When the new season of the FOX cooking competition series Hell’s Kitchen premieres next Monday, Vienna native Brynn Gibson will be one of 18 chefs competing for the title. This season’s theme is “Young Guns,” meaning the chefs were all 24 years old or younger at the time of filming.

Gibson grew up in Vienna, just a bike ride away from Tysons. Her love of cooking stems from seeing how food brought her family and friends together and how it creates a very personal connection between the chef and the customer.

“When we’d eat lunch at school and stuff, we would all sit together, and I saw that food has the power to bring people together,” Gibson told Tysons Reporter. “And that was something that I deeply cared about, just being able to share a part of myself through my food with other people, because I think it’s a very personal way of sharing, you know, almost intimately with other people.”

Gibson’s path to Hell’s Kitchen started in a Facebook group, where she was discovered by a recruiter for the show. After some skepticism, she agreed to audition. She is now grateful she took the opportunity, summing up her experience on the show as “life-changing.”

“Not in the sense of the rewards and everything,” she clarified. “It was just being in such a high-intensity environment, and everyone was so passionate, especially Chef Ramsay…That was kind of my ‘make it or break it’ moment, and it really helped me focus on the fact that this is something that I want to do for my career and for the rest of my life.”

Gibson is a self-taught cook, aside from a few cooking classes in Vienna when she was 12. Before the show, she had worked as a prep cook, but with just a couple of years of college experience under her belt, she admits feeling “extremely intimidated” before filming, since she had to quickly adapt to new situations, such as running a brigade system.

Part of that intimidation also came from internationally renowned chef and Hell’s Kitchen host Gordon Ramsey, who is as known for his tempermental, profane media persona as his cooking.

“I was extremely intimidated by him just because he exuded this passion,” Gibson said. “But after the initial intimidation, I was in awe constantly when I was around him just because he exuded this greatness and this excellence and this…love for the craft.”

Since the show filmed in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Gibson has been focused on pursuing her passion in Providence, Rhode Island. She opened her own business called The Dumpling Den in 2020 and runs a blog called The Nugget Box.

“I made dumplings here and there,” Gibson said. “And more recently, with this whole pandemic situation, I decided to leave one of my jobs in the industry and pursue [my passion] full time. I’ve been doing pop-ups in downtown Providence, and it’s been amazing.”

Gibson says that, thanks to the “Young Guns” theme, she has been able to cultivate friendships with other chefs who are also starting their own businesses right now, and they have been able to lean on each other for support.

“It was just so amazing to be able to be around a bunch of young people that were just as passionate as I was, and I am still in contact with a couple of them,” said Gibson. “And having that support system and seeing how everyone is doing is just amazing.”

Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns will premiere on Monday, May 31 at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Photo via Michael Becker/FOX

Last time Tysons Reporter checked in on ShipGarten, the unique restaurant/biergarten venture was expected to launch in early spring, but spring arrived and is now heating up into summer, and the shipping container doors remain fastened.

ShipGarten will now open at the Scotts Run development in Tysons in June, Creative Bar Concepts LLC Managing Partner Matt Rofougaran confirms, though an exact opening date has not been set yet.

Rofougaran, who was CEO of the now-shuttered Tysons Biergarten, attributes the latest delay to several factors, including challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a delay in obtaining materials, a delay in getting Dominion Energy out to the site, and the overall size of the project.

“The project [is] bigger than expected by not just us but the contractor,” he said.

Developed by the same team behind Tysons Biergarten and the still-operating Hops N Shine in Alexandria, ShipGarten will be a pop-up biergarten with restaurants located inside four converted, 40-foot shipping containers.

In addition to the central biergarten, which will have 20 German taps as well as sausages and pretzels, the restaurants will include Chalkboard BBQ & Craft Beer, the Asian fusion fast-casual joint Rollbär, and the Persian fast-casual establishment Salamati Grille.

The delays that ShipGarten has encountered could ultimately turn out to be a boon, since starting on May 28, Virginia will lift the capacity and social distancing requirements that have limited operations at existing restaurants and bars for the past year.

Rofougaran says the current plan is to require masks for staff and encourage social distancing, but that could change depending on how the next month unfolds.

“We believe we are about a month until we open so we will reevaluate everything once we get closer to [the] opening date,” he said.

