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!

Monday, Feb. 7

• FCA Artist Cafe and Critique — Noon-2 p.m. at Falls Church Arts Gallery (700-B West Broad St.) — Join Falls Church Arts for its monthly discussion and critique group. Attendees must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask.

Tuesday, Feb. 8

• Make 3 Valentine Cards Take and Make — 10 a.m.-9 p.m. at Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike) — Kids ages 3 to 6 can make and exchange Valentine’s Day cards all day.
• On Deck with Mercury — 6-7 p.m. at Foster’s Grille (138-A Maple Ave. W) — Per the Vienna Happenings newsletter, Town Manager Mercury Payton and the town’s finance staff will discuss the budget and fiscal forecast for the coming year at this monthly community forum.
• Black Falls Church & Fairfax County — 7-8 p.m. at Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library — Learn about local Black history from Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation founder and director Edwin Henderson. Registration is required.

Wednesday, Feb. 9

• Cary Morin, Jay Bird — 7:30 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave. East) — A guitarist-singer-songwriter show features Morin’s Native Americana folk-rock and Bird’s Americana bents. Cost is $15. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 10

• Solace Outpost Trivia Night Thursdays! — 7-9 p.m. at Solace Outpost (444 W. Broad St.) — Pour House Trivia brings its Thursday night game to this Falls Church brewery. Repeats on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Friday, Feb. 11

• Epidemics of the Past — 10-11 a.m. at Historic Huntley (6918 Harrison Lane) — Learn about how past epidemics transformed society while taking in a scenic view from this 19th century villa in Huntley Meadows Park. Register in advance for the program, which costs $8.
• Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus Live! — 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road) — A one-man comedic performance, featuring theatre, stand-up and vignettes, embodies the differences between sexes. Tickets start at $64.

Saturday, Feb. 12

• Tysons Camp and Activities Expo — 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Rd.) — Families can find summer camp and activity options at this annual expo where they can meet staff from local and sleepaway programs. The free event will be set up in Fashion Court near Macy’s.
• Multigenerational Bingo — 3-4 p.m. at Dolley Madison Library (1244 Oak Ridge Ave.) — Kids, teens and adults can compete for prizes. Registration is highly recommended.

Sunday, Feb. 13

• Beau Soir Ensemble — 2 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave.) — A flute, viola and harp trio brings together classical and diverse sounds. Cost is $5 for MCC district residents and $10 for others.

NoVA to Expand COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments — Virginia Vaccine Program Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula says that COVID-19 vaccine appointments will become more readily available in Northern Virginia “in the next couple of weeks.” Loudoun County and the City of Alexandria have already entered Phase 2, but appointments may initially become harder to schedule when localities like Fairfax County expand eligibility. [WTOP]

NVTC Requests Congress Support for Tysons Bus Service — The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission sent a letter to Northern Virginia’s Congressional delegation seeking financial support for the Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit project, which aims to establish bus service between Tysons and Alexandria. [NVTC/Twitter]

Inova Officially Takes Over Surgical Partner — “Inova Health System has taken over Fairfax’s Virginia Surgery Associates, in moments of expansion for the Falls Church-based nonprofit and increasing consolidation in the industry. The deal, effective Tuesday, puts VSA’s 47 employees under the growing health system’s umbrella…It also adds four office locations in Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church and Lansdowne, to Inova’s footprint — bringing its total to six general surgery sites in Northern Virginia.” [Washington Business Journal]

Police Make Hire to Support Officer Wellness — “Interim Police Chief David M. Rohrer of the Fairfax County Police Department is pleased to announce, the hiring of Cindy I. Guerra as Director of the Incident Support Services Bureau, following a national search.  Ms. Guerra has formal training in police psychology and extensive experience in police operations, communications and officer wellness and support.” [Fairfax County Police Department]

McLean Art Classes and Summer Camps Begin Registration — Registration is now open for the McLean Project for the Arts’ spring art classes and summer art camps. Classes will take place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the summer camps are filling up fast and will include in-person and online options. [McLean Community Center]

New Park Authority Director — “Kurt Louis has been named the new Director for Park Operations for the Fairfax County Park Authority. The position has been vacant since 2019 following the departure of Todd Brown, current Director of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation.” [Fairfax County]

Input on Public Schools Reopening — Fairfax County’s School Board will meet this public hearing this afternoon at 5:30 on the proposals for returning to school this fall. [FCPS]

Summer Art Classes — “McLean Project for the Arts has announced plans to offer both in-person and online summer-camp programming for 2020. Designed for ages 3-18, the online camps are slated to run June 22 to Aug. 7, with in-person camps scheduled to run July 7 to Aug. 7 at MPA’s studio spaces.” [Inside NoVa]

Hotel for Sale — The 449-key, Sheraton in Tysons is now listed on JLL for sale. [JLL]

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.

(Updated 1/27/20) The Traveling Players Ensemble now has its first permanent indoor facility since the organization’s founding 18 years ago. And it’s in Tysons.

Located in Tysons Corner Center, adjacent to the former Lord and Taylor spot on level one, the 42,000-square-foot studio serves as a practice spot for kids involved in the theater group, according to Jeanne Harrison, the founder and artistic program director of Traveling Players.

The studio opened on Jan. 11 and Harrison said it hosted 10 events within the first three days.

The studio’s current location in the mall previously held a restaurant called the Magic Pan in the 80s’ where Harrison said she was both a waitress and hostess in 1987 and 1988.

On weekends, roughly 30 kids participating in the program will gather and practice for upcoming performances, according to Harrison.

In March, Traveling Players Ensemble will debut two performances at Tysons Corner Center, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Students put in anywhere from three to upwards of six hours of work per week at the facility, depending on age, Harrison said.

With a 70% retention rate between age groups, Harrison said Traveling Players Ensemble’s retention rate is high because the group focuses on the students’ development.

“They get what I like to call ‘experiential learning,'” she said. 

Going forward, the center will host a spring break camp as well as summer camps.

“We are baby-stepping our way through this,” Harrison said, adding that they are still figuring out requirements for indoor practice — which is a shift from the group’s typical outdoor programming.

Parents who register their kids before Feb. 11 will receive a competitive discount, according to Harrison.

Photo courtesy Jeanne Harrison

VDOT Pre-Treating Roads — VDOT has been spreading brine on roads and highways in anticipation of accumulating snow this weekend. [Twitter]

Resources for Furloughed Feds — “Thousands of federal workers, contractors, vendors and service providers in our county are being impacted by the partial federal shutdown… Whether it is food, financial assistance or other needs, we can provide you with the resources to get you and your family through this difficult time.” [Fairfax County]

AT&T Offering Flexible Payment Options — “AT&T says it is offering flexible payment options to Mid-Atlantic customers affected by the government shutdown. ‘Just because the government shut down, doesn’t mean that your phone, TV, and internet should stop working too,’ the company said in an email.” [FairfaxNews]

Local Summer Camp Guide — “It’s winter, it’s cold, and the kids still have many months left in the school year. But as many parents know, this is the time of year when many families look ahead to summer months and how the kids will spend it.” [VivaTysons]