Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

The best way I have found to find out about events and information around town is to follow local organizations and businesses on Facebook.

They’re constantly updating events, posting news and giving genuine value adding information. Last week the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department delivered pizza from Domino’s on the fire truck, as a promo and reminder to people to check their smoke detectors.

The only way I knew about this was from their Facebook page (and bonus, one of my former clients was the first pizza delivery on the truck because she saw that I shared the event).

Here’s a list of my favorite resources on Facebook:

• Tyson’s Reporter
• Laura Schwartz – Realtor
• Vienna Volunteer Fire Department
• Town of Vienna Government (they post events at the community center and other town events)
• Town of Vienna Police (they do a 5K events, drug take back and more)
• McLean Volunteer Fire Department
• McLean Community Center
• Fairfax County Park Authority
• Fairfax County Public Library (read a thon events, baby reading hours)
• McLean/Vienna Moms RUN This Town
• VeryVienna
• Your local school PTA (search by school and the results are easy to find)

Idylwood Plaza is home to to a new international gallery.

The pop-up Dara Global Arts offers paintings, furniture, ceramics, and gifts at a wide range of price points, and is a gallery driven by social consciousness with particular attention to women’s empowerment. Many of the artists represented are Iraqi: while most Americans only see Iraq as a battleground on the news, Dara Global Arts provides an opportunity to see firsthand the country’s importance as a source of contemporary art.

On a recent visit by Tysons Reporter to the gallery, the directors, Nawara Omary Elliott and Maysoon Al Gbari, were busy setting up. Over the smell of slow-burning incense, freely mixing Arabic and English, the pair revealed more about the gallery, the artists and the challenges and opportunities of opening a pop-up in Tysons.

Omary Elliott has been running Dara out of her basement for years, hosting exhibitions that often filled the space to its capacity. She is motivated by her belief that “art is a peaceful language that can bring awareness” and her dedication to social justice.  That dedication to justice has driven her to collaborate many times with a variety of charities, including Bringing Resources to Aid Womens Shelters, the Iraqi Childrens’ Foundation, and the Downs Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia.

Al Gbari is a professional artist who, upon arriving to the United States, faced a problem shared by many international artists: a lack of opportunities for gallery representation. Many artists come to this country but, lacking a community and behind a language barrier, struggle to make a living selling their work.

Al Gbari and Omary Elliott both grew up in the secular, intellectual, artistic climate of pre-war Iraq and the pair met in Virginia in 2016. They became fast friends, and Omary Elliott’s work as a gallerist blossomed. After a year and a half searching for a suitable space, they are excited to announce the opening of Dara’s first storefront location.

The idea for a pop-up came from Omary Elliott’s frequent visits to New York City, where the practice is popular among gallery directors. When she first brought the idea back to Tysons, it was hard to find support, and property owners often weren’t even familiar with the concept. Over the past 18 months alone, though, she’s witnessed substantial change.

“As Tysons is growing, I noticed that the pop-up term has become more popular,” she said. Even so, it took patience and a very helpful realtor to find a suitable location. Omary Elliott encourages others to consider a similar approach, but cautions them that they’ll need a lot of patience and flexibility.

The Washington Post has previously suggested that pop-up retail could be catalytic for Tysons’ development.

The gallery showcases work by a half-dozen artists, about half of them Iraqi. Omary Elliott didn’t set out to represent Iraqis specifically; in fact, she is constantly searching for new artists to represent, saying “we don’t close the door to anyone who wants to participate.” Rather, the strong showing of Iraqi artists is testament to Iraq’s millenia-long tradition of visual art and Baghdad’s stature before the 2003 invasion as home to the greatest artistic institutions of the Arab world.

Al Gbari’s own art fills much of the exhibition space. Working in several media and several artistic styles, she seems to give us several artists’ worth of paintings and household objects.

“I love to work,” she said. “To be honest, I find myself, my soul, through my work.”

Al Gbari’s art blends figuration, often of women and cities, with a rich symbolic language and bold expanses of color. Some paintings draw deeply upon Arab legends and Judeo-Christian-Islamic religious traditions, connecting them to modern-day social issues. Others literally pop into the third dimension as the shapes of faces jut from the canvas. Yet more speak through simple figures to universal themes of motherhood, love and loss.

Al Gbari’s “Shahrazad’s Tales” is an elegy to Baghdad that draws on the Arabic classic “One Thousand and One Nights.”

