“American Idol” winner David Cook will headline this year’s Herndon Festival, set to take place from June 1-4 at Northwester Federal Credit Union (200 Spring Street).
Cook, who won the seventh season of the popular singing show, has since broken several Billboard chart records. The D.C.-based rock band Broke Royals will open his performance.
The Town of Herndon recently announced the line-up for the long-anticipated event in June.
Herndon’s own Pool Boys — a rock band that specializes in a mix of pop, rock and hip-hop — will kick off the festival on Thursday, June 1. Uncle Jesse will headline the event at night.
On Friday, June 2, Pablo Perez El Alcalde de la Salsa will perform, with an opening by The Chuck Brown Band.
On Saturday, June 3, Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & the Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band will bring zydeco, the Creole cousin of jazz, to the festival.
Cook will close out the weekend with a show on Sunday, June 4, from 4:30-6 p.m.
“We are incredibly excited to present such a diverse and talented lineup for the Main Stage at this year’s Herndon Festival,” Cindy Roeder, one of the festival’s organizers, said. “We have carefully curated a mix of nationally recognized acts and regional talent to ensure that festival-goers have an unforgettable musical experience. Get ready to sing, dance, and create lasting memories with us!”
The complete schedule is available online.
Reston Town Square Park (11900 Market Street) and Reston Station (1901 Reston Metro Plaza) will soon come to life with summer entertainment organized by the Reston Community Center.
RCC has organized six series this year, varying from jazz ensembles to family picnics. Some events will feature pop-up treats in other neighborhoods.
“Reston knows it’s summer when the sounds of great music can be heard in our beautiful plazas,” RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham said. “RCC brings people together to dance, socialize, visit an outdoor restaurant, or share a picnic basket. It’s a Reston tradition we keep expanding and look forward to every year.”
The first concert — a jazz show from singer Darden Purcell — will usher in Memorial Day weekend at Reston Town Square Park tomorrow (Friday).
A complete breakdown of the events is available below:
Take a Break
Thursdays, June 1 – August 31
7-8:30 p.m.
Reston StationBeginning with Don’t Back Down, a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers tribute band, the Take a Break concerts fill the plaza atop the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. Other performers include Texas Chainsaw Horns, Loudoun Jazz Ensemble, Scott Kurt and Memphis 59. For the full schedule click here: Take a Break Concerts at Reston Community Center. Concerts are presented by RCC in cooperation with MSE Productions, Inc., and are hosted by Reston Station.
Darden Purcell and Friends
Fridays, May 26 – October 13
5:30-6:45 p.m.
Reston Town Square ParkJazz vocalist and series curator Darden Purcell brings her group to open the summer series of “Darden & Friends” in Reston Town Square Park. This concert will feature exciting new arrangements of Great American Songbook repertoire and jazz standards.
Fab Fridays
June 2 – September 1
7-8:30 p.m.
Reston StationKick off the weekend with Fab Fridays featuring the U.S. Army Blues Big Band, festive rhythms from Dogo from Togo, merengue with Latin pop band Ocho de Bastos and many more. See the full concert schedule here: RCC Fab Friday Concerts. Three hours of free parking are available in the ParkX garage with validation. Concerts are presented by RCC in cooperation with MSE Productions, Inc., and are hosted by Reston Station.
Family Fun Entertainment
Saturdays, June 17 – August 5
10-10:45 a.m.
Reston Town Square ParkBring the kids for magic, comedy, puppets, music and lots of laughs. Family Fun begins on June 17 with Guava Jelly. Other shows include Rocknoceros, Lohr Family Antics, The Uncle Devin Show and Turley the Magician. Family Fun Entertainment is presented by RCC and Reston Town Center Association in cooperation with MSE Productions, Inc. Reston Town Center garages offer free parking on Saturdays.
Sunday Art in the Park with the Shenandoah Conservatory
Sundays, June 11 – August 27
7-8 p.m.
Reston Town Square ParkWind down your weekend with classical, jazz and cabaret-style music provided by faculty and students from Shenandoah University’s acclaimed music conservatory. The series starts June 11 with Ellington Caravan paying tribute to Duke Ellington. This series will run through August 27. Visit Sunday Art in the Park for the complete schedule. Reston Town Center garage parking is free on Sundays. Sunday Art in the Park is presented by RCC and Reston Town Center Association in cooperation with Shenandoah University.
