The McLean Community Center’s annual Holiday Art & Crafts Festival is officially virtual this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6. 

Admission to the festival is free. However, participants are required to register in advance, according to an MCC press release. 

This year’s festival will feature traditional handcrafted works by established and seasoned artisans, alongside innovative exhibits by new artists. According to the release, pottery, glass, jewelry, holiday decorations, mixed media, fashion accessories, wood, fine art, artisanal foods and more will be on display and for sale. 

According to the MCC Special Events Manager Catherine Nesbitt, the live show will also provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the participating artists craft their products.

“During our in-person event, we require the artists to be onsite, which allows attendees to meet them, but in some ways, the virtual show allows for an even more intimate experience of how these artists are inspired to create their masterpieces,” Nesbitt said. “In addition, the format will allow attendees to ask the artists questions in real time.”

The Northern Virginia Handcrafters Guild will help provide show management. NVHG is a non-profit community-based organization with a mission to help artists and craftspeople show and sell their work and promote the development and education of arts and crafts in the community, according to the release. 

Image via McLean Community Center

It’s was an unconventional Halloween to cap off an unconventional year for the McLean Community Center, an organization dedicated to establishing a sense of community a time of social isolation.

During a meeting last week, the MCC leadership discussed the Halloween activities that were ongoing at the McLean Old Firehouse Center.

Terri Markwart said that the event had been a success with many local middle school kids who were looking for a chance to meet up with their friends in costume. The event had over 200 attendees, Markwart said.

“Parents who came with their kids were appreciative,” Markwart said, “and the kids said the haunted house was fantastic.”

Other members of the MCC expressed similar approval of the work the Old Firehouse had done.

“It was a well run event,” said Barbara Zamora. “There was a line at one point, but everyone was spaced.”

The group also discussed the future of the McLean Project for the Arts with Lori Carbonneau, executive director of the MPA.

“We’re doing virtual openings and artist talks,” Carbonneau said, “[and] bringing people into the gallery in groups of six.”

Carbonneau said engagement has gone up over the last few months, which she attributed to the group working largely with people with disabilities, elderly residents, and folks who are otherwise homebound. As a result, the group had its second highest attended Artfest this year in terms of website traffic.

“For our first rodeo, we’re feeling pretty good about it,” Carbonneau said.

The success came in spire of a 95% drop in normal corporate sponsorship, but Carbonneau said the group was able to put the event together with community support. Carbonneau described artist sales as “not great” but adequate.

Unsurprisingly, the group also announced that the annual WinterFest parade has been cancelled. This is the second year in a row WinterFest has been cancelled, as it was cancelled last year due to predicted rain.

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 (Oct. 13)

• On Deck with Mercury, 6-8 p.m. — Southside Room of Vienna Community Center — (120 Cherry Street SE) — Monthly community forum for information-sharing and engagement on a variety of topics of interest, the website said.
• Great Books Discussion (Online), 7-8:30 p.m. — “Great Books” Book Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of most months. Discussing The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, the group will meet via Zoom. Email Marshall Webster, [email protected], to request the Zoom link.

Wednesday (Oct. 14)

• Kanopy Film Discussion Group (Online), 7-8 p.m. — Watch the movie and then join us to chat about it, the website said. Discussing the 2018 documentary, The Panama Peppers, by Alex Winter, the group will meet via Zoom. Email Pete Sullivan, [email protected], to request the Zoom link.

Thursday (Oct. 15)

• Preschool Story Time (Online), 10:30-11 a.m. — Mary Riley Styles Public Library will go live with virtual songs, stories, and rhythms on its Facebook page.
• Jane Austen Book Discussion (Online), 7-8 p.m. — Discussing Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, the group will meet via Zoom. Email Marshall Webster, [email protected], to request the Zoom link.