That classic relates the stories of a woman, Shahrazad, who must spin a new tale every night to avoid the wrath of a vengeful king. She is a symbol of self-expression, literary beauty and cunning femininity. In Al Gbari’s painting, Shahrazad lies fallen against a field of symbols rich with meaning, struck against the skyline of medieval Baghdad with its churches and mosques — a scene which, Al Gbari tells me, truly was as colorful as it appears. But here, Shahrazad has fallen silent, mourning a city wounded by 21st-century bombs.

Bahir Al Badry’s work is more abstract and is highly textured with shining colors and tight detail. Though his art can be endlessly analyzed for its symbolic content, often drawing upon visual motifs from ancient Mesopotamia, it is also invigorating to the eye. In Omary Elliott ‘s words, it “brings happiness and hope.”

Oliver De La Via is a young Bolivian-American artist whose most recent series, “Numbed Contours,” deals specifically with sexual assault and sexualization on American college campuses. His works are unrestrained, honest and, at times, startlingly ambiguous.

Baha Omary Kikhia has exhibited her work, which is “based upon her concept of the woman as a powerful and inspiring figure,” internationally. Her abstracted, curved figures are highly emotive. They call upon her personal experiences, like her struggle to raise two children as a single mother in 1970s New York City, and international issues, like ISIS’s destruction of precious cultural heritage in her home country of Syria.

Other artists featured in the gallery include Ahmed Ghareeb, a sculptor and painter with a bright, chaotic, abstract style that tends toward expressionism, and Haydar al-Yasiry.

The gallery carries a variety of decorative arts in addition to paintings. The collection includes lamps, wooden boxes, chairs, and large and small tables, as well as a variety of gift-appropriate objects at all price points. The Dubai-based brand Mishmashi makes an appearance with lively, one-of-a-kind cushions from their Flip collection. Al Gbari, a Muslim, hand-paints Christmas ornaments, echoing the secular Iraq of her childhood.

Dara Global Arts accepts commission orders to custom-decorate furniture or to paint a canvas at a specific size and using a specific color palette to match any room. Committed to social good, they are also eager to work with charities of all kinds, and will happily host private charity events and offer 20 percent of proceeds from art sold directly to the charity.

Dara will also host a series of special events, like a solo exhibition reception on Feb. 5. and a Valentine’s Day event on Feb. 15.

On one recent afternoon at the gallery, an interested couple happened to stroll in to view the art on display. One commented that the works were “extremely colorful and vibrant — and for a good cost,” and added, “I love the message that’s attached to it, too!”

Dara Global Arts will be open at in Idylwood Plaza next to the Starbucks 7501 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, until the end of March and possibly beyond. Hours from 10am-7pm daily. Contact 702-582-0804 or [email protected] with inquiries, or see the online store at daraglobalarts.com.

D. Taylor Reich is a freelance journalist who writes about urbanism and development. They are a Fulbright scholar, a 2017 graduate of Brown University and a proud alum of Arlington Public Schools.

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). This week’s Guide is written by Arash Tafakor of Dominion Wine and Beer.

Dominion Wine & Beer is thrilled to announce that our brand new wine & craft beer bar is OPEN! The new addition is located directly above our existing retail bottle shop in Falls Church. At Dominion, you can enjoy a great meal, pint of craft beer or glass of wine plus shop the areas best selection of beers and wines to take home.

We are now open full time with our hours listed below. Retail store hours have been extended to offer all of the great aspects of the business in unison.

Our craft beer and wine bar features 24 rotating craft beers on tap as well as 16 wines by the glass, alongside an extensive bottle list (wine list still in the works). Our current food menu features some great options including a delicious fried chicken sandwich, crispy Brussels sprouts, honey glazed and spiced Malibu carrots, charcuterie boards and much more!

Downstairs in the retail area, you’ll find 12 additional rotating draft lines with pours and crowlers available from all 36 taps.

Download the DigitalPour mobile app to view our entire draft list, prices and growler fill/growler availability in real time.

We can’t wait for you all to come out, see our new space, and experience the new Dominion Wine & Beer!

Retail and Wine Bar hours:

Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Kitchen opens at 11 a.m. daily.

When Brian Truitt, USA TODAY’s film critic, is putting together interviews for the pop-culture podcast The Mothership, there’s one reaction he says he gets more frequently than others:

“You’re located where?”

The Mothership is one of several podcasts run through USA TODAY at their headquarters Valo Park, a sprawling state-of-the-art complex tucked away in Tysons’ northeast corner.

It’s no secret that media companies, including USA TODAY owner Gannett, are struggling to find a way to stay afloat. The company recently resisted a hostile takeover. But Shannon Green, senior podcasts producer for USA TODAY and co-host of I Tell My Husband the News, said podcasts have been at the forefront of the company finding new ways to tell stories.

USA TODAY podcasts range from Accused, a several-season true crime podcast put together by a team at The Cincinnati Enquirer, to the sports-themed For the Win.

The Mothership is hosted by Truitt, technology reporter Brett Molina and TV critic Kelly Lawler, and has been running weekly for four years. While Tysons has not traditionally been considered one of the country’s entertainment hubs, Molina said there are some distinct advantages to working outside of Washington D.C.

“One of the cool things about having this outlet in the suburbs is that we can live here,” Molina said. “People tend to think we work in New York or Los Angeles.”

But the non-traditional location means the podcasts work with an eclectic group of guests, like novelist Brad Meltzer or “Batman” writer and Arlington resident Tom King.

“Being out here means we have to catch whoever is in the area,” said Truitt.

New episodes of The Mothership air every Friday. This week’s episode is a discussion of romantic comedies. Molina noted that the group narrowly avoided making a “Tribute to Liam Neeson” episode, quickly scrapped after the actor made some troubling confessions.

Green said she was approached to run the podcasting at USA TODAY shortly after Serial brought podcasting into the mainstream in 2014 and the company leadership began to see podcasting’s potential. Green said investigative stories are unique suited for podcasts, using voices to convey ideas and emotions that can’t be conveyed in text.

Not all of the podcasts garner enough downloads to have advertising, but Green said enough do to bring in revenue and help fund more experiments with the medium.

One investigative podcast, The City, profiled the rise of a massive illegal dump in Chicago, including an augmented reality component that helped demonstrate the story of how the empty lot evolved over time. Green said the augmented reality technology helps bring a new visual level to a traditionally auditory form of storytelling.

Green also said bringing in new talent from nearby schools has been part of bridging the generational gap. Kate Gardner, a student at the Madeira School in McLean, interns at USA TODAY but also uses the equipment to help put together an audiodrama: The Ark of Light.

Green said working with Gardner that she’s learned a whole new side of audio production involving Foley sound effects and other methods.

Green said podcasting, audio dramas, and other types of audio-entertainment have become such a hit, primarily due to the intimate connection they offer listeners to the story.

“Spoken storytelling is extremely intimate and emotional,” said Green.

Welcome to Luxury For Less, a weekly column highlighting the best deals in luxury real estate. Written by Brandy Schantz of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, Luxury For Less offers tips and tricks navigating the competitive real estate market and securing the home of your dreams. To learn more, visit ttrsir.com.

The big news last week was the Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed did not raise the benchmark federal funds rate and indicated that interest rates would remain steady.

The Fed had previously announced after the December meeting that interest rates would be raised twice in 2019. What does that mean for the mortgage markets? Mortgage interest rates are actually more related to the 10-year U.S.

Treasury note than to the federal funds rate so the overall health of the economy will be a better predictor where mortgage rates will go. Economists have predicted interest rates in the mortgage markets to be between 5-6% by the end of 2019. For now, we can expect mortgage rates to remain low.

In the Tysons area, snow and cold days kept many people indoors so this is a great week to go out and find some great homes. Here are this week’s luxury for less homes:

• 9974 Stone Vale Drive Vienna (Reduced $25,000)
• 447 Seneca Road Great Falls (Reduced $47,000)
• 680 Springvale Road Great Falls (Reduced $100,000)
• 1800 Old Meadow Road Unit #108 McLean (Reduced $25,000)
• 1002 Utterback Store Road Great Falls (Reduced $25,000)

The properties listed are a small selection of properties available in the Tyson’s Corner area. For a full list of properties listed on MLS and private exclusives, please contact Brandy Schantz.

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

Valentine’s Day is coming up and it has me thinking about different kinds of date nights. Something out of the ordinary dinner and a movie option.

If you’re looking for some new ideas, why not consider some live music, comedy or trivia? Various venues in and around town have local artists, cover bands, DJs and more.

Pair that with some good food and/or drinks, and you’ve got yourself a nice night out. It helps if you follow these businesses on Facebook or sign up for their newsletters. Events like Jammin Java 80’s night in January sold out pretty quickly, so you don’t want to miss out!

• Tyson’s Biergarten — Comedy Shows & Live Music
• Art’s Tavern — Karaoke, Live Music Fridays, Trivia Thursday
• JV’s Restaurant — Live Music, Open Mic
• Caboose Commons — Live Music, Music Trivia Bingo, Open Mic
• Jammin Java — Music
• Blackfinn Ameripub — Trivia
• Entyse at The Ritz — Live Music, Jazz
• Open Road — Music
• Paddy’s Bar — Irish Music, Trivia, Live Music
• Wolftrap — Live Music, Opera, Other Performances
• State Theatre — Live Music, Shows, Cover Bands
• Lost Dog Café Dunn Loring and McLean — Tuesday Trivia Nights
• BJ’s Brewhouse — Beer Dinners

Of course there are always more adventurous ideas like:

• iFly Loudoun
• Top Golf
• Indoor Rock Climbing
• Axe Throwing
• Capital Wheel: The Ferris Wheel at National Harbor (bonus: there’s a small “beach” where you can pretend you’re on a beach with your toes in the sand)

Have an idea to add or a business you’re working on? Drop a note in the comments to let people know about it!

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

We practice employment law. A new trend that the Federal Reserve and others have picked up on recently is the concept of “ghosting.” Ghosting occurs when a job applicant does not show up for their scheduled interview or where an employee does not show up for scheduled work and never returns.

What is Ghosting?

In areas which range from food services to banking, employers have indicated that a tighter job market and labor shortages have led to applicants deciding not to show up for scheduled interviews without notice or in accepting positions and then not showing up for their first day of work.

In other cases, ghosting has meant that an employee just decides to leave their employment without giving notice (or telling anyone) and just never shows up again. Other reasons for ghosting include the fact that because the employment rate is very low, it is easier than ever to find new employment. One report indicated that 20-50% of employers were facing ghosting in one form or another.

Why is Ghosting Bad for Employees and Applicants?

Ghosting is very bad for applicants and employees on a number of levels.

For starters, it isn’t a good long-term career strategy. If an employee doesn’t provide notice to an employer that they are leaving, supervisors may call the police for a wellness check, leading to a host of issues.

Additionally, by leaving in this manner, employees will most likely be deemed by the employer to have abandoned their employment and then classified as having been terminated. As a result, the employee that “ghosts” away from their employment will be left with a negative mark on their employment records, which they may have to disclose in future employment applications elsewhere and/or if they choose to ever seek a security clearance. This also applies to new employees that are hired but do not show up for their first day of work.

For applicants that don’t show up for interviews, doing so can hurt them in other ways. If a recruiter is involved, that recruiter could list the non-appearance in a shared database with other recruiters, essentially blacklisting the person.

With the digital future upon us, it is only a matter of time before such things also end up in background investigations or reports. The point is that “ghosting” is a recipe for hurting one’s own career.

It is important to take the time to give notice to an employer and make a phone call or at least send an email to an employer if an individual they plan to quit or cannot make a scheduled interview. Furthermore, if an applicant “ghosts” a scheduled interview with an employer, that individual’s name may get around to others in the same field, causing them to lose or not get an interview with other employers.

It may be easier to ignore interviews or leave for better employment, but it is far better to do so with professionalism. Ghosting is simply to big a risk for an employee or applicant to their long term career.

Conclusion

If you are in need of employment law advice or assistance, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Welcome to Luxury For Less, a weekly column highlighting the best deals in luxury real estate. Written by Brandy Schantz of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, Luxury For Less offers tips and tricks navigating the competitive real estate market and securing the home of your dreams. To learn more, visit ttrsir.com.

As we approach February, we find ourselves with a similar problem from this time last year — there is very little inventory.

My office is buzzing with multiple offers and buyers trying to get homes before they even hit the market. While Fairfax County’s inventory is slightly up compared to this time last year, it’s still not enough to keep up with demand and the average list price has increased to $985,978 from $820,268 this time last year.

Fortunately, there are still great homes to be found and great neighborhoods to explore. One of the more popular neighborhoods in the Tysons area is the neighborhood around Westwood Country Club.

Westwood Country Club is located just a few minutes from Tysons Corner in the sought-after Town of Vienna. Homes in this neighborhood range from 1950s ramblers to the large, newly built custom homes that are becoming the norm in Vienna.

This neighborhood is one of the more popular because the W&OD trail is just minutes away, you can walk to the country club and Tysons is a short and easy commute. Many people enjoy walking to the mall from this area and anyone who has tried to drive down Maple Avenue at rush hour knows that being close to the Tysons Corner side of the road is a big plus.

You don’t have to have the big, new home budget to get into this great neighborhood. One recently reduced property in this neighborhood is move in ready and just $774,900. Check out 1007 NE Westbriar Drive Vienna (Reduced $25,000) and other great luxury properties for less:

• 603 SE Niblick Drive Vienna (Reduced $50,000)
• 902 SE  Ninovan Road Vienna (Reduced $16,000)
• 2749 Hill Road Vienna (Reduced $20,000)
• 208 SE Audreys Court Vienna (Reduced $25,000)

The properties listed are a small selection of properties available in the Tyson’s Corner area. For a full list of properties listed on MLS and private exclusives, please contact Brandy Schantz.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Val Sotillo, Northern Virginia-based Realtor and Falls Church resident. Please submit your questions to her via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: My mortgage lender told me a homeowner’s policy was the last thing needed to fully approve our home loan. I want to shop around and make sure I get the coverage I need. What should I know before deciding on a home insurance policy?

Answer: It’s important to understand the basics of homeowners insurance so you can purchase a policy that meets your needs. It primarily covers your home and the stuff inside of it in the event of theft or some disasters (fire, windstorm, hail, lightning, smoke, explosion, theft, vandalism, riot and vehicle collision).

If your house is destroyed by a covered peril, a standard homeowner’s policy will go a long way toward repairing or rebuilding your home.

I’m not an insurance expert, so I talked to Matt Deadrick, with DDM Insurance, and he provided great insight that will help you understand basic insurance coverage and choose additional coverage that will fit your needs.

Dwelling Replacement Cost Coverage On Your Homeowners Policy

The value of your home may vary and this may cause concerns when you think about the amount of insurance you carry on your homeowner’s policy and whether it’s enough or too much. But the bottom line is that what your home can be rebuilt for versus what you can sell it for are two completely different things.

With Market Value, location, school district, distance to shopping and public transportation, etc. go into the calculations.

With Dwelling Replacement Cost, a completely different set of parameters is taken into account. The location is much less of a factor than the square footage of the house. The construction of your home and its features are what count.

When a new application is taken, your agent should ask questions about your home and it’s features such as square footage, age, number of rooms, if there is a finished basement, etc. This will be used to calculate an estimate of what your home can be rebuilt for, and determine the “Dwelling Coverage” on your policy.

Because there is no way to know exactly what a house costs to rebuild until it actually has to be rebuilt, it is imperative to include some coverage that takes into account that the “Dwelling Coverage” may need to be increased in the event of a catastrophic loss such as a fire.

No one wants to find out they didn’t carry enough homeowners insurance after their home is destroyed.

This is where the right homeowner’s policy can save the day. Basic homeowners policy will only pay up to the dwelling limit listed on the policy, even if it costs more to rebuild your home. However, there are several options available which help to make a homeowners policy much more flexible.

Read More

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

Super Bowl LIII is quickly approaching as the Patriots take on the Rams on Sunday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m.

We all know Super Bowl Sunday is where new year’s resolutions are forgotten. Or maybe that’s just my junk food loving heart talking. If you are thinking of hosting a party this Sunday, I have some great take-out options to help make it easier.

• Don Pollo — The Vienna Charcoal chicken newcomer is offering a free chicken with any Fiesta Family Platter.
• Taco Bamba in Vienna — Is taking catering requests by Thursday, 1/31 for their wings, nachos, tacos and all of their other goodies.
• Foster’s Grill — For wings, order ahead of time or they WILL sell out.
• Santini’s — In Oakton or McLean for pizza, party subs and their other decadent food.
• Open Road — In Merrifield has platters for wings or chicken bites with pre-order.
• Bonchon — In Fairfax or Arlington for some of the most delicious wings that exist.
• Founding Farmers — To go catering where you can order off the full menu.
• Liberty BBQ — In Falls Church, offering Super Bowl specials on their BBQ meat, wings, sides and desserts. Must pre-order and pick up on Friday.
• Rocco’s — In McLean for pizza or wings.
• O’Malley’s Pub — In McLean for wings.

Check out Tyson’s Biergarten if you would rather go out to watch the game. They have a long list of beer and food.