Don’t have any New Year’s Eve plans yet? Tysons Reporter has you covered. Here’s some events around the Tysons area to help you ring in 2019 on Monday.

NYE 2019: Bollywood Night Theme
American Tandoor (7943 Tysons Corner Center)
Time: 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

This New Year’s event will feature live music, a full buffet, open bar, party favors and photobooths. Tickets are $85 and available by calling 571-633-1820.

New Years Eve 2019
Greenhouse Bistro (2070 Chainbridge Rd)
Time: 5 p.m.-2 a.m.

The Greenhouse Bistro will host a black and gold-themed New Year’s Eve party with complimentary valet and midnight champagne toast. Tickets are $40.

New Year’s Masquerade Ball
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike)
Time: 7 p.m.-2 a.m.

The Biergarten will host a masquerade party on New Year’s Eve with live music, a champagne toast and a balloon drop. Tickets are $20.

New Years Eve at The Palladium
The Palladium (1524 Spring Hill Road)
Time: 8 p.m.-2:30 a.m.

Tysons’ latest salsa/bachata nightclub will host a champagne toast and party favors New Year’s event. General admission is $20, or $130 for two tickets with a reserved table and a full dinner.

NYE Masquerade at Blackfinn
Blackfinn Ameripub (2750 Gallows Road)
Time: 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Blackfinn in Merrifield is hosting a masquerade party with $15 admission (if purchased in advance) which includes a champagne toast and appetizers. A $200 VIP ticket comes with a private dining room for six guests.

Back to the 90’s New Year’s Eve Party
Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave E)
Time: 8 p.m.

While most of the parties around the area are looking forward to 2019, Jammin’ Java in Vienna is winding back the clock to the 90’s, complete with a Weezer tribute band. General admission is $20.

Photo via Jammin’ Java

Fairfax County Police are reminding residents to lock their doors after a wave of burglaries hit the McLean, Reston, and Fair Oaks Districts.

“The burglaries have primarily been during the early afternoon and evening hours,” FCPD said in a press release. “The majority of victims have been of Asian or Middle Eastern descent. Detectives are investigating whether all of these incidents are connected and whether other burglaries from across Fairfax County are related.”

At least 13 burglaries have taken place in Fairfax over the last two months at the following residences:

• 5200 block of Knight Arch Circle, Fairfax
• 11800 block of Robertson Farm Circle, Fairfax
• 11800 block of Robertson Farm Circle, Fairfax
• 11800 block of Robertson Farm Circle, Fairfax
• 4800 block of Annamohr Drive, Fairfax
• 11300 block of Andrew Lane, Fairfax
• 11300 block of Andrew Lane, Fairfax
• 1100 block of Mountain Hope Court, Great Falls
• 200 block of Golden Woods Court, Great Falls
• 1100 block of Lees Meadow Court, Great Falls
• 1200 block of Raymond Avenue, McLean
• 3500 block of Saint Augustin Lane, Oakton
• 9600 block of Maymont Drive, Vienna

“We are also working alongside the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and Manassas City Police Department who are investigating similar cases,” FCPD said. “Please be on the lookout for suspicious people, cars and noises. Do not hesitate to call our non-emergency number, 703-691-2131, to report suspicious activity or 911 for an emergency.”

In the meantime, FCPD released a list of tips to help people protect their homes from burglary:

• Keep all doors and windows closed and locked.
• Secure sliding glass doors by placing a metal rod or a wooden dowel rod in the track.
• Lock the door to an attached garage.
• Make your residence appear occupied, even when no one is home, to help deter criminals.
• Keep the perimeter of your home well lit.
• Have a trusted neighbor collect mail and newspapers while you are away.
• Keep landscaping trimmed away from entrances and walkways.
• Organize or join a Neighborhood Watch program.
• Get a free home security check from a Crime Prevention Officer.
• Keep an inventory of your property.
• Store ladders, tools and any other outside objects in a locked shed or garage.
• Make sure the home’s address is visible for police, firemen and paramedics.

Tysons Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in the Tysons area.

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

Today, Dec. 26

Voyages
Torpedo Factory Artists Association Mosaic (2905 District Ave)
Time: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Torpedo Factory Artists Association is opening up its newest exhibit in the Mosaic District: Voyages, a new art gallery that will run until Jan. 27.

Saturday, Dec. 29

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue’s Adoption Event
Kriser’s Natural Pet (144 Maple Ave W)
Time: 12-2 p.m.

The Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is hosting an adoption event in Vienna. After filing an adoption application, several dogs will be available for selection with a full list of dogs posted at 6 p.m. the day before.

Acoustic Soul at Caboose Brewing
Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road)
Time: 1-4 p.m.

The new Caboose Commons in Merrifield is hosting a jam session with Acoustic Soul, a local rock, soul and blues cover band.

2nd Annual Holiday Pajama Jam
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike)
Time: 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Not quite ready to let the holidays go yet? The Tysons Biergarten’s pajama party is free to attend and the best pajama can win a $100 cash prize if they RSVP ahead of time.

Sunday, Dec. 30

Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church Blood Drive
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School (8601 Wolftrap Rd)
Time: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

A Catholic Church in Vienna is hosting a blood drive, with appointments available online or by calling 1-866-256-6372.

