Crumbl Cookies, a gourmet cookie delivery and takeout business, is opening in the Town of Vienna next week. 

The cookie business recently announced it plans to celebrate its new location at 203 Maple Ave. E with a grand opening next Thursday, Sept. 3. The next day, they will be offering free delivery all day with orders placed on Friday, Sept. 4. Customers can place orders through the Crumbl Cookie app or on their website. 

“We’re excited to bring Crumbl to Vienna and hope the local residents love these cookies as much as we do,” said Jason McGowan, the co-founder and CEO of Crumbl Cookies.

In each Crumbl store, cookies are mixed, baked and prepared fresh by staff in an open kitchen for customers to watch. 

“Having our customers see every cookie being made is one of the best experiences of our stores,” said Sawyer Hemsley, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Crumbl Cookies.

The store features four different specialty cookies each week in addition to two favorites, warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookie. Some of the specialty flavors include Muddy Buddy, Biscoff Lava, Funfetti, Snickerdoodle and more. The store also offers cold milk and gourmet ice cream to order on the side. 

Crumbl will be open from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The store is closed on Sundays. 

“Nothing beats biting into a warm, delicious cookie that has been delivered straight to your door,” said Melanie Bunker, the owner of the Vienna location. “We’re really excited to bring this experience to Virginia.”

Photo via Crumbl Cookies/Facebook

As Fairfax County Public Schools prepares for virtual classes, some private schools in Reston and Tysons are bringing students back into classrooms.

Four private and parochial school administrators told Tysons Reporter a high demand for in-person instruction and their ability to socially distance students are the main reasons they are offering in-person learning.

Green Hedges School in Vienna noted an increase in enrollment interest for the 2020-21 school year, according to Jenn Boehnen, who is the head of the school.

After initially planning for a hybrid of in-person and online classes, FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced in July that the public school system, which is the largest one in Virginia, would open virtually on Sept. 8 for the fall. Concerns about public health safety and staffing levels prompted the switch to fully online classes.

Unlike big public schools with larger class sizes, the private school administrators Tysons Reporter spoke to said that they will be able to keep students spaced out.

Green Hedges is requiring that students sit in assigned seats for lunch and snack time, according to the school’s reopening plan. The seats will be 6 feet away from each other and students will have the option to eat outside when possible. Additionally, the school is instructing students to stay 6 feet away from each other during recess.

Photos the school shared on Facebook show desks spaced out in the classrooms.

Oakcrest School near Crowells Corner plans to move classes with 20 or more students outside, weather permitting. The school is looking to use its 23-acre campus to keep its approximately 260 students safely spread out.

“We’re trying to implement as many safety precautions as possible without disrupting the normal rhythm of the school day,” said Miriam Buono, who heads up operations at Oakcrest.

To further ensure social distancing, Oakcrest is implementing unilateral stairways to avoid overcrowding in the halls. The school is also extending passing periods from five to 10 minutes to compensate for the stairways and to allow students to step outside for mask breaks.

In addition to figuring out how to keep students physically distanced, school administrators are also finding ways to deal with another new element: getting kids to wear face coverings for several hours.

To address the issue of mask fatigue, St. Joseph Catholic School in Herndon is allowing teachers and students to pull down face coverings when 6 feet apart or when alone. Students will also be able to remove their masks while eating.

Even while many private schools in the Fairfax County area are planning for in-person learning, some are offering a virtual option for families with health concerns. The school administrators told Tysons Reporter that they have to remain flexible if new state guidelines or a COVID-19 surge requires a switch to fully-virtual learning.

Some local schools are taking a hybrid approach, like BASIS Independent McLean in Tysons. The school planned to reopen with a combination of in-person and online classes, Inside NoVa reported.

Administrators want parents to know they are tracking the ongoing conditions to determine whether or not in-person classes are safe.

Photos via Green Hedges School/Facebook

In the opening scenes of “Peter Polo and the Snow Beast of Hunza,” young readers are instantly transported to the 13th century and an unfamiliar world to the fields of the gritty “sport of kings” — polo. Here, players mounted on horseback display their physical prowess while caked in a veil of mud and readers take in a sliver of the adventure that is about to unfold.   

Vienna local and novelist Craig Bradley is the author of the book, which debuted earlier this year and has been showcased at several area independent books stores. 

The new adventure novel, illustrated by Laurie Conley, takes middle-grade children on a historical journey with Marco Polo’s fictional younger brother, Peter Polo. 

The game of polo dates back to 600 B.C. and has been described as the “oldest of all sports” that several countries throughout East Asia claim they gave birth to. It also nostalgically connects to Bradley’s travels in Asia.

Bradley, a father of two boys, said he wrote the book for his sons, but also to pique younger readers’ interests in history and cultures that may be less familiar to them. Bradley, who spent a lot of time traveling abroad, decided to write about the history that originally drew him in as a child. 

“I hope younger readers can walk away with an interest in Mongolian culture and a ‘snow beast,'” said Bradley. “Children’s books often have a lot of magic, but this book explores different cultural perspectives that kids may not be as familiar with.” 

Bradley initially wrote the book about 15 years ago. However, it wasn’t until now that the book was released in April. 

This may be Bradley’s first published book, but he has written short stories for a long time: “It’s easier than ever to submit short stories nowadays online.” His biggest piece of advice is for those who are interested in writing to simply start writing. 

Bradley is currently working on a sequel to the book, called “Peter Polo and the White Elephant of Lan Xang.” The book will follow Peter and his friends as they try to stop a war between two kingdoms in South Asia. Bradley is optimistic that the book will be out by early 2021. 

For people looking to get a signed copy of Bradley’s book, Bards Alley in Vienna will host a book signing as well as other events for Indie Bookstore Day on Saturday, Aug. 29. 

Cover illustration by Laurie Conley, photo courtesy of Craig Bradley

Falls Church’s Sunset Cinema is coming back for its 17th year with new safety measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The annual event screens movies at Cherry Hill Park. This year, the movies will start at 7:45 on Fridays.

The event will be held in a socially distant format with spots marked across the lawn. Up to 20 households are permitted, and people must bring their own seats, blankets, snacks and masks, the city recently announced. 

The movie lineup is:

• Sept. 18: “Moana” 
• Sept. 25: “Onward” 
• Oct. 2: “Remember the Titans” 

People must pre-register for the free movies. Registration for city residents starts on Monday, Aug. 24, and on Monday, Aug. 31, for non-city residents. Households can only register for one Sunset Cinema event.

Space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to the city. In the case of inclement weather, registrants will be notified of a movie make-up date.  

Image via the Falls Church website

Dogs in Falls Church will soon have a new daycare destination with the upcoming arrival of Dogtopia. 

The daycare, boarding and spa service for dogs plans to open soon at 108 W. Jefferson Street in Falls Church. The business has more than 90 locations across the U.S. and Canada, including one in Tysons near the Spring Hill Metro station.

The business initially planned to open earlier this summer, but pushed the opening due to construction and economic factors. Now, they hope to finish construction by the end of September and open in early October. 

Not only does the business work to care for dogs, but they also want to make an impact on the community.

“We have this awesome foundation that we work with and we do truly believe in always giving back to our community,” Cat Michael, the general manager of Dogtopia of Falls Church, said.

First, they are raising money to provide a service dog to local veterans. Second, they are looking to set up employment opportunities for adults with autism. Lastly, they want to raise funds to help the youth literacy programs across the country. 

They are currently pairing up with Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church every Thursday night of September to raise money toward their first goal of providing a service dog to local veterans.

“We are currently fundraising to hopefully train to place one dog by the time we open in a veteran’s home in the Falls Church community,” Dogtopia of Falls Church’s Owner Jim Hannesschlager said.

The upcoming location also wants to keep the community safe. To combat COVID-19, Dogtopia Falls Church installed an HVAC air filtering system. They plan to deep clean and sanitize every room with pet-friendly sanitizer to maintain cleanliness while keeping pets safe from harsh chemicals.

The location will also offer contactless pet drop-off and aim to eliminate possibilities of cross-contamination of pet belongings. 

Dogtopia is offering a Founders Program for two weeks leading up to the opening. People who sign up will receive two weeks of unlimited daycare prior to the grand opening, according to their website. This offer is available for the first 50 dogs registered.

Photos by Michelle Goldchain, image by Katie Runnerstrom

The Barns at Wolf Trap won’t have live performance this fall, including Chamber Music at The Barns, due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Wolf Trap said in the announcement on Monday that the Wolf Trap Foundation is “enormously thankful” for the support from the community, donors and patrons, and they look forward to gathering together in the future when it is safe to do so. 

Ticket holders for events that were rescheduled for fall 2020 will be contacted directly via email with more information on individual shows, according to the press release. 

Despite not holding live performances, Wolf Trap has presented a series of digital projects to continue their arts and education mission. People interested can visit Wolf Trap Sessions for their collection of online performances.

Their digital artistic content includes Park Pop-Up featuring performances by local artists, UNTRAPPED Online featuring newly recorded and re-released performances by the Wolf Trap Opera and Field Trip Fridays geared toward kids and their arts education. 

They also recently launched the Music Moves Us fund to support the foundation’s projects to further community initiatives and promote next-generation artists.

Photo via Wolf Trap/Facebook

OrthoVirginia has combined its Tysons and McLean locations into one McLean-Tysons office, which is located at 1760 Old Meadow Road in McLean. 