Family Picnic Days
Saturday August 5 – Temporary Road Pavilion
Saturday, August 12 – Pony Barn Picnic Pavilion
Saturday, August 19 – North Hills Picnic Pavilion
4-6 p.m.Bring a picnic, your family and friends to Family Picnic Day. Play family-friendly lawn games, enjoy local performers and have some fun! Family Picnic Days are presented by Reston Community Center and Reston Association.
For a weekend, McLean’s up-and-coming soccer players got to learn from some of the best women to ever play the game.
Olympic gold medalists Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini all spent last weekend (May 20-21) at Spring Hill District Park teaching a camp for kids and teens.
More than 150 players registered for the TeamFirst Soccer Academy Camp, according to McLean Youth Soccer (MYS), which hosted the event.
“Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini continue to serve as an inspiration for young players and have maintained an active presence within the soccer community as well as provide a positive example for all youth aspiring to play the game they love,” MYS Executive Director Louise Waxler said. “MYS is honored to have been given the opportunity to have our players train with these legends in the game.”
Still reminiscing over an amazing weekend hosting TeamFirst Soccer Academy⚽️ Thank you to legends @MiaHamm @KristineLilly and Tisha Venturini for giving a special experience to our players!
📸 https://t.co/xK6H1GUCof#mcleansoccer🟢⚪️ pic.twitter.com/L5I5luRSHD
— McLean Youth Soccer (@mcleansoccer) May 24, 2023
For Hamm, the camp represented a kind of homecoming to the D.C. area, Waxler noted.
Prior to retiring in 2004, when she held the record for most international goals scored until 2013, Hamm played for the D.C.-based Washington Freedom from 2001-2003 as a founding player of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), the country’s first professional soccer league for women.
She and Lilly were both on the U.S. national team that won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. They repeated in 1999, when Venturini was also on the team. All three women won gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, with Hamm and Lilly winning again in Athens, Greece, in 2004.
Friends since their days playing at the University of North Carolina, Hamm, Lilly and Venturini partnered in 2010 to launch TeamFirst with the goal of developing young players in an environment that encourages discipline and teamwork.
Last weekend’s camp in McLean was open to male and female players aged 6-17. Participants got a Nike t-shirt, Nike soccer ball, and autographed player card.
McLean Youth Soccer has over 3,000 players on more than 200 recreational teams and 70 travel teams. The nonprofit organization is currently working with the Fairfax County Park Authority to potentially install permanent restrooms at Lewinsville Park, one of several local fields that it regularly uses.
Fifteen years after it emerged from the shell of the former Lorton prison, the Workhouse Arts Center will take the spotlight at Capital One Hall in Tysons as the top honoree of the 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards.
The center will receive the Jinx Hazel Award at the annual ceremony and fundraising event on Oct. 26, ArtsFairfax, the county’s official arts agency, announced earlier this month.
Awards will also be bestowed on developer and philanthropist Lola Reinsch, George Mason University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute.
“The 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees all demonstrate how the arts revitalize communities, improve our wellbeing, and spark creativity in unexpected places,” ArtsFairfax President and CEO Linda Sullivan said. “We’re thrilled to celebrate each of these awardees for enriching the lives of Fairfax County residents.”
Given to Capital One Hall last year, the Jinx Hazel Award recognizes “an individual or organization whose vision and commitment has helped shape the cultural life of Fairfax County,” ArtsFairfax says.
Opened to the public in September 2008, the Workhouse Arts Center is the only multi-disciplinary arts facility in the area of southern Fairfax County recently rebranded as Potomac Banks, according to ArtsFairfax.
The 55-acre campus hosts art studios, galleries, performing arts space, classrooms and the Lucy Burns Museum, drawing about 100,000 patrons annually with exhibits and special events like Fourth of July fireworks or the upcoming BrewWorks Festival.