ShipGarten’s opening will be a key step forward for Scotts Run, a 40-acre mixed-use development focused around the McLean Metro station that currently consists of The Haden — an apartment complex — and the 14-story Mitre 4 office building.

The Archer Hotel is expected to open later this summer, and additional residential, retail, and office development is still on the way.

The ShipGarten team saw Scotts Run as an ideal location to expand on the ideas that they introduced with Tysons Biergarten, which closed in November 2019 to make way for planned redevelopment around the Greensboro Metro station.

“The amount of room available allowed us to utilize the space to put together something that everyone in not just the tysons region but all of the DMV could come and enjoy,” Rofougaran said by email. “Plus being on top of a hill overlooking the Tysons Skyline was a great added bonus!”

Cityline Partners, one of several developers working on Scotts Run, says it looks forward to ShipGarten opening next month. The biergarten is expected to stay on the site as a pop-up for about three years as more of the surrounding development falls into place.

“We are delighted to have such an active and fun interim use at our development directly adjacent to the Scotts Run Stream Valley Park,” Cityline Managing Partner Tasso Flocos said. “The Shipgarten is a wonderful outdoor addition overlooking the urban neighborhood in the making and is an important venue to fill a much needed void for Tysons.”

Image via ShipGarten/Instagram

Adolescents Drive COVID-19 Vaccination Surge — “More than 52,000 Virginians in the 12-to-15 age group have received their first COVID-19 shot in the nine days since federal regulators authorized use of Pfizer’s vaccine for adolescents. This means 1 out of 9 kids in this age bracket — there are 422,741 in total — are at least partially protected against the coronavirus in the lead-up to schools fully reopening in the fall. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Three Displaced by West Falls Church House Fire — Three people were displaced by a house fire in the 7000 block of Ted Drive in West Falls Church that caused approximately $25,000 in damages. Units from Fairfax and Arlington counties arrived at the two-story house at approximately 1:27 a.m. on Sunday (May 23). The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is believed to have been accidental. [FCFRD]

Vienna Begins Water Flushing Program — “The Town will begin its annual Fairfax County water main flushing program today. It will run from today till 6/14. Work will not impact traffic or Town services.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

Falls Church City Schools Rank Top in State — Falls Church City Public Schools was ranked as the top school district in Virginia by Newsweek magazine, which published rankings this week based on data from the U.S. Department of Education. A 14:1 student-to-teacher ratio and 97% graduation rate were among the factors that distinguished FCCPS. [Falls Church News-Press]

Photo by Joanne Liebig

Fairfax Connector suspended fare collections last year as a temporary health measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the public bus system is considering longer-term adjustments to its fare policies with support from a new state grant program.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is one of 12 transit agencies in Virginia that have expressed interest in the Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s new Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP), which will fund projects that increase connectivity in highly populated areas or remove barriers for low-income individuals by reducing or eliminating fares.

While fare collection resumed on Jan. 4, county leaders see reducing or subsidizing trip costs as one way to encourage more people to ride the Connector, which is the largest local bus system in Northern Virginia, transporting approximately 30,000 passengers on 91 routes in ordinary times.

“Access to transit is crucial in promoting equity county-wide and for many a barrier is cost,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay said. “Our Department of Transportation is committed to looking into how we can provide aid to those experiencing economic hardship.”

Created by the General Assembly during its 2020 session, TRIP was conceived before the novel coronavirus arrived in the U.S., but Virginia Transportation Secretary Shannon Valentine told the Commonwealth Transportation Board during a May 18 workshop that the pandemic illustrated how vital public transportation is for essential workers, DCist reported.

“Fares turned out to be an obstacle. So we are really trying to use this as an opportunity,” Valentine said, according to DCist.

DRPT has split TRIP into two programs: one focused on regional connectivity, which could include everything from integrated fare collection systems to the creation of bus-only lanes on significant routes, and one focused on reducing the impact of fares on low-income users, which could involve eliminating fares, creating zero-fare zones, or providing subsidized or free passes.

Virginia has allocated a total of $129 million to the TRIP initiative through fiscal year 2027, including $88.4 million for the connectivity program and $39.6 million for the fare program, according to a presentation that DRPT delivered to the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Legislators limited the fare reduction program to 25% of the initiative’s annual funding, but the General Assembly gave the program an additional $10 million in the state’s fiscal year 2022 budget, raising its total to $12.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

DRPT released a draft policy last week outlining how TRIP will be implemented, including how projects will be evaluated for grant funds. The resolution is open for public input through June 18, and the CTB is scheduled to vote on it on June 23.