The McLean office was previously located on Greensboro Drive across from Tysons Galleria, and the Tysons office was previously located on Old Courthouse Road in Vienna. 

The decision to make the move was to “consolidate property to go to a bigger space so we can combine all of our therapy and all of our physicians into one location,” according to an OrthoVirginia employee. 

The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Their therapies are offered Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

The previous Tysons location is still open for MRI services Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

OrthoVirgina is Virginia’s largest provider of orthopedic medicine and therapy with services including on-site therapy, surgery centers and advanced imagery, according to their website. They have more than 100 orthopedic specialists in 26 locations across Northern Virginia.

Photo via OrthoVirginia/Facebook

Vienna music venue Jammin Java has reopened to the public with a series of socially-distanced benefit shows called “A Song & A Slice.”

The series combines outdoor concerts with pizza from Union Pie at Jammin Java, the pizza restaurant opened by the owners during the pandemic. 

Attendees are encouraged to donate during each show to a charity selected by the performers. In addition, one dollar from every beer sold will go towards those charities. 

Some of the upcoming shows include:

• DJ D’s Dance To The Decades benefitting the US & JJ Staff Fund on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m.
• Irresponsible benefitting the National Black Child Development Institute on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m.
• Tommy McGee Band benefitting SURJNOVA on Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

Jammin Java stopped their shows when the pandemic hit in March and then opened Union Pie at the beginning of April. 

“We’d been talking about it for a while, but once the COVID struck, we decided it was now or never,” said Lana Mahmoud, the Director of Operations for Jammin Java. They then decided to blend the pizza with the music to create concerts to benefit both businesses.  

Once Virginia was able to reopen, they were able to move forward with scheduling shows again. Their first outdoor show this summer took place on July 19, and they have concerts scheduled through Oct. 31. 

“We’re focusing on local artists to keep the local scene alive,” said Mahmoud.

The venue is taking recommended measures to ensure COVID-19 safety, including mandating masks indoors and for all employees, keeping tables at least 6 feet apart and setting up hand sanitizer stations. They are also using disposable menus and cups. 

“A lot of people are just so thankful to have live music back,” said Mahmoud. “It’s a really beautiful sense of community and joy.”  

Photo via Jammin Java/Facebook

Fairfax County Public Schools invites the local community to a virtual town hall on Wednesday. 

FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand will discuss the virtual return to school on Sep. 8 and address any questions. The event plans to run from 6-7 p.m. 

People interested in viewing can watch via the livestream or on Channel 99. Questions regarding the virtual start to the school year can be sent to [email protected] or to 1-800-231-6359. 

According to a recent message from Brabrand, weekly town halls will resume starting with tomorrow’s town hall.

Image via Fairfax County Public Schools

Updated 8/10/2020 — Clarifies White started the advocacy group and how much money the GoFundMe raised.

Vienna pickleball players looking for facilities of their own in Fairfax County now have a new club and advocacy group.

Sally Unger, a new ambassador for pickleball in Fairfax County, wants to persuade county officials to further support pickleball players by providing more and better facilities. 

She has created the Vienna Pickleball Club Facebook group, which was created in June and now boasts 92 members. After the Vienna Pickleball Club formed, Unger said Helen White, the USAPA District Ambassador for Northeast Virginia and D.C., started the Fairfax County Advocates for Pickleball (FCAP).

In Fairfax County, there are zero courts dedicated to pickleball, according to Unger. Instead, players have to adapt the game to tennis courts, which Unger said makes for an inauthentic game. For example, a pickleball net is shorter than a tennis net, and both games have different court lines. 

“It’s pretty frustrating,” said Unger, who is one of the advocacy group’s members. 

FCAP is fighting for a facility pickleball players can claim as their own. 

Unger’s three goals upon becoming an ambassador were to create a pickleball club, collect data about pickleball activity in the county and to understand how funding within the county works to ask for more support. She recently sent out a survey measuring trends and demographics within the pickleball community to bring to the county. 

While pushing for official pickleball facilities, FCAP is also looking for derelict tennis courts to save and remodel for pickleball play. They are already working with the Town of Vienna to consider resurfacing Vienna’s Glyndon Court into four pickleball courts. 

According to Unger, the public reception to the club and the advocacy has been “phenomenal.” One supporter of the group created a GoFundMe to raise money for nets, locks and other court essentials. The GoFundMe raised more than $1,900 in 72 hours, Unger said. 

Unger also credits some of the sport’s popularity to the pandemic — since the game is played outside and players are relatively distant, it makes for a safe way to stay active.

“It’s a great way to meet people and build a sense of community,” said Unger. “When we’re restricted to our own yards and it’s the only outlet where I have social contact, it keeps me sane.” 

People with questions or who are interested in joining can email [email protected] or visit the Vienna Pickleball Club’s Facebook page. 

Photo by Frankie Lopez/Unsplash