The center is still being built out, with a new location for Bunnyman Brewing expected to open in a recently refurbished building this year. Future developments could include an amphitheater, more events and educational venues and even housing, depending on the master plan that the county is currently finalizing.
Reinsch is this year’s recipient of the ArtsFairfax Philanthropy Award, which goes to a person, corporation or foundation “that has provided leadership funding or long-term monetary support to the arts.”
As president, owner, and CEO of the Reinsch Companies, a residential and golf course developer, Reinsch has been a regular donor for numerous local arts nonprofits, including the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA), the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, 1st Stage theater in Tysons and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
Her contributions to MPA include a matching gift to support a future art and education center at Clemyjontri Park, according to ArtsFairfax.
Meanwhile, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will be recognized with an Education Award for providing arts education classes, clubs and events to older residents of Northern Virginia.
The ArtsFairfax Impact Award will go to the Inova Schar Cancer Institute for its Arts and Healing program, which supports a permanent art collection, ongoing exhibitions, performing arts events and 20 artists-in-residence to help patients and their families going through treatment or recovery.
Tickets and sponsorships for the awards ceremony are now for sale. Reston Community Center is the visionary sponsor for the awards, which typically attract over 300 guests, according to ArtsFairfax.
“The arts are the heartbeat of all truly great communities, and we can’t envision any world in which the arts aren’t central to what makes us human,” RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham said. “The arts play a central role in Reston’s neighborhoods and Fairfax County has embraced their vital importance to building vibrant places to live and learn. ArtsFairfax is the catalyst for these successful efforts.”
Herndon High School’s Pride of Herndon will celebrate its 75th anniversary later this month with a spring bash.
The band — which served as a landmark program in the county — was established in 1947. Since then, the program has ballooned into a program with nearly 200 students.
Here’s more from the program on the band’s legacy and accomplishments:
The Pride was established in 1947 by dedicated parents and citizens who convinced Vladamir Johnson, a Russian interpreter and part-time music teacher from Washington, D.C., to rehearse with a group of fledgling musicians in the rural town of Herndon. At the time of the first rehearsal, most of the students had never seen, let alone played a musical instrument, yet the band’s first performance was a short eight weeks later. Over the years the band program at Herndon High School has grown from the initial group of 40 musicians and 6 majorettes to almost 200 students. The band program has been recognized with countless awards and honors, traveled abroad, and instilled a love of music in countless students.
This year, the program includes 115 students overall, who fill a variety of roles in marching band, symphonic band, wind ensemble and other groups.
Alumni will take part the spring concert, which is slated for May 25. The program is slated to begin at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium (700 Bennett Street). The event includes a work called “Like Diamond, Shine” specially commissioned for the anniversary.
Though the solstice won’t arrive for another month, the spirit of summer is already alive at Tysons Corner Center.
After drawing a crowd earlier this month with its first-ever Taste of Tysons, the mall has lined up a variety of free Summer on the Plaza events and activities, including returns of its outdoor family movie nights and a concert series.
The movies will screen from 7-9 p.m. on one Friday each month, starting next week:
- May 26 — Moana
- June 30 — E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
- July 28 — Boss Baby: The Family Business
- Aug. 18 — Matilda
Complimentary popcorn and soft drinks are provided at the screenings.
Similarly taking place from 7-9 p.m., the concert series will launch in June with singer Jarreau Williams, an Alexandria native. In a change of pace from last year’s retro series, the 2023 program is intended to celebrate different genres:
- June 17 — Jarreau Williams (R&B)
- July 15 — Keeton (pop)
- Aug. 19 — Delta Spur (country and classic rock)
For those who can’t wait until June to groove to some live music, The Boro (8350 Broad Street) is hosting a May concert series with the Tysons Community Alliance. The last show, featuring the jazzy Julian Berkowitz Quartet, is coming this Saturday (May 20) from 1-3 p.m.
Throughout the summer, Tysons Corner Center will also have regular art, game, music and fitness activities on the Plaza.
From a press release:
Art Wednesdays
May 3-Aug. 23
5 p.m.
The PlazaThe first four Wednesdays starting May 3 watch live graffiti art come to life. The Lorton Workhouse and Live Art International introduces alternating art concepts for participants to take a drawing class, take home personalized airbrushed swag and more. All materials will be provided.