The department has also made a draft of the program’s application guidelines available for public comment until July 7. Read More

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

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

Tuesday (May 25)

• Fit4Mom Stroller Strides — 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Mosaic District (2910 District Ave) — Fit4Mom Stroller Strides is a 60-minute workout that includes strength training, cardio, and core restoration, along with entertainment for the little ones in your stroller. Classes meet in Strawberry Park in front of Mom & Pop. Register online. Your first session is free. A second class will be held on Thursday (May 27) at the same time.
• Introduction to Corporate Giving (Online) — 2-3:30 p.m. — The Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library will provide this workshop for nonprofits looking for corporate support. The class will teach participants how to find potential corporate donors and how to successfully win their support. Registration is required.

Wednesday (May 26)

• Partial Lunar Eclipse — 4-6 a.m. at Burke Lake Park (7315 Ox Rd.) — Join some astronomical naturalists to view the partial lunar eclipse. Stars and constellations will be viewable too. There will be some telescopes available, but participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. There is a registration fee of $1o.
• (the) Unruly Theatre Project’s Virtual Improv Show (Online) — 7 p.m. — The McLean Community Center’s teen improv group is putting on its latest virtual performance. Registration is open up to two hours before the show. The Zoom link and password will be emailed to those who register. For more information, contact [email protected].

Thursday (May 27)

• Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Poetry Celebration (Online) — 7 p.m. — May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the McLean Community Center (MCC) is celebrating with poetry. AAPI poets Regie Cabico, Gowri Koneswaran and Jenny C. Lares will perform their own works and hold a Q&A. There will be an open mic afterward for those who identify as AAPI only, per MCC’s request. Registration is required and will close two hours before the event begins.

Friday (May 28)

• Parent & Me Snack and Paint — 7-9 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave.) — Join the Old Firehouse Center for a Snack and Paint event. A parent and their child (ages 10-18) can join for $30 total, which includes all painting materials and snacks. Register and make a spring-themed masterpiece.

Saturday (May 29)

• In-Person Early Voting for Democratic Primary — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Falls Church City Hall (300 Park Ave.) — City Hall will open this Saturday for registered Falls Church voters to vote early in the Democratic Party’s June 8 primary election to decide the party’s candidates for Virginia’s governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general in the November election.
• ViVa! Vienna! — 10 a.m.-10 p.m. — After having to cancel last year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ViVa! Vienna! is back. Rides and entertainment start Saturday for the Town of Vienna’s Memorial Day weekend festival, with vendors setting up on Sunday (May 30) and Monday (May 31). A full schedule as well as information about buying tickets and the vendors that will be in attendance can be found on the ViVa! Vienna! website.
• Ride of the Patriots — 10 a.m. at 9739 Fairfax Blvd. — Patriot Harley-Davidson‘s annual Memorial Day tribute to military service members and first responders will begin in Fairfax City and travel on Route 50 East to I-495 North into D.C. over Memorial Bridge. There will be a second ride on Sunday, but each ride will be limited to 225 people. Registration costs $25.

Monday (May 31)

• Memorial Day Ceremony & Parade — 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St.) — The City of Falls Church is bringing back many of its Memorial Day traditions, albeit in a slightly scaled-down form. Pre-registration and masks are required to attend the ceremony at the Veterans’ Memorial, while the parade will travel throughout the city instead of sticking to Park Avenue.

Photo via ViVa! Vienna!/Facebook

(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) The spread of COVID-19 has slowed to the point where the Fairfax Health District actually subtracted cases from its overall total today (Monday).

According to the latest data from the Fairfax County Health Department, the district — which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church — has seen seven fewer cases than previously reported, suggesting an error in earlier case counts.

The Fairfax Health District actually reported 10 new COVID-19 cases today, but 17 cases that had been assigned to the district have now been removed, resulting in the negative number, according to FCHD spokesperson Tina Dale.

“Data is reviewed by the Virginia Department of Health and adjustments are made based on those reviews,” Dale told Tysons Reporter. “With low overall numbers of new cases, we may continue to see days where ‘negative numbers’ are reported.”

Dale says cases are sometimes removed primarily because they actually occurred in another health district, or because there are duplicates.

“Duplicate cases can occur because VDH has a process where new COVID labs are automatically processed and counted as a new case, which on further review is identified as a duplicate,” she said.

Even so, COVID-19 case levels have continued to drop in the county since the seven-day average peaked for this spring at 194.4 cases on April 13, Virginia Department of Health data shows. The weekly average is now at 23.6 cases — the lowest since there were 22.3 cases per seven days on March 29, 2020.

The Fairfax Health District has recorded a total of 77,837 COVID-19 cases since the first presumptive positive case was identified on March 9, 2020. 4,105 people in the district have been hospitalized, and 1,116 people have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The steady decline in new cases has continued even after Virginia amended its mask-wearing mandate more than a week ago to exempt people who have been fully vaccinated, a heartening sign as the state prepares to lift all capacity and social distancing requirements on Friday (May 28) in time for Memorial Day weekend.

The Commonwealth can keep requiring masks for people who aren’t fully vaccinated and in certain settings, such as schools, as long as its public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic remains in place. Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order is currently set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on June 30, though it could be extended or rescinded before then.

Since Northam announced that capacity limits will be lifted at the end of May, rather than in June as initially suggested, vaccinations have become more widespread, while COVID-19 cases have fallen statewide.

With 7.9 million vaccine doses administered overall, 4.5 million Virginians have received at least one dose, amounting to 53.2% of the total population and 65.7% of all residents 18 and older.

3.6 million people — or 42.5% of the total population and 53.5% of all adults — have been fully vaccinated, meaning that at least two weeks have passed since they finished their recommended shot regimen.

Fairfax County has administered 1.1 million vaccine doses. 638,091 residents — 55.6% of the total population — have gotten at least one dose, and 501,845 residents — or 43.7% of the population — have been fully vaccinated, though unlike with VDH’s statewide data, those numbers still don’t include doses delivered by the federal government.

Image via CDC on Unsplash, graphs via Virginia Department of Health

The first in-person show for 1st Stage since the COVID-19 pandemic began is coming to The Boro in Tysons.

The theater is holding an outdoor performance of the off-Broadway musical and book, “A New Brain,” in the form of a concert reading at 5 p.m. on June 27 at Boro Park, an outdoor space of the development located at 8350 Broad St.

“For over a year now, we’ve been looking forward to bring live theater back to our beloved audiences,” the nonprofit said in a news release. “We’re so excited to see you again and to offer this wonderful musical experience of hope, recovery and rediscovery.”

With a book by William Finn and James Lapine, “A New Brain” follows a composer who undergoes a surgery while trying to create a song for a children’s TV show. The concert reading will be directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer with music direction by Walter “Bobby” McCoy.

The event will also be livestreamed. In the case of rain, it will only run online.

Organizers hope to bring the community together and raise money to support 1st Stage’s safe return to in-person theater. Donations will be matched up to $20,000, thanks to a reciprocal gift.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater company announced in March that it was canceling in-person shows for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season, though it has provided some online performances and classes. The organization hopes to return to its space this winter.

“‘The 1st Stage Celebration at The Boro’ will be one of the first live cultural experiences in the Tysons region following more than a year of cultural drought,” organizers said. “With an outdoor in-person audience, and a free companion livestream, this will be the first opportunity for our full community to gather together since our last production in February 2020.”

The event is currently selling $500 sponsorships, which includes seating for two as well as with food and drinks.

Tickets will be available June 1 for $20 each, with attendees allowed to bring a chair or rent one for $10. Food can be brought or possibly bought — the group is working on food possibilities with restaurants. A cash bar will also be available.

“Four of our incredible donors got together to provide this [$20,000] to aid the theatre and inspire others to give,” Heidi Fortune Picker, director of engagement for 1st Stage, said. “Honestly, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our 1st Stage family during this time.”

