Around Town

A pop-up experience bringing guests closer to one of the world’s largest confectionery brands will be unwrapped in Tysons next year.

The Hershey Super Sweet Adventure will “transport guests into a whimsical workshop with games, activities and interactive fun” at Tysons Corner Center beginning “early” next year, according to a press release.


Around Town

A familiar face at farmers’ markets across Fairfax County has now set up a permanent shop in Reston.

Empanadas de Mendoza is currently in soft opening mode at North Point Village Center, but the doors of its second storefront will officially open on Dec. 6, co-owner Gabi Steelman told FFXnow.


Around Town

The long-awaited Vienna location for Texas Donuts will officially open its doors next week.

Next Wednesday (Dec. 3) is the scheduled grand opening for the new donut shop, located at 167 Glyndon Street SE, a spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow.


News

It’s nearly that time of the year: Folks are ready to give back as the holidays approach. Even with the federal government shutdown ending after a final House vote last night (Wednesday), families need assistance more than ever in Northern Virginia.

Local organizations and Fairfax County supervisors alike are collaborating on ways to provide meals, cooking essentials and more during this tough season.


Countywide

It hasn’t taken long for Fairfax County food banks to feel the effects of the federal government shutdown.

More empty shelves than expected greeted Rep. James Walkinshaw during a visit to Food for Others in Merrifield yesterday (Monday). He had stopped by the Western Fairfax Christian Ministries’ food pantry in Chantilly earlier that day.


Around Town

When the DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival announced earlier this fall that it will return to the Dulles Expo Center in mid-November, organizers didn’t know yet that their fourth year would be their last at the popular Chantilly events venue.

Though rumors of Ikea coming to the building had emerged over the summer, Dulles Expo Center’s management didn’t officially inform promoters that it will close in December until last week, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.


Around Town

Reston residents no longer have to travel to Chantilly to indulge in a bar or box of River-Sea Chocolates.

The chocolate maker recently began welcoming customers to a retail shop at 11495 Sunset Hills Road, Unit 100, months after expanding there with a new, larger production facility.


Countywide

Hundreds of volunteers congregated at sites across Northern Virginia on Saturday (Oct. 25) to collect, sort and distribute donations to local school food pantries.

Timed to coincide with National Make a Difference Day, the sorting events were organized by the nonprofit Food for Neighbors to help the many students in the region who struggle with getting consistent access to food — a challenge expected to worsen as the federal government shutdown approaches a month in length.


Countywide

Affording groceries, already a challenge for many households in the D.C. region, could become an even greater obstacle next month for thousands of Fairfax County residents with the suspension of federal food benefits.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, is expected to pause payments at the end of next week unless Congress and President Donald Trump resolve the budget standoff that has closed the federal government since Oct. 1.


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