Friday (Oct. 16)

• Drive-Thru Drama (October 16-18), 6-8:15 p.m. — Drive-Thru Drama is a social-distance theatre format that brings people together for live theatre from the comfort of their own car, the website said.  Actors will perform one, cohesive story through short scenes across the McLean Community Center parking lot. Audience members will simply roll down their windows and drive the route from actor to actor. The entries will be timed in 15-minute increments.

Saturday (Oct. 17)

• Falls Church Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Avenue) — Enjoy fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music, and so much more at the Falls Church Farmers Market, the website said.
• Vienna Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at Vienna Community Center Parking Lot (120 Cherry Street SE ) — Sponsored by the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna, the Vienna Farmers Market features approximately 30 vendors from across the region offering locally sourced fruits, vegetables, and homemade eats, the website said.
• Lorenzo the Great Magic Show, 11-11:30 a.m. — Local magician Lorenzo the Great visits the Mary Styles Public Library just in time for a spooky magic show, the website said. The video will be available from Saturday (Oct. 17) through Saturday (Oct. 31) on its Facebook page.

Photo via Lorenzo the Great/Facebook

Later this week, the McLean Project for the Arts will unveil its latest exhibition: Sculpture NOW.

The new exhibition will feature over 50 pieces from the Washington Sculpture Group, according to a press release. A complete list of artists can be found online.

Interested community members are invited to attend a virtual exhibit opening reception on Thursday (Sept. 17) from 7-8 p.m.

Those who want to engage with the display further can either register to see the works in person or attend a virtual art talk which will be held on Oct. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m., the press releases added. There will be limited availability for in-person viewing of the exhibit.

“Sculpture NOW” will be on display until Nov. 14, the press release said.

Image via McLean Project for the Arts/Facebook

An interactive mystery show about a “super sleuth” is coming to McLean as The Alden embarks on its second Drive-Thru Drama performance this summer.

“From the Ash Baxter Files: The Search for the Stolen Spyglass” is a family-friendly mystery show about a high school student who is trying to find out which suspect stole his teacher’s priceless spyglass, according to a press release. The show was written by Andrew Scott Zimmer.

The Alden, which is a part of the McLean Community Center, debuted Drive-Thru Drama in July with a show written and directed by Zimmer about a $1 bill that travels through time and space. The show was a “hugely successful first attempt that sold out all performances,” according to the press release.

Here’s how Drive-Thru Drama works: the audience drives to various locations around the McLean Community Center’s parking lot (1234 Ingleside Ave) to watch actors perform short scenes that tell a cohesive story. The actors wear personal protective equipment and stay six feet away from each other and the passengers.

“We were thrilled to see so many enjoy our first Drive-Thru Drama performance in July! Since then we have been working to develop a new show and I think audiences will enjoy the surprises that we have in store,” Danielle Van Hook, the show’s producer and The Alden’s director of Youth Theatre Programs, said.

Van Hook told Tysons Reporter earlier this year that medieval pageant wagons inspired the “Drive-Thru Drama” production.

The show is set to run for three weekends in September: Sept. 11-13, Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27. The theater is currently seeking actors and plans to hold auditions on Tuesday, Aug, 18, according to the press release.

Tickets are $20 or $15 for people who live in the McLean Community Center tax district and must be purchased in advance.

(Updated 5:55 p.m.) Medieval pageant wagons inspired the “Drive-Thru Drama” production that kicks off this weekend in McLean.

Danielle Van Hook, The Alden’s director of Youth Theatre Programs, came up with the idea while in the middle of Zoom rehearsals for “Dorothy Meets Alice or the Wizard of Wonderland” in mid-May. The in-person show ended up getting cancelled, but Van Hook wanted to still find a way to bring theater to the community.

“I just started thinking, ‘What would have happened if this pandemic had happened in like the 1980s and we didn’t have this kind of virtual technology?'” she said.

Van Hook said her idea is a twist on the pageant wagons — instead of having the actors playing the scenes along a parade route, the audience goers are the people who move. During the production, the audience drives from stage to stage to watch actors deliver two- to three-minute monologues at fixed locations.

The Alden, which is a part of the McLean Community Center, is debuting the show “Small Change,” which was written and directed by Andrew Scott Zimmer.

“‘Small Change’ follows the travels of a $1 bill as it journeys through time and space, interacting with different people’s lives and leaving its mark on the world,” according to MCC. “Actors will perform one, cohesive story through short monologues at various stations in the center’s parking lot.”

Having the actors stand in parking spaces was the original idea before realizing that there are sections of trees and islands in the parking lot that could get converted into stages, Van Hook said. “Each little stage has its own kind of personality,” she added.

To limit person-to-person contact, the theater requires that audience members buy their tickets in advance. On show nights, audience members will be checked in by their cars’ license plates. Then, they will get an orientation from the front of house manager on what they can expect.

“He gives them a little bit of a rundown of the speed limit and how you know when you move on from the stage that you’re at to the next one,” she said.

In order to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus, the actors will wear face shields and stay six feet away from the cars and other people outside.

Personal protective equipment is one of the many considerations Van Hook has had to take into consideration as the producer for the show.

“It’s been really interesting to sort of think about all of the little details and how we adapt it for this new style, and for me personally, it’s been sort of an exercise in like remembering why I like really loved making theater,” she said.

And of course, she’s hoping it doesn’t rain — or worse.

While all of the elements of theater — audience, actors and stage — are there, Van Hook said that the format changes the experience.

“One of the interesting things about this medium — and the same thing with Zoom — is that you can’t necessarily control how the audience is viewing the show,” she said, adding that the positions of people in the car will affect the view and sound.

“We’re recommending that if the audience is on the left side of the car that the right side windows are up, because it helps with the sound,” she said, adding that the actors are projecting their voices. Audience members will be able to follow along with large-print ADA script that they can print out ahead of time or read on their devices.

Even the size of the car and how close or far away from the ground it is will impact the audience.

The “Drive-Thru Drama” is also “much more intimate” than traditional theater, she said. “You kind of get a show that’s just for you.”

There’s also the trippy concept that it’s a communal experience that isn’t in-sync.

“There’s a couple of cars along the route at any given time. The same show is going on at the same time, but it’s at five or six different places in the show at the same exact moment. So there’s different audience members viewing the show from different moments in time, all at the same time,” she said.

A few weeks ago, the theater held auditions via Instagram. Now, dress rehearsals are wrapping up for the production.

The shows will run for two weekends — July 3-5 and July 10-12. While the shows run from 6-8 p.m., the shows are 30-minutes-long and the tickets give audience members time slots for when they can arrive.

“If they have a ticket for 6-6:15 p.m., they don’t have to be there at 6,” she said, adding that they are expecting some delays because they can only admit one car at a time. “Hopefully the longest somebody is waiting to get in is like 15 or so minutes.”

A limited number of tickets for the shows became available online two weeks before the opening.

Going forward, Van Hook hopes that the format can provide The Alden and other theaters more options, both for when the interior spaces are closed and for engaging with audiences differently.

“If you’re comfortable in your car, you can be comfortable in this style of theater, which I think is really cool and could definitely open some doors for people that just are uncomfortable in a theater-type space.”

Van Hook also said the format could work well for high school drama clubs that want to put on shows to fundraise. When the coronavirus risk lessens, she said she would like to see multiple actors on the stages, improv and even audience participation.

“Once we kind of figure out the flow, there’s a lot of ways that we could adapt it and change it each time and really to be surprising.”

For people seeking a summer activity, the McLean Community Center has organized an all-ages scavenger hunt.

The MCC Super Summer Scavenger Hunt promises participants the chance to complete 100 challenges with a team of four to 10 people, according to the website.

Each challenge consists of taking photos, geocaching, finding specific items and other such activities, the page said, adding that each task will be worth a variety of points.

“Teams earning at least 30,000 points will be entered into a grand prize drawing,” the website said.

Participation is free but only 125 teams can participate. The first 50 teams to register will receive a goodie bag, according to the page.

The challenge will run from July 1-Aug. 17. Group captains, who must be 16 or older, can register the teams online.

Team members will need a cell phone to document their findings.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Robert Ames Alden was a “walking institution” in the D.C. area, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust recently told his fellow county officials.

Alden died at the age of 87 from complications from Alzheimer’s disease on June 7, the Washington Post reported. Foust shared highlights of Alden’s career and life during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ meeting last week.

Born in D.C., Alden worked as a sportswriter for the Cleveland Press before joining the Washington Post in 1952, Foust said. Alden covered wars, riots, natural disasters and more during his nearly 50-year career at the Washington Post.

Alden was a founder of the National Press Foundation. Foust noted that Alden, who was the National Press Club’s president in 1976, was a “leading advocate” in the 1960s and 1970s to allow women to join the Press Club.

Foust remembered Alden as a “living legend in McLean.” On the local level, Alden advocated for the community complex that houses McLean Central Park, the Dolley Madison Library and the McLean Community Center.

Foust said that the then-governing board of the community center wanted to name the building after him.

“If you knew Bob, you know he refused,” Foust said. “That would not be acceptable to him. He wanted it named the McLean Community Center.”

The community center’s auditorium and theater were named after him instead.

“He was an amazingly successful, amazingly accomplished and unbelievably nice, friendly, courteous, kind guy,” Foust said. “We are going to miss him so much.”

Photo via Alden Theatre/Facebook

Updated 6/1/2020 — Corrects dates for second set of live performances. 

COVID-19 precautions are affecting live performances, but The Alden in McLean has found a way to bring shows to people that is similar to drive-in movies.

“Drive-Thru Drama” is set to run for two weekends in July (July 3-5 and July 10-12) with shows from 6-8 p.m., according to a press release.

The theater, which is a part of the McLean Community Center, plans to hold auditions via Instagram submissions.

“Priority will be given to actors who live, go to school or work in the MCC tax district,” the press release said. “There are no age or gender requirements in the script, but all actors must be 14 years old or older.”

More from the press release:

“Drive-Thru Drama” is the brainchild of The Alden’s Director of Youth Theatre Programs Danielle Van Hook. “Like so many, I was missing live performance and knew there had to be a way to safely produce a non-virtual show,” said Van Hook. “Nothing replaces the feeling of sitting with your neighbors in The Alden, but I hope this helps bring a little respite away from the screens and returns a level of normalcy to people’s lives.”

The show will be the debut performance of “Small Change,” a play written and directed by Andrew Scott Zimmer. Commissioned by The Alden, “Small Change” follows the travels of a $1 bill as it journeys through time and space, interacting with different people’s lives and leaving its mark on the world. Actors will perform one, cohesive story through short monologues at various stations in the center’s parking lot. Audience members will be directed to drive the route from actor to actor…

The Alden is placing several safety precautions into place to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ COVID-19 guidelines such as requiring the actors to wear personal protective equipment and setting up the route so that actors are positioned six feet away from the cars and passengers.

People should note that performance dates could change based on Gov. Ralph Northam’s orders. A limited number of tickets for the shows will be available online two weeks before the opening.

The McLean Community Center won’t have fireworks for the Fourth of July due to public health concerns.

The community center recently announced that it plans on canceling almost all of its summer events and activities. These cancellations include McLean Day, which was set to be held this Saturday (May 16), all summer camps and the Independence Day fireworks and corresponding celebration at Langley High School, according to a press release.

“MCC has chosen to announce this decision now to allow patrons and their families the opportunity to make alternative summer plans,” the press release said.

Still, the community center plans to have things to keep people busy during this time of social distancing and staying inside.

“We will be offering, at no-cost, two- or three-day virtual activities during the time when we would have been holding camps,” George Sachs, MCC’s executive director, said in the press release.

Depending on what happens later in the summer, Sachs said that staff may reconsider hosting modified in-person camps once it is safe.