Wellness Sundays
May 7 – August 20
Class times: 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and noon
The PlazaEvery Sunday experience a new workout and learn about local plants and flowers for Wellness Sundays. Join for Fabletics and The Lorton Workhouse for rotating classes in Pilates, belly dancing, and Boot Camp class and creating your own take-home flower arrangement with Old Dominion Flower Company.
Game Night Thursdays
May 11 – August 31
6 p.m.
The PlazaStarting May 11th, DC Fray will host a free game night every other Thursday. Game concepts will rotate between Cornhole, Roller Skating, Ping Pong, Bingo, RC Racing and Pickleball. Prizes will be awarded!
Music & Dance Fridays
May 5 – August 11
Classes: 6 p.m. or 6:45 p.m.Join Silvia and La Musica the first two Fridays of each month starting May 5 through August 11 for salsa lessons and a musical workshop. For beginners, Salsa lessons start at 6pm and bachata lessons begin at 6:45 PM. The La Musica: World of Encanto music workshop for kids will feature musical genres from successful Disney films: Coco, Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros and Encanto for karaoke session with live percussion instruments.
McLean Day is just around the corner.
The annual outdoor festival will return for a 108th year this Saturday (May 20), bringing amusement rides, live music, food and carnival games to Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Started in 1915 as a school and community fundraiser, McLean Day has taken place at Lewinsville Park since 1988 and draws as many as 10,000 people throughout the day each year, according to the McLean Community Center (MCC), which produces the event.
Like last year, the rides will open ahead of the full festival on Friday (May 19) from 2-10 p.m. Wristbands for unlimited rides are on sale now for $20, a $5 discount from on-site ticket purchases.
Performances will be held throughout Saturday on a main community stage and a more kid-oriented juggler’s stage. The community stage will feature singing, dance and theater, per MCC’s website:
- 11 a.m. — Art in Motion (MCC’s youth dance class participants)
- 12:50 p.m. — Noah Asher (low-key covers and originals)
- 1:10 p.m. — Hull (alternative rock band)
- 1:40 p.m. — Unruly Theatre Project, The Alden’s professional teen improv group
- 2:20 p.m. — Minahil Ishaq (singer-songwriter)
- 2:50 p.m. — Kiril French (Broadway and pop solos)
- 3 p.m. — Teen Character Awards
- 3:20 p.m. — Kiril French (Broadway tunes and pop solos)
- 3:45 p.m. — Hull (alternative rock band)
The McLean Citizens Association, which organizes the Teen Character Awards, shared last week that this year — the 25th annual ceremony — will have four honorees:
- Alex Abraham: a junior at McLean High School who volunteers at the food bank Share of McLean and runs an annual coat drive for the Virginia Hospital Center
- Sebastian Herbolsheimer: a senior at Langley High School who volunteers as an EMT for the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department and serves as junior assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 1916
- Kasim Khapra: a sophomore at the Potomac School who founded the nonprofit MyPy Coding, which provides free, online coding classes to students in second through eighth grade
- Tatum King: a junior at McLean High School who volunteers for McLean Little League’s Challenger division, a baseball program for kids with physical and mental disabilities
As usual, McLean Day will also have a voting booth where residents can cast ballots in person for MCC’s governing board election. This year, there are five adults and 10 teens campaigning for three adult and two teen seats on the 11-member board.
Other noteworthy activities include laser tag, rock-climbing walls, a petting zoo, beachball corral, an activity called Bubble Ball, a magician and various costumed characters.
No parking will be available at Lewinsville Park, so Fairfax Connector will provide free shuttles from the McLean Metro station and three satellite locations: McLean Baptist Church (1367 Chain Bridge Road), McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) and Redeemer Lutheran Church (1545 Chain Bridge Road).
All of the shuttles will run from 10:25 a.m. through 6 p.m., according to MCC.
As roses, poppies and other May blooms flourish in Fairfax County, kids and adults can craft upcycled flowers at Mount Vernon Plaza in Hybla Valley next Saturday (May 20).
