After kicking its new season off by exploring generational divides, 1st Stage Theatre in Tysons has a comedy opening this week about an air guitar competition.
“Airness” will delve into a woman’s journey when she enters an air guitar competition and befriends a group of nerds, according to the theater’s description of the show.
The show, which is a regional premiere co-production with D.C.-based Keegan Theatre, starts on Thursday (Dec. 5) and runs until Dec. 29.
Performances for “Airness” are:
- Thursdays — 7:30 p.m.
- Fridays — 8 p.m.
- Saturdays — 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Sundays — 2 p.m.
General admission tickets are $42 or $39 for seniors. Students and military tickets are $15.
Today is Cyber Monday — a growing shopping day for people looking to score deals during the holiday season.
While Black Friday still draws shoppers to malls, the online retail focus of Cyber Monday offers a convenient option for shoppers. Meanwhile, Small Business Saturday encourages people to shop locally.
Of the holiday shopping days, let Tysons Reporter know which one you took the most advantage of.
Vienna Consulting Firm Acquired — “RyanSharkey LLP, an accounting and consulting firm in Vienna, will become part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP (DHG) as of Dec. 1.” [Virginia Business]
W&OD Trail Face Lift in Falls Church — “The scenic Washington & Old Dominion Trail that courses through the City of Falls Church is undergoing a serious facelift, with a host of benefits expected to boost the city’s transportation infrastructure and the region’s environment when the project is completed by the fall of 2020.” [Falls Church News-Press]
FCPS Scores High on Environmental Ranking — “Fairfax County Public Schools has earned “Platinum” status in the Virginia School Board Association’s “Green Schools Challenge” for 2019.” [Inside NoVa]
Tysons Office Sold For $80 Million — “A six-story Tysons office building has sold for $80.5 million, roughly three times what it sold for just four years ago… Northridge Capital and partner KAMCO Investment Co., a Kuwaiti-based investment firm, has acquired 1550 Westbranch Drive.” [Washington Business Journal]
Both Tysons malls have extended their hours for Black Friday (Nov. 29).
Shoppers looking to score deals right away can head to Tysons Corner Center to start shopping right after their Thanksgiving celebrations. The mall plans to be open on Thanksgiving from 6 p.m. to midnight and then close at 10 p.m. on Friday.
Shoppers can stop by the mall’s concierge desk on The Plaza Concourse between Victoria’s Secret and Zara for free beverages from Nespresso. People who spend $200 or more can bring their receipts to the concierge desk to get select a gift from Santa’s Gift Bag from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Here are some of the many stores in the mall offering Black Friday deals, according to the mall’s website:
- Aldo: “everything is on sale” until Dec. 3
- Crate and Barrel: 20%-30% off storewide until Dec. 2
- Guess: 40% off entire store from Thursday (Nov. 28) to Dec. 3
Over at Tysons Galleria, the mall be closed on Thanksgiving and open for Black Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Some of the Black Friday deals at the mall, according to its website, include 30% off the fall/winter collection until Dec. 2 at Ba&sh and various deals available through Dec. 1 at Williams-Sonoma.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow (Thursday). For people in the Tysons area, some government facilities will be closed and public transit options will be operating on modified schedules.
Here’s a list of public services that will be affected by Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
County-wide
- Fairfax County government offices will be closed Thanksgiving and Friday.
- Public libraries run by Fairfax County will be closed Thanksgiving and Friday.
- Fairfax County Public Schools are on break from today (Wednesday, Nov. 27) to Friday.
- The Metrobus and Metrorail will run on holiday schedules for Thanksgiving and resume typical service on Friday.
- The Fairfax Connector will operate Sunday service on Thanksgiving Day and holiday weekday service on Friday.
- United States Postal Service offices will be closed on Thanksgiving.
Vienna
- The Vienna Community Center will be open on Friday (Nov. 29) from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
- The Town of Vienna’s government offices will be closed Thanksgiving and Friday.
McLean
- The McLean Community Center will be closed Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Falls Church
- The City of Falls Church’s government offices and buildings, the community center and the Mary Riley Styles Public Library will be closed Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
- Falls Church Community Center will be closed Thanksgiving and open from 8:30 a.m.-11 p.m. on Friday.
Speaking of closed offices, Tysons Reporter will be on a break as well on Thursday and Friday.
Just a few weeks after opening a new store in Tysons, Whole Foods is gearing up to come to the City of Falls Church.
The grocery chain signed a lease in early November to anchor the redevelopment of the corner of E. Broad and N. Washington streets, Falls Church News-Press reported.
The upcoming 50,000-square-foot store will be a part of a mixed-use project that also plans to include a 5,000-square-foot community theater space that will be occupied by Creative Cauldron, according to a press release from Arlington-based Insight Property Group.
Broad and Washington LLC, a venture of Insight Property Group, signed the 20-year-long lease for Whole Foods, Falls Church News-Press reported.
Approved by the City Council last year, the “plan was derailed a little over a year ago, when developer Todd Hitt pleaded guilty in November 2018 to investor fraud,” the paper wrote.
Now, Whole Foods will come to a spot just a little over a block away from Harris Teeter (301 W. Broad Street).
“Whole Foods Market will bring an incredible amount of activity to downtown to both complement and help support the existing and longstanding businesses that make Falls Church so unique,” Maury Stern, a principal at Insight Property Group, said in the press release.
With Thanksgiving nearing, are you planning on staying in the area or going away for the holiday?
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, nearly 1.35 million people living in the D.C. area are expected to travel during the upcoming holiday period around 50 miles or more away from home.
About 91% of all D.C. area travelers will travel by car, compared to 7% traveling by air, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
For people staying — or coming — here, forecasters predict the weather will be partly cloudy.
Let Tysons Reporter know what your travel plans are for the holiday weekend.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
(Updated at 5:30 p.m.) The Town of Vienna says that directions from the town’s arborist led to Wawa chopping down trees last week, which sparked an uproar among locals.
The town said in a press release today (Nov. 26) that it is working with Wawa to reach out to neighbors behind the construction site (465 Maple Avenue W.) “to address impacts resulting from last week’s removal of trees.”
The town added that Wawa has offered to plant 12-15 new trees in the spring to replace the three silver maple trees that were removed, which included one that was roughly 60 years old.
The town said last week that the tree removal “was due to an onsite misunderstanding and human error.” In the press release today, Vienna officials say that Wawa followed the direction of the town’s urban arborist.
More from the press release:
In a preconstruction meeting a few weeks ago, the Town’s arborist advised that, in his professional assessment, the trees on the Town’s property between Wawa and the neighbors’ property would be negatively impacted by construction activity and would almost certainly die within the next three years. He commented that the trees, which already showed signs of rot, decay, and disease, would need to be removed now or in the future.
“Both parties can accept some responsibility for removal of the unapproved trees,” says Town Manager Mercury Payton, “and we’re all very sorry for the impact this is having on Wawa’s neighbors. I am certain that Wawa would not have removed those trees had it not been recommended by our urban arborist. I wish that he also had offered to assist Wawa with revising and resubmitting the site plan.”
“We appreciate that the Town of Vienna recognizes our commitment to rectifying this situation and our resolve to work together to support the neighbors,” says Lori Bruce, public relations manager for Wawa. “We remain committed to going above and beyond to be a good neighbor and a strong partner to this community.”
The Town of Vienna is committed to sustainability as well as to being responsive to citizens. Vienna has been a Tree City USA for 17 years and has a very active, Council-appointed Conservation and Sustainability Commission. In addition, the Town’s recently renovated community center has achieved gold-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) while the planned new police station is being designed to achieve LEED silver level.
In recent days, the town and Wawa received backlash from residents who told ABC7 that they were upset that Wawa cut down the trees that were not on the company’s property.
“While this was an unfortunate misunderstanding as we were operating with the guidance of the municipal arborist, right now we are 100% focused on rectifying the situation,” Wawa said in a statement to ABC7. “This includes going above and beyond to address this and working hand in hand with the town and the neighbors to ultimately serve as an enhancement to the community.”
“It will take five years for the trees to mature to create a buffer. Until then there is no barrier to the construction and subsequent traffic of a 24/7 store. Our backyard privacy is gone,” Ingrida Lusis, a Vienna resident whose house was next to the trees, according to ABC7, posted on Facebook.
The town will not impost a fine on Wawa, Lynne Coan, a spokesperson for the town, told Tysons Reporter.
“I’m not sure about who will be responsible for [new] trees,” Coan said, “I believe the Wawa representative and neighbors will work that out when they meet later this week.”
Westbound Georgetown Pike by the Scott’s Run Nature Preserve is closed after a brush fire broke out.
All of the westbound lanes are closed on Georgetown Pike near Swinks Mill Road, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Fairfax County sent out an alert about the lane closures at 3:15 p.m.
Traffic has already backed up severely along Georgetown Pike as of 3:30 p.m., according to Google Maps.
Map via Google Maps
Kids looking to write and mail letters to the North Pole ahead of the holidays can head to the U.S. Post Office in Merrifield on Saturday for an event.
The location at 8409 Lee Why plans to host Santa letter writing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 30), according to a press release.
Postal workers will be on-site to help as part of Operation Santa program, which lets individuals and organizations adopt the letters and send responses and gifts in Santa’s place.
More from the press release:
The Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa Claus more than 100 years ago; however, it was in 1912 when Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to the letters — this became known as Operation Santa…
The letters — minus any personal information — will be posted at USPSOperationSanta.com, our new web address for letter adoption. Customers nationwide are searching now for letters to Santa to adopt online at the website. Children’s personal information remains anonymous.
USA Today reported that the program ran out of letters earlier this week. As of today (Tuesday, Nov. 26) letters were on the website.
Families and kids who can’t make the event can still send a letter to Santa’s new address: 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888.
Image via Google Maps
