Around Town

The D.C. Shorts International Film Festival is coming back to Merrifield.

The four-day festival will kick off its 21st year this Thursday (Sept. 5) with an afternoon of movie screenings and a welcome party at Crescendo Studios, a music school at 8101-A Route 29 that features a recording studio, a Black Box typically used for concerts and other event spaces.


News

It’s not getting its name on an NFL stadium like a Herndon-based competitor, but Navy Federal Credit Union will still make its presence felt in the community this September.

On top of organizing an annual charity 5K, the military-serving financial institution is looking to improve a wetlands area on its headquarters campus in Vienna. The project will be presented to the town’s Board of Architectural Review at an 8 a.m. work session tomorrow (Wednesday).


Around Town

Reggae on the Lake, an annual event in Reston that celebrates reggae music and culture, will be back for its third year this weekend.

Hosted by Reston Community Center and the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Unit Owners Association (LARCA), the festival will take place from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Lake Anne Plaza (1609 Washington Plaza).


Around Town

The Mykle Lyons Commemorative Concert and Jazz Festival will return to Lake Anne Plaza in Reston this Saturday (Aug. 31).

For its fourth year, the annual celebration of Lyons, a jazz musician and longtime Reston resident who died in 2021, will seek to continue his legacy by raising funds to create a music education initiative for Reston Association.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter (FCAS) will waive adoption fees this Friday through Sunday (Aug. 23-25).

The shelter has more than 160 animals waiting for adoption, it said in a press release. That includes cats, dogs, guinea pigs, mice and rabbits.


Around Town

With temperatures at least temporarily feeling almost autumnal, the Vienna Business Association (VBA) is already starting to hype up its upcoming Oktoberfest.

The annual festival and fundraiser for the VBA will celebrate its 15th anniversary from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, bringing food, beer, artisan and business vendors, and live entertainment to the Church Street area in downtown Vienna.


Around Town

Businesses at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston hope to get residents and visitors buzzing again with the return of their new “Second Sunday” event.

Conceived by OmBaked CBD Boutique owner Radhika Murari, the effort to draw foot traffic to the plaza and its many independently owned businesses and nonprofits will expand on Sunday, Sept. 8 with new promotions and additional participants after a successful introduction on the second Sunday of August (Aug. 11).


Around Town

Ice Cream Jubilee will dole out discounted scoops and free hats this Friday (Aug. 23) to celebrate its grand opening in Reston.

After an extended delay related to permitting challenges, the ice cream chain opened its first Fairfax County location at 11990 Market Street, Suite D, in Reston Town Center on Aug. 2.


News

Residents of the Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon neighborhoods will have a chance to explore new research revealing the history and impact of racially restrictive deed covenants in their communities.

Later this month, Krystyn Moon, a professor of History and American Studies at the University of Mary Washington, will explain how certain racial, national, and religious groups were historically barred from buying homes in subdivisions along the Richmond Highway corridor, due to explicit restrictions written into property deeds.


Around Town

The schedule for The Alden’s next season has arrived.

Highlights of the McLean performing arts theater’s 2024-2025 Professional Series will include the world premiere of “The Remember Balloons,” a hybrid dance/theater production based on a picture book of the same name.


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