(Updated at 8:45 a.m.) School Board Member’s Israel Comments Sparks Debate — Fairfax County School Board Member-at-Large Abrar Omeish’s tweet criticizing the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians during recent air strikes has drawn strong reactions. More than 100 people showed up to the board’s meeting on Thursday (May 20) to support her, arguing that criticism of Israel’s policies isn’t inherently anti-Semitic, while others have called for her resignation. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington rescinded an honor it intended to bestow for her religious equity advocacy. [Patch]

Arrest Made in Recent Tysons Commercial Burglary — Fairfax County police reported five different burglaries at businesses in Tysons  on May 15 and 16, including incidents at ServiceNow and Koons Chrysler. A man from D.C. was arrested and charged in a string of three burglaries that occured on May 16 at Best Buy, Safford of Tysons Corner, and a T-Mobile store. [Sun Gazette]

Lawsuit over TJ Admissions Moves Forward — “A federal judge ruled Friday that a parents’ group can move forward with a lawsuit alleging that new admissions policies at an elite public high school in northern Virginia discriminate against Asian Americans…Asian Americans constitute more than 70 percent of the [Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology] student body, and for decades Black and Hispanic students have been woefully underrepresented there.” [WTOP]

Gallows Road Reduced to One Lane Tonight — “Gallows Road over I-66 will be reduced to one travel lane in each direction during overnight hours Monday, May 24, through Saturday, May 27, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night. The southbound side of Gallows Road will be closed with two-way traffic running on the northbound side. The closures are necessary for utility work on the bridge as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.” [VDOT]

Reminder: McLean Central Park Meeting Tonight — Fairfax County will hold a virtual public information meeting at 7 p.m. today to share a development concept for McLean Central Park. Based on a master plan that was last revised in 2013, potential new facilities for the 28-acre public park on Dolley Madison Boulevard include a dog park, an ampitheater, and trail improvements. [FCPA]

The weekend is almost here. Before you hit the town to support mental health or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit recent news from the Tysons area that you might’ve missed.

These were the most-read stories on Tysons Reporter this week:

1. Virginia eases mask mandate for fully vaccinated people, moves up timeline to lift capacity limits
2. Special taxing authority considered to finance infrastructure in ambitious West Falls Church mixed-use project
3. Virginia and Fairfax County review new guidance on masks for those fully vaccinated
4. Fairfax County entomologist MC Bugg-Z’s cicada rap is the song of the summer
5. McLean’s Roots Provisions and Grocery opens for breakfast, lunch with bar coming soon

Ideas for stories we should cover can be sent to [email protected] or submitted as an anonymous tip. Photos of scenes from around the community are welcome too, with credit always given to the photographer.

You can find previous rundowns of top stories on the site.

Photo courtesy Anne Alfano

For the second year in a row, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is hosting virtual Field Trip Fridays for teachers and students to enjoy from their classrooms or homes.

Performed by the Wolf Trap Teaching Artists, the Field Trip Fridays program consists of interactive videos for children and accompanying handouts for their parents or teachers to use as educational tools.

“The hope is that children will find joy in the experience and develop a love of the performing arts that their parents/guardians will continue to foster,” Cate Bechtold, Wolf Trap’s director of internships and community programs, said.

Usually, Wolf Trap hosts thousands of school-aged children from across the D.C. area for in-person field trips at its Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods events, but in-person activities were suspended last spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bechtold says Wolf Trap had seven of its teaching artists pre-record performances of a variety of art forms in their own homes for the first Field Trip Friday series. The videos were then sent to teachers each week, along with the educational handouts.

“It is my hope that the Field Trip Friday videos open children’s eyes to new experiences, places, instruments, and art forms and in turn, instill a lifelong love of learning and the arts,” said Bechtold.

This year’s series began on April 16 with a rainforest-related dance by Natasha Mirny. Leading up to the Filene Center’s 50th Anniversary season this summer, there are four remaining Field Trip Friday performances:

• May 28 —  The Recycling Pirates
• June 11 — How We Grow! (presented in English and Spanish)
• June 25 — The Language of Djembe
• July 9 — Cruising the Caribbean

The videos are released each Friday on the Field Trip Friday page. There are additional resources for parents and teachers as well.

“Making performing arts experiences accessible to the children and families in our community is essential to ensuring that the arts are valued and can thrive for generations to come,” Bechtold said. “We have the privilege of being part of an extremely diverse community and the arts are such a beautiful way for children to expand their knowledge on new topics and deepen their appreciation for the people and cultures that are sharing the information.”

Photo courtesy Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts