Fairfax County will continue providing fall leaf collection services at least until the 2025-2026 season, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services announced today.
Consideration of a proposal to eliminate the service has been suspended for now. The department sought public feedback on the recommendation this summer, citing environmental concerns, rising costs and “operational issues,” including staff shortages and collection delays.
Annandale Today first reported last week that DPWES has backed off its plan, citing an email from Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross, who represents most of the approximately 25,000 residents who use the county’s leaf collection services.
DPWES staff maintain that the service may not be worth continuing long-term, but the results of this summer’s online survey convinced them that it’s not the right time to end it.
“Seasonal vacuum leaf service is not necessary to maintain healthy trees, has negative environmental impacts, detracts from the County’s core residential trash collection service, and creates public safety challenges,” DPWES said in a press release. “However, results from an online survey conducted by DPWES indicated most respondents were in favor of keeping the service and many current customers needed more information about alternative leaf management methods.”
An online petition opposing an end to leaf collections has garnered almost 1,500 signatures. In an Oct. 19 update, the petition creator credited Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other supervisors who represent the affected residents with halting the proposal.
McKay’s office confirmed to FFXnow that he had directed staff to pause the proposal at a recent meeting with them.
DPWES says it will use the next few years to conduct an outreach campaign focused on informing residents “on more environmentally-beneficial alternatives to manage leaves on-site,” such as mulching and composting. The county also collects yard waste as part of its regular trash services.
The department notes that residents can petition the county to voluntarily withdraw from the service.
This year’s vacuum leaf collection season will start as scheduled in November.
The Halley Rise neighborhood in Reston will host its second annual fall festival tomorrow (Saturday).
The event will feature a spooky scavenger hunt, pumpkin painting, live music, bouquet-making and games.
The event is free and open to all. Tours of the neighborhood’s farm, which is located at 2025 Fulton Place, will be offered from noon to 2 p.m.
Introduced at last year’s inaugural Halley Rise Fall Festival, the urban farm by Up Top Acres grows food and donates products to organizations that work to reduce food insecurity.
Food from the Roaming Rooster’s food truck and A.M. Kettle will be available for purchase on site. Live music by The Dirty Grass players is also planned. Game options include corn hole, jumbo Jenga and a giant Connect 4.
This year, the Farm has collected over 1,000 pounds of produce since July to donate to local nonprofit organization Cornerstones, exceeding its goal of at least 500 pounds.
Online registration is encouraged.
Brookfield Properties broke ground on the Halley Rise project in 2019 and has since focused on constructing The Edmund, a 353-unit apartment building that includes a pool, terrace, and fitness center. The apartment building houses Wegmans on the ground floor.
Tysons Corner Center is jumping into the abundant pile of local fall festivals.
The mall announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it will host a fall festival on its plaza from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 21, declaring that the event will be “one of our biggest” of the year.
The festivities will include pumpkin-carving demonstrations from Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, live entertainment, a “Spookie Poochie” pet costume contest and “bark park,” a beer bar from Barrel & Bushel, crafts, face painting, a fall market, a Candytopia photobooth and more.
Starting at noon, singer Scott Kurt and his Arlington-based band Memphis 59 will take the stage. At that time, attendees will also be able to register their pet for the costume contest.
The top three winners of the costume contest will be announced at 3 p.m.
More music will be provided at 3:15 p.m. by JParis, a cover band that plays rock and pop hits.
The fall festival will be free to attend, but the mall still encourages visitors to RSVP through Eventbrite.
This year, the Tysons area has had no shortage of festivals to celebrate the coming of autumn, though the season’s arrival has felt more theoretical than actual so far with temperatures lingering in the low 80s this week.
Oktoberfest came to The Boro and Shipgarten in Scotts Run last month, and the Mosaic District held its annual fall festival last weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). The Town of Vienna is expecting thousands of attendees for its Oktoberfest this Saturday (Oct. 7).
An inaugural fall market is set to kick off at The Boro in Tysons later this month.
The six-week market — Tysons Fall Mixed Market — will bring more than 30 local producers, markers and food vendors to the parking lot next to The Boro’s sandlot.
The event kicks off on Sept. 20 and will take place every Wednesday from 3-7 p.m through Oct. 25.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Boro to bring a fall market to Tysons,” said Tysons Community Alliance CEO Katie Cristol. “This market provides the opportunity for Tysons’residents and visitors to connect with local small businesses and gather together in a fun and festive way, while shopping for unique goods from local makers.”
Some vendors will remain every week while others will participate on a rotating basis.
Weekly exhibitors include Ashton Farms, Shotted Specialty Coffee, Panorama Bakery & Al Volo, Little Tibet Boutique and Chic and Ethnic.
The event is powered by Tysons Community Alliance a nonprofit community organization that aims to promote economic and social development in the Tysons area.
Halley Rise — a major mixed use development at the door of the Reston Town Center Metro station — will debut its inaugural Halley Rise Fall Festival on Oct. 22.
The event, which includes live music, food and activities, also kicks off the introduction of the Farm at Halley Rise, an urban farm by Up Top Acres that grows food and donates products to organizations that work to reduce food insecurity.
Just under half an acre in size, the farm includes more than 30 vegetable, herb and fruit crops, along with beehives, a native flower garden, a rain garden and a meadow. The farm is intended to provide Cornerstones Food pantry and other local food security organizations with produce.
“At Up Top Acres, our goal is to create productive farms and gardens that foster a sense of community,” Up Top Acres co-founder Kathleen O’Keefe said. “We’re excited to welcome the Farm at Halley Rise into our portfolio and partner with Brookfield to reduce food insecurity and work toward a more equitable food ecosystem.”
Brookfield Properties broke ground on the project in 2019 and has since focused on building The Edmund, a 353-unit apartment building that includes a pool, terrace, and fitness center. The apartment building, which will house Wegmans on the ground floor, is slated to open in spring 2023.
Robert Swennes, Brookfield’s head of the mid-Atlantic and southeast region, said that the festival is part of an ongoing effort to make the development a vibrant community and destination in Reston.
“We are excited to welcome friends and families from across Northern Virginia for a day full of autumnal festivities, live music, delicious food and more, plus the grand opening of our new urban farm — all together should make for a wonderful celebration at Halley Rise,” Swennes wrote in a statement.
The festival will include scavenger hunts, a pumpkin painting station, a bouquet making stand, farm tours, lawn games and performances by local bluegrass band High & Wides. Pepe by Jose Andres, a food truck, will also serve up Spanish flat sandwiches.
At full build-out, Halley Rise will bring 1,600 residential units, 1.9-million-square-feet of office space, 240,000 square feet of retail, five acres of open space and associated infrastructure to the area.
A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties told FFXnow that the company plans to find other ways to engage the local community.
“Following this year’s event, we will continue to explore ways to offer family-friendly programming for the community,” the spokesperson said.
Theoretically, an intrepid day drinker could hit up all three of the Oktoberfest celebrations around the Tysons area scheduled for next weekend.
Provided they have a designated driver or don’t mind quick Uber trips from the Metro: here’s where they’ll be going:
Kicking off a full day of Oktoberfest activities around the Tysons area is Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road). The Merrifield brewpub is launching is “Hoptoberfest” on Saturday, Sept. 17, at around 11 a.m. The celebration will run all day and feature beers from various local breweries.
Shipgarten (7581 Colshire Drive) is launching the same day at 1:15 p.m. The Tysons bar is launching its Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 17, with a ceremonial “tapping of the keg” for a beer imported from Germany. the festival ends at 6 p.m. The festivities will feature over 50 beers from Germany, Austria and the United States.
Nearby, The Boro (8350 Broad Street) is kicking off its Oktoberfest an hour later. The Boro’s Oktoberfest will launch at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, featuring a biergarten, outdoor games, polka music and more. The first 150 guests will receive a free branded stein.
That same day, Cox Farms’ Fall Festival kicks off. The festival opens on Sept. 17 and will be open every weekend (Thursday through Monday) until Tuesday, Nov. 8. The festival features several large slides and a hay ride, among other attractions. The Fall Festival opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m., with the last entry one hour before closing, so the theoretical Tysonian might want to visit the Fall Festival before touring the Oktoberfests.
A little later than the others: Vienna’s Oktoberfest is scheduled to return on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. along Church Street. This year, the event is slated to feature two beer and wine gardens, along with a selection of international food, a car show and more.
A fall staple is returning to the Reston Farm Garden Market later this month.
Owners Lowell and Bonita Weinstein announced today (Tuesday) that the annual fall festival will return on Sept. 24 through Oct. 30, bringing activities like a petting zoo, a train, moon bounces, and seasonal produce to the farm.
“We love the annual tradition of the Fall Festival and inviting families to experience joy and take home pumpkins, plants or favorite Apple Cider Donuts,” Weinstein said. “We continue to offer a safe and clean experience for all of our guests.”
Local food trucks will be part of the event for the weekend, along with seasonal products like pansies, natural jams, organic honey, pumpkins, seasonal decor, apple cider and apple cider tonights.
While the festival was not on pause last year due to the pandemic, this year does feature different time slots, says Diane Murphy, a spokesperson for the garden.
The festival will be open Friday through Sunday with five 90-minute online ticketed sessions, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m. Admission costs $28 per child and $7 per parent, although children 2 and under can get in for free.
Other activities that are not included in the ticket include face painting, balloons, animal feedings, doughnuts and apple cider.
Staff will clean bounce houses and surrounding areas during the 30 minutes between sessions. Tickets are available online for purchase.
The farm is located at 10800 Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston.
