23, 2023)
While individual tickets aren’t available yet, Capital One Hall started selling season subscriptions at 10 a.m. today (Monday). Perks include discounts on single tickets, priority access, and the ability to reserve the same seat throughout the season, though the one-night-only, Aretha Franklin-centered “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” has to be added on.
Capital One Hall first opened to the public with a Josh Groban concert on Oct. 1, 2021. Upcoming shows include a 1980s throwback with Men at Work on Wednesday (Aug. 18), “Wheel of Fortune Live!,” the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and more.
The hall ceased requiring masks and proof of a COVID-19 vaccination for patrons on March 18, but masks are still encouraged, according to the website.
Police Uses of Force Prompt Town Hall — Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk’s office will host a virtual town hall on July 21 to discuss recent use-of-force incidents by Fairfax County police officers. Lusk, who chairs the Board of Supervisors’ public safety committee, said he shares community concerns “about both the nature of these incidents, as well as the frequency at which they are occurring.” [Rodney Lusk/Twitter]
Possible Reston Arts Center Delayed — Reston Town Center developer Boston Properties got approval to extend the deadline for when Fairfax County has to decide whether to build a new performing arts center by six months. A proffer agreement for the next phase of the center’s development allows the county to require an arts center or a park on the site along Sunset Hills Road. [Patch]
Local Students Take in New Images of Deep Space — “On Monday, the world got a look at the first image from the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, the James Webb Space Telescope…More images were released on Tuesday, and in Fairfax County, students taking part in summer learning programs got their first look with a NASA Solar System Ambassador in Burke, Virginia.” [WTOP]
Prepare for New Running Bamboo Regulations — “The effective date for a new ordinance designed to control the spread of ‘running bamboo’ is still nearly six months away, but Fairfax County’s Department of Code Compliance is already working to get property owners prepared.” [Patch]
Vienna Delivery Company Leases Warehouse — “Vienna-based LaserShip signed a lease for a full 105K SF warehouse building in Chantilly, Virginia, the company announced Tuesday. The property it leased, the Stonecroft Industrial Center, is located at 14850 Thompson Road…The lease represents an expansion of LaserShip’s Northern Virginia footprint, where it already operates in Chantilly.” [Bisnow]
Herndon Police Remind Drivers to Stop — “THIRTY citations were issued over the past two weeks for drivers failing to come to a complete stop. Stop. At red lights. At stop signs. Not only is this the law, but it keeps our town safer!” [Herndon Police/Twitter]
Mini Golf Enlivens Capital One’s Tysons Campus — “Eleven stories up, on a rooftop at the corporate campus of one of America’s biggest banks, grown adults are playing miniature golf…They’re at Perch Putt, an 18-hole mini-golf course complete with bright green Astroturf and undulating greens. It’s one of the more playful, if unexpected, amenities of the corporate landscape.” [Fast Company]
Vienna Community Group Auctions Custom Yard Signs — “Rustic Love and Vienna Arts Society, two nonprofits based in Vienna, have teamed up for an auction that launched Sunday. The auction features 20 heart signs built by Rustic Love volunteers and painted by Vienna Arts Society artists.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Humid and partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 86 and low of 74. Sunrise at 5:56 am and sunset at 8:36 pm. [Weather.gov]
