A second Movers and Shakers Festival is in the works for Vienna, but will likely be one year later than originally planned.

The original Movers and Shakers festival in 2017 raised money for the “Taking Flight” statue honoring late Mayor Jane Seeman.

James Cudney, this year’s chairman for Movers and Shakers, said the nonprofit is hoping to shift the focus from a specific project to broader support for local artists. Cudney compared the festival to ViVa! Vienna! where proceeds go to the Rotary Club and are then given out as grants.

“The premise of Movers and Shakes is a juried art festival,” said Cudney. “The proceeds from that go to grants for arts projects within the greater Vienna area.”

If all goes according to plan, the festival with handmade art along with music, food and beer will be held in 2020.

Staff at a work session on May 20 said they supported the event, though there were concerns about potential funding challenges. As the project moves forward, staff said the proposal will face two levels of approval: approval of the event itself and approval of funding.

Town Council members also said at the work session they will want to check in with staff to make sure they wouldn’t be overworked by another festival so soon after Oktoberfest. Council members also noted that staff will need to check in with nearby property owners to ensure they are on board with the festival.

“We’ve requested to wrap everything up by November,” Cudney said. “They have a couple more things requested from us, and we’ll submit that by the end of the month, then it goes to another work session and to Town Council. We’re pretty close.”

Photo via Facebook

The three-day family festival ViVa! Vienna! returns to the Town of Vienna for Memorial Day weekend.

Attendees can enjoy live entertainment, amusement rides and items from more than 160 vendors during the free festival, which kicks off on Saturday (May 25) and ends Monday (May 27) at 245 W. Maple Avenue.

Some of the activities during the festival include the semi-finals for Vienna Idol, a blood drive on Sunday and Monday, more than two dozen entertainers performing on three stages and a Memorial Day Tribute at 1 p.m. on Monday.

ViVa! Vienna! is set to have 24 different amusement rides. Tickets for the rides cost $1 each. Rides for small children require three tickets per ride and major rides require three to five tickets.

Ahead of the event, the Town of Vienna has tweeted some black and white photos of previous ViVa! Vienna! attendees.

Started by the Rotary Club of Vienna more than three decades ago, the annual event donates all of the proceeds to charities.

This was taken three years ago at ViVa! It's the time to create memories so you can look both back and forward at a weekend some would call the birthplace of summer. Hope they're both back for this one. ViVa! Vienna! takes you to that time starting 10am this Saturday #nostalgia pic.twitter.com/4Q74nmohEa

— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) May 22, 2019

Video via YouTube

A parade and fireworks are planned for a pair of Memorial Day commemorative events in the Tysons area.

On Sunday (May 26), the U.S. Marine Band will play a free concert at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) in Wolf Trap National Park. A fireworks display is planned to follow the concert.

Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for lawn and in-house seating, with curtains opening at 8 p.m. the fireworks are planned to start at around 9:45 p.m.

Seating capacity for the event is limited. The Fairfax Connector bus from the West Falls Church Metro station will not be available for the event. Parking is free and attendees can get $5 off two Lyft rides with the code WOLFTRAP19.

On Monday (May 27), the City of Falls Church is hosting its 38th Annual Memorial Day Festival and Parade with an expected 12,000 visitors. The festival is planned to feature food, live entertainment, artists and various vendors.

The Don Beyer Volvo 3K Fun Run is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The parade is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Free public parking will be available in the Kaiser Permanente garage at the corner of N. Washington Street and Park Avenue and at the George Mason Square garage (103 W. Broad Street).

The parade and festival will also result in several street closures.

• Park Avenue will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between N. Maple Avenue to N. Virginia Avenue (except for limited vendor traffic)
• Little Falls Streed will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between Park Avenue to Great Falls Street
• Great Falls Street
• Pennsylvania Avenue
• Fulton Avenue
• N. Oak Street
• Lincoln Avenue
• N. West Street
• Park Avenue

Other Memorial Day events around the area include:

• The Murphy Challenge: Memorial Day Workout and Grill-Out — 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at CrossFit Tysons Corner (8452 Tyco Road) — The event is a fundraiser to support educational charities to honor the life of Lt. Michael Murphy. Three workouts will be held followed by a grilling event, with attendees asked to bring a drink or dish to share. Visitors and non-members can sign up online.
• Memorial Day Annual Pool Party — 12-2 p.m. at Sport&Health McLean (1800 Old Meadow Road) — The summer barbecue and pool event is hosted by Sport&Health McLean and will include information about aquatics programs, camps and more.

Photo via Facebook

The Vienna Town Council will tackle a proposed outdoor music and art festival during its work session tonight (May 20).

Movers and Shakers for Vienna Arts, a nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the arts, wants to hold a two-day festival, which would double as a fundraiser, with juried art vendors, live music, food and beer in 2020.

Unlike the Town of Vienna’s two current outdoor festivals with craft vendors — ViVa! Vienna! and Oktoberfest — the proposed one would require items sold by vendors to be handmade.

“Vendors that make their own products cannot compete with prices of goods sold by vendors that sell buy/sell or imported items,” according to town documents. “The overall quality of items sold at an art show with no regulations is not as high as a festival that requires only hand-made items.”

The document also said that high-quality artists selling handmade crafts may refuse to participate in events that also allow the sale of imported items.

The proposed Movers and Shakers Music and Art Festival returns tonight to the Town Council after its organizers made adjustments based on previous comments from the Town Council.

While town staff said in the documents that limited funding and resources are concerns, they noted that the festival “could generate visitors to Town and additional spending at local businesses.”

The festival has support from the Parks and Recreation director, according to the documents.

McLean Day, an annual outdoor festival, will soon return to Lewinsville Park on Saturday, May 18.

Started in 1915, the McLean School and Civic League and the McLean Volunteer Fire Department created McLean Day as a fundraiser for the Franklin Sherman School. The festival changed over the years and is now produced by the McLean Community Center.

This year’s free festival will include the following activities:

• large amusement rides
• costumed superhero characters available for photos
• Bubble Ball
• a rock-climbing wall
• a petting zoo
• Riverbend Park animal presentations from noon-3 p.m.
• laser tag

People who want a sneak peek at the amusement rides can come to a preview on Friday, May 17, from 2-7 p.m.

In addition to the rides, McLean Day will offer food and performances, including dancers in MCC’s Joy of Dance classes, children’s music group Big Bang Boom, Brazilian martial arts group Abada-Capoeira D.C. and local teen singer and songwriter Mia Rocks. A stage for jugglers located by the children’s ride area will be new this year.

For the smartphone savvy, the Whova McLean Day App — available for free from The App Store or Google Play — has information about the festival.

Residents of the McLean Community Center tax district will be able to vote for the MCC Governing Board from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Eleven candidates are running for seats on the board on this with five adults vying for three seats and six teens vying for two student seats — one for the Langley High School boundary area and another for the McLean High School boundary area.

While parking is prohibited at Lewinsville Park all day on McLean Day, attendees can use three satellite parking lots and free ADA-accessible shuttle buses from 10:25 a.m.-6 p.m. at:

• McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue)
• Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (1545 Chain Bridge Road)
• McLean Baptist Church (1367 Chain Bridge Road)

The free festival, which is looking for volunteers, runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1659 Chain Bridge Road. (A note to attendees: cigarettes, balloons and alcohol are not allowed.)

Photos courtesy McLean Community Center

For the eighth year in a row, Washington, DC History & Culture will host the McLean Chocolate Festival at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) on Sunday, Jan. 27.

The event is a fundraiser for the McLean Rotary, which provides funds to support other local non-profit groups.

The festival will run from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

In 2018, 2,500 people stopped by the event and the festival was able to raise $14,000 for local groups.

No advance tickets or registration is required. Admission is $2 for adults. Admission for children three or under is free. Credit cards are usually accepted at the event, but cash is recommended.

In addition to chocolate, the event will have a room set aside for live family-friendly entertainment throughout the day. A lecture will also be held on how chocolate was made in colonial America.

Photo via Facebook

Looking for a way to kick off the last month of 2018 in style?

There are plenty of holiday and nightlife events around Tysons this weekend, including McLean’s annual WinterFest and an auction featuring a Star Wars Episode IV movie poster signed by the original cast.

Tomorrow (Dec. 1)

22nd Annual ReinDog Parade (8-9:30 p.m.) — In exchange for two cans of dog food, the community is invited to bring their dogs and costumes to a dog parade at the Langley Shopping Center (1398 Chain Bridge Road). The parade, hosted by the McLean Animal Hospital, will include gift bags, hot chocolate, and donuts.

Sensation Saturday Grand Opening (6 p.m.-2 a.m.) — The Palladium (1524 Spring Hill Road), Tysons’ newest club, is hosting its first “Sensation Saturday.” The event will be DJed by Jeff Carr and DJ Pootie.

Wilder vs. Fury Live at Tysons’ Biergarten (7 p.m.-1 a.m.) — The Tysons Biergarten will host a cover-free viewing of the boxing match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. Sound will be on for the event. Registration is required.

Merry & Bright Bash (8 p.m.-11 p.m.) — The Junior League of Northern Virginia, a women’s organization devoted to voluntarism, is hosting a gala in the Sheraton Tysons Hotel (8661 Leesburg Pike). The event will feature an open bar, a DJ, and an exclusive auction and raffle. Items at the raffle include the aforementioned Star Wars Episode IV poster, as well as an NHL hockey puck signed by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and an autographed Taylor Swift album. The event is black tie optional and tickets are $90, with proceeds going towards the Junior League’s community and leadership development programs.

Sunday (Dec. 2)

Santa Breakfast (8-10 a.m.) — Tysons Corner Center is hosting its 2018 Santa Breakfast. Guests can bring their own camera to get a picture with Santa or have professional photographs taken. Those attending are encouraged to bring unwrapped toys for the mall’s Help Through Holiday Giving program. The breakfast is first-come, first-serve at 8 a.m. and Santa is scheduled to leave promptly at 10 a.m.

After Thanksgiving Healthful Hike (1-2:30 p.m.) — The Friends of Wolf Trap are hosting a group hiking tour through the forests and trails around Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The event is free, but attendees can bring canned or non-perishable food items for humans, dogs or cats to be donated to local food pantries and animal rescues. The group will meet at the Ranger Station to the left of the Filene Center Box office for an easy-moderately paced three-mile hike.

McLean WinterFest Parade (3:30 p.m.) — McLean’s annual parade starts at the Langley Shopping Center, with pre-parade entertainment beginning at 2:30 p.m. before the parade’s start at 3:30 p.m. Be aware, there may be road closures along Old Chain Bridge Road as a result of the parade from 2-5 p.m.

Also this weekend, Santa will be traveling McLean via fire truck, courtesy the McLean Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD). Tomorrow he will be in the Kings Manor/Dolley Madison Library area and on Sunday he will be at Churchill Road in the McLean Central Park area. The MVFD’s Santa Tracker will allow locals keep track of where they can find Santa.

The United Methodist Women of Andrew Chapel’s annual Christmas Market returns to the Tysons area next weekend.

The market will run Dec. 8 and 9, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. The Christmas Market will be held inside the Andrew Chapel at 1301 Trap Road.

The market will feature handcrafted holiday gifts, jewelry, photography and other items available for purchase. Any and all gifts will be wrapped while you continue to shop.

On Saturday, Santa will be available to take pictures from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Proceeds of the Christmas market will support women and children’s missions.

Photo via Andrew Chapel

Vienna’s 72nd Annual Halloween Parade tonight (Wednesday) will haunt Maple Avenue starting at 7 p.m.

The parade starts at the corner of Maple Avenue and Branch Road SE. It will proceed west along the street past a reviewing stand before ending at Center Street S. The streets surrounding Maple Avenue will be closed with traffic redirected along Church Street.

Expect a crowd for the popular, family-friendly parade. Attendees, however, are asked not to place blankets or chairs on the sidewalks, benches, or bus shelters.

Children are invited to walk in the parade in their costumes with no registration required but they must be accompanied by an adult. Those wishing to walk in the parade should meet in the parking lot at United Bank (374 Maple Ave. E).

The parade is also a contest, with participants judged in the following categories:

• Youth bands
• Floats with and without music
• Youth performers
• Antique/classic vehicles

Winners of the costume contest will be recognized by the Vienna Town Council at a meeting in November.

Spectators are asked to keep off the street and monitor any children they might bring. Merchants along Maple Avenue are asked not to put items on the street today and to keep the sidewalks clear so pedestrians can easily walk along the parade route.

For those who have never attended the parade, local realtor Laura Schwartz had a few tips for how to get the most out of the experience.

More from Vienna’s town government on Facebook: