The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday (Sept. 24)

• Ribbon Cutting: Zenola — 6-7 p.m. at Zenola (132 Branch Road SE) — Newly opened Zenola is hosting their grand opening in partnership with the Vienna Business Associaton and the Town of Vienna.
• Laughs In The Lobby Bar — 8 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 E. Maple Avenue) — This free event lets people gather for an evening of comedy featuring a variety of experience levels. All ages are welcome. Those wishing to get on stage should show up at 7 p.m.
• Happy Hour Mixer in Falls Church — 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Hilton Garden Inn (706 W. Broad Street) — The Greater Merrifield Business Association and the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce are hosting a joint event with food, drinks and networking.

Wednesday (Sept. 25)

• Community Conversation: Shaping the Future of Fairfax County Together — 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Marshall High School (7731 Leesburg Pike) — Fairfax County wants feedback from citizens about what they want their community to look like in 10-20 years. This is an opportunity for people to gather and give input at an open forum.

Thursday (Sept. 26)

• Alya Salon Grand Opening Party — 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Ayla Salon (139 Park Street SE) — This new hair salon will celebrate its grand opening with food, drinks, music, various product samples and a mini-fashion show.

Friday (Sept. 27)

• Friday Night Live — 8-11 p.m. at Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street) — Each week, this free event invites community members to gather for live music.

Saturday (Sept. 28)

• Merrifield Fall Festival — 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Mosaic District (2910 District Avenue) — This festival gives attendees the opportunity to enjoy some fall weather while listening to live music, enjoying brews from Caboose Brewing in Strawberry Park and shop at the local farmers market and on-site craft fair. This event is free to attend.

Sunday (Sept. 29)

• Plant Swap — 11 a.m.-noon at Botanologica (817 W. Broad Street) –– This free event gives community members the chance to trade plants or clippings. Organizers ask that participants bring only healthy plants, label the species and provide written care instructions for the next owner.
• Pimmit Hills Day — 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Olney Park (1840 Olney Road) — This festival invites community members to check out live music and various vendors offering live music, food and drinks. All ages are welcome to this free event. There will also be activities for kids.

Photo via Facebook

Merrifield will soon have a new Popeyes — and its infamous chicken sandwich.

The fast-food restaurant will be located in the Merrifield Plaza Shopping Center (2835 Gallows Road) and is expected to open by the end of September, Nader Saleh, the owner and operator of the upcoming location, said.

Signage outside the upcoming location and in the parking lot advertises a full menu, including the wildly popular chicken sandwich.

The eatery will be open every day from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., Saleh said.

Currently, two other Popeyes locations are in the nearby area, including one in Fairfax (9661 Fairfax Blvd) and Vienna (325 E Maple Avenue).

For anyone seeking employment, the location is hiring and people are welcome to apply online.

A Neapolitan pizza place plans to open a new location in the Mosaic District.

Pupatella, a local Italian pizza chain, put up signage announcing their new location at 140 Penny Lane, adjacent to Penny Lane Park.

The restaurant chain was founded in 2007 by Enzo Algarme, whose craving for authentic and homemade pizza inspired him to open his own pizzeria, according to the pizza chain’s website.

The menu offers customers a variety of pizza options, including traditional fried Italian food, salads, wine, dessert and coffee.

The Mosaic District spot is the latest in Pupatella’s expansion in Northern Virginia. The pizza local announced new locations in Arlington and Reston earlier this year.

Tysons Reporter reached out for more information and is waiting to hear back.

A local organization is hosting a charity tailgate to help people who are experiencing homelessness and struggling youths.

The Tysons Partnership event will have live music from the Decades Band, beer and wine tents, a pop-up playground, arcade games, raffles and a speech from Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, according to the event page.

The event aims to raise funds for Second Story, a non-profit founded in Vienna that works to improve the lives of struggling young adults and people experiencing homelessness.

Tickets are on sale for $30 and include two complimentary drinks. The event will be held outside regardless of the weather.

Drew Sunderland, a spokesperson for Tysons Partnership, said that the organization tries to work with local nonprofits in the regional Tysons area or surrounding communities.

“Second Story was identified as a great partner that was in need,” Sunderland said, adding that their work has a real impact on the Tysons community.

The tailgate is part of the Tysons Partnership’s larger Season of Giving, which raised money for similar organizations, like Food for Others. This year’s other events included a 5k and a happy hour event. In years past, the event has attracted over 1,000 attendees, according to the website.

Second Story supports a variety of people including homeless teens, survivors of domestic abuse and young mothers in northern Virginia, according to their website. The organization matches at-risk youth with counseling, shelter, food or other forms of assistance based on their needs, free of charge.

Teens between the ages of 13 to 17 and young mothers can text TEENHELP to 855-11 if they would like assistance from the program.

The party will last from 5-8 p.m. in Valo park next Wednesday (Sept. 25).

Photo via Valo Park

Tysons’ new 7-Eleven plans to host a grand opening party tomorrow (Friday) for customers.

Located on the first level of Tysons Corner Center, the convenience store will celebrate with festivities, including activities and free food from noon-4 p.m.

Attendees can expect a DJ, face painter and games, Todd Putt, a spokesperson for the mall, told Tysons Reporter. He added that the grand opening will also offer samples of sandwiches, brownies and fresh-baked cookies.

Construction for the location began in back in the spring.

The convenience store normally carries a range of items from personal care to food. A sign indicated that 7-Eleven applied for a license to sell alcohol.

Regular hours of operation for the new location have not been finalized yet, Putt said.

Absentee voting in Fairfax County begins tomorrow (Sept. 20) for the Nov. 5 elections.

Eligible community members can register to vote for the upcoming elections online or at the Office of Elections (12000 Government Center Parkway) in conference rooms two and three. Voters may also receive their ballots through the mail.

Absentee voters in the Tysons area may also submit their registration or ballots to the McLean Governmental Center (1437 Balls Hill Road) on Oct. 19, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Some reasons voters may want to submit absentee ballots include temporary residence outside of the U.S., confinement awaiting trial or those who have a religious obligation. Other reasons can be found on the Virginia Department of Elections’ website.

All absentee voters will need a valid driver’s license or state-issued identification card and their social security number to register.

This year, voters can choose candidates can choose between candidates for a variety of positions including the next chairman for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

For those unfamiliar with the process of absentee voting, Fairfax County published a variety of resources to explain the procedure and help answer questions.

Ballots will be translated into English, Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese.

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is seven days before the election, or Oct. 29 by 5 p.m., according to Fairfax County. All absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5 in order to be counted.

Fairfax County officials want to take a closer look at the costs linked to adding body worn cameras to the county’s police department.

After studies observing the impact of police officers wearing body cameras while on duty, several members on the Board of Supervisors came out in support of the new proposal. As body worn cameras get closer to receiving the board’s approval, two supervisors want more information to determine the fiscal impact of the project.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity kicked off the discussion of the body worn cameras at the Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday (Sept. 17) by asking what the fiscal impact would be.

The program would cost about $6.2 million by fiscal year 2022, Deputy County Executive for Public Safety Dave Rohrer told the board.

“That includes the Commonwealth Department of Information Technology, the police officers, the cameras, the storage and equipment,” Rohrer said. “It’s an all-in number.”

Braddock District Supervisor John Cook said that if Board of Supervisors approves the action items on the body worn cameras at the meeting next Tuesday (Sept. 24), he will request a report on how it could affect the budget for the Public Defenders’ Office.

Cook noted that the presentation about the pilot program included information about costs for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

(Updated 9/20/19) A new Burlington location plans to celebrate its grand opening today (Sept. 20) along Leesburg Pike in Tysons.

The store held a ribbon-cutting this morning, a press release said, adding that the first 500 customers today will receive a free tote bag.

Tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 21) from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., the store will host a family fun event featuring activities for kids, giveaways and a DJ, according to the press release.

Burlington offers customers lower-cost home goods and apparel options for men, women and children. The store will take up 42,900 square feet of empty space at Pike 7 Plaza (8355 Leesburg Pike).

The new store will be open from Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.

With stores in 45 states and territories, including Puerto Rico, the chain has over 631 locations and counting, according to the Burlington website. The Tysons location is opening along with two dozen other locations throughout the country this month.

“This new location brings jobs to the community and provides a great shopping experience for the entire family,” Tom Kingsbury, the chief executive officer and chairman of Burlington Stores, said in a press release.

This year’s 16th annual “Sunset Cinema” series features three family-friendly flicks in the City of Falls Church.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will host weekly movies at Cherry Hill Park (223 Little Falls Street) beginning at 7:45 p.m.on Fridays.

This week’s pick is Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch” on this Friday (Sept. 20), followed by “Hocus Pocus” on Sept. 27 and finally “Back to the Future” on Oct. 4.

All movies are free and open to the public.

Drinks and popcorn will be available for purchase, and attendees are welcome to bring picnic blankets or lawn chairs for comfort.

In case of bad weather, the showing will be moved indoors to the nearby community center.

Image via the City of Falls Church

(Updated 9/19/19) A company in the City of Falls Church is rethinking cell phone service to eradicate dead zones across the globe.

Lynk is a new startup in the process of launching satellites that will allow cell phone users to send and receive SMS texts anywhere in the world within 55 degrees north or south of the equator.

Though they aren’t operational just yet, they want to show partners that their technology is beyond that of science fiction, said CEO and Co-founder Charles Miller.

By working with cell phone companies, Lynk will be able to provide secondary service from satellites when it isn’t available from normal towers, Miller said.

The idea for the startup came from Co-founder and Cheif Operating Officer Margo Deckard during her time in Africa easing the impact of Ebola through data and satellite information, Miller said.

Deckard noticed people had a hard time communicating with one another using technology because wi-fi and cell tower service were not available and wondered if satellites could be a solution.

When the team first proposed the project there were lots of naysayers, Miller said. But given his background as a senior adviser for NASA, he was confident in the capabilities of satellites and his team.

“Basically people thought it was impossible and assumed it couldn’t be done because it defied conventional wisdom,” Miller said.

Miller said getting funding was one of the largest roadblocks he faced, adding that the company needed investors to fund prototypes and test-runs. After three rounds of funding, the company finally received in June the $12 million they needed to begin test runs.

Lynk will launch all of their satellites via a rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) and then from ISS into space.

Now, the company has 33 partners, including call phone carrier companies Telefonica Argentina and Vodafone Hutchison Australia, who are monitoring Lynk’s growth.

The company recently decided to rebrand from Ubiquitilink Inc. for clarity and ease of name recognition. Miller said that it was hard to spell and it didn’t translate well into other languages.

Lots of investors have been suggesting they move their headquarters to Silicon Valley, but Miller said he considers Northern Virginia to be his home as well as a hotbed for innovation.

Looking forward to the future, Miller said the company will focus first on establishing reliable text messages before they establish bandwidth for phone calls or data streaming services. He said 3,000-5,000 text messages can be sent with the same bandwidth that it takes to support one five-minute phone call.

“We would rather service 3,000 to 5,000 people than lock up that one channel,” he said.

Once they manage to raise capital through private companies, they will expand to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard, Miller said.

To meet their upcoming goals, Miller said they are looking to recruit one more investor by the end of the year.

The company is currently looking to hire eight different positions, including a vice president of business development and a telecommunications software engineer.

Image via Lynk.world