The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) will facilitate the art project at a free event dubbed “Chalkful of Flowers.” It will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the shopping center’s parklet at 7698 Richmond Highway, located behind Capital Chicken.
Also featuring collaborative chalk murals, “Chalkful of Flowers” will be the first official community event in the parklet, according to a press release. The 3,200-square-foot space opened in October after about five months of construction.
“With the arrival of warmer weather, we are thrilled to start activating the new parklet space as a way to bring the community together,” SFDC Executive Director Evan Kaufman said in the press release.
Attendees will learn how to make the upcycled flowers from local artists, and the crafts will come together to make a flower wall. Materials involved include tissue paper, dog bags and other recyclable items.
Artists on-hand to teach will include Anila Angjeli, CEO of Alexandria-based A-Line Architecture, and local art teacher Jennifer Droblyen. Other local artists mostly from around the Richmond Highway corridor were also invited to participate.
Federal Realty, the owner of Mount Vernon Plaza, partnered with SFDC to create the parklet, which features green space, porch swing benches, cafe seating, lighting, soma stones, landscaping and a trellis. SFDC is a nonprofit that supports economic development in the Richmond Highway corridor.
”When we were first conceptualizing the potential for a parklet space at Mount Vernon Plaza, we imagined events exactly like this one,” Deirdre Johnson, senior vice president at Federal Realty, said in the press release.
The event will feature live electric violin from D.C.-based violinist Charles “Bliss the Violinist” Tolbert. Those in attendance can also take in new murals that span the facades of multiple buildings in the shopping center. Restaurants in the shopping center will be open as usual, and prospective attendees can RSVP on Facebook.
Fairfax County leaders will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an inaugural bicycle ride and walk tomorrow (Friday) to celebrate the completion of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Trail.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck will join the Fairfax County Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services at George Washington’s Gristmill to mark the finishing of the trail.
The purpose of the project was to complete missing trail segments between Richmond Highway (Route 1) and Southwood Drive, a span of approximately two miles.
The project completes the missing links for the:
- East Coast Greenway Trail
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
- NoVa Loop Trail
Storck told FFXnow he has been pushing to get the project completed to connect more of the county’s Potomac Banks tourism sites and to provide new transportation and recreation options for residents.
“This new shared-use path now provides a continuous pedestrian and bicycle way from Richmond Highway to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, then north to the City of Alexandria and the District of Columbia,” Storck said. “It will also provide connections to the future ‘The One’ Bus Rapid Transit System.”
The project constructed a 6,400-foot-long, 10-foot-wide shared-use path, which includes a pedestrian bridge adjacent to the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway bridge crossing Dogue Creek.
“The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail will provide a continuous facility for pedestrians and cyclists along Mount Vernon Memorial Highway from Route 1 to the Mount Vernon Estates,” the county website states.
The project also provided marked crosswalks and curb ramps compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations and standards to improve pedestrian crossings.
The county incorporated comments from a 2018 pedestrian safety public information meeting into the design plans.
“As an avid runner and cyclist, one of my priorities as supervisor has been pedestrian and bicycle safety, and completing missing trail and sidewalk connections,” Storck said.
The locally funded project cost approximately $6.5 million. The ceremony will start at 10 a.m.
Frequenters of Reston Town Center can expect more sip-and-stroll-style events this year.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (May 9), the board approved Reston Town Center Association‘s request to increase the number of licenses it has per year for designated outdoor refreshment areas.
RTCA can now host up to 50 events — up from 16 — this year through additional Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) licenses.
The organization’s president, Robert Goudie, told the board that the request came after an overwhelmingly positive response to sip-and-stroll events at the town center last year.
RTCA patrons can expect at least 12 Darden and Friends jazz events in the spring and fall, sip-and-stroll events on the first Saturday of the month, and the return of Reston Concerts on the Town.
Goudie said RTCA pilot-tested the sip-and-stroll concept last year. Physical barricades will also be added to designate the area — a move that Goudie says goes above and beyond what is required by law.
“We don’t want to turn Reston Town Center into a constant pub for all,” Goudie said.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the proposal.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity lauded the effort as a major placemaking initiative.
“That’s all I could think when you were talking,” Herrity told Goudie.