Fresh Pancakes and Hot Chocolate
Once Upon a Dream (527 Maple Ave East)
Time: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

The Once Upon a Dream playspace is hosting a free pancake and hot chocolate breakfast for any children coming in to play this Sunday. Space is limited, so RSVP by emailing [email protected].

Across the next three days, there are three ugly sweater parties planned and two of them will give attendees the chance to win $100.

Tonight (Dec. 21)

• Holiday Potluck (8 p.m.) — The Mosaic Ballroom in Merrifield is hosting a free holiday potluck, with holiday drinks, food and dancing. For those who aren’t feeling festive, the event will include non-holiday songs.
• 2nd Annual Ugliest Sweater Party at Tysons Biergarten (9 p.m.-2 a.m.) — Tysons Biergarten says the harder your sweater is to look at tonight, the more likely you’ll be to walk home with $100 in cash. Participants must register online to win.
• Jingle 2018 (10:30 p.m.) — Greenhouse Bistro is hosting a Christmas party at 2070 Chain Bridge Road in Tysons.

Tomorrow (Dec. 22)

• Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (4-8 p.m.) — Coastal Flats in Tysons Corner Center is hosting a party for least fashionable, with prizes awarded accordingly.
• Open Road Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (7-8:30 p.m.) — Open Road Grill in Merrifield is holding an ugly sweater party with a chance to win a $100 gift card if yours is the ugliest. The Grill also requests attendees to bring a coat to donate.
• Pre-Christmas Party (8 p.m.-2 a.m.) — The Palladium (1424 Spring Hill Road) is hosting its pre-Christmas party featuring local Latin band Nfuzion.

Sunday (Dec. 23)

• Paint Party with Santa (3-5 p.m.) — Kiln & Co at 138 Church St. in Vienna will be hosting an afternoon of ornament painting and hot chocolate. For $10, parents can drop their kids off at the event to be supervised. Proceeds from the event benefit the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.

Photo via Facebook

Hoagies are on the horizon for Fairfax County.

Wawa, the convenience store chain with a cult following, just reiterated its commitment to opening stores around the county, and said that the store models may be unique to the area.

“Fairfax County and Northern Virginia is a really important market for us,” Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens was quoted as saying in a WTOP article Thursday. “We are looking at strategically bending our store model to get more access to that area and plan to announce some openings in that area coming up.”

Wawa currently has two stores in Northern Virginia — in Sterling and Chantilly. It also has two locations in the District — a store new Dupont Circle that opened late last year and a new location in Georgetown that opened yesterday.

A Wawa rep confirmed to Tysons Reporter last month that it was “actively looking for new locations in Vienna and look[s] forward to sharing confirms plans and locations as they take shape,” leading to julibation on social media. The company has previously said that it is hoping to open 30-50 stores total in the D.C. area.

Photo courtesy Grant/PoPville.com

Blend 111 is shaping up to be a little different than many restaurants in Vienna.

It isn’t the latest branch of some regional or national chain. Instead, Blend 111 is a food and wine bar for Vienna by local Vienna residents.

Signs are up on the front of the restaurant under construction at 111 Church St., but there’s still a lot of work still to do inside before it’s ready for its first customers. Michael Biddick, principal owner and CEO of Blend 111, says construction will start the first week of January and is scheduled to take 8-12 weeks with an opening in mid-spring 2019.

But when it does open, Biddick says the restaurant will be a blend of the taste and regional dishes of the four different Vienna families coming together to support the project.

“We wanted to bring something you normally find around D.C. or Logan Circle, an upscale restaurant experience that’s accessible for the community,” said Biddick. “We wanted a special place to go on a night out.”

Biddick said the idea for the restaurant came as he was commiserating with neighbors that they all loved going into the city, but with kids and jobs with long hours it was difficult to make the hour drive and get a babysitter.

“A lot of people around here just go somewhere else, like a chain or somewhere in town, but they make do with convenience,” said Biddick. “We wanted to give people a great restaurant to go to for wine and a special night right here in Vienna.”

Around April, Biddick said he sold the last of the tech startups he’d been working on and had extra time on his hands. Wine and food was a hobby for Biddick and he began to take a serious interest in turning that into a local business.

“I started on my own, but as we shared that with neighbors they got really interested and wanted to come in on the project,” said Biddick. “So now there are four families in Vienna investing… They’re mainly neighbors, just people on the street who want to be involved.”

The restaurant will offer a blend of cuisines from Venezuela, France and Spain, three culinary cultures Biddick says were important to the families involved.

“We took those three regions and tried to create some menu concepts off the things we saw when we were traveling,” said Biddick. “Like we really loved this menu dish from Spain, so we made a note to bring that back with us.”

While there are options for meat eaters like grilled quail or duck, Biddick, a vegetarian, said he was also mindful to offer equal portions of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options in the menu.

The restaurant’s origins come from a community need, and Biddick says he aims for that community focus to continue after the restaurant opens. The types of food served and hours the restaurant runs are all planned to be flexible based on what the community responds to.

“The localness of Vienna, and the lack of a lot of the larger restaurant chain environments directly in downtown Vienna, makes it unique,” said Biddick. “I think this is showing that you can do something unique and super high quality that isn’t part of some big chain. That’s something that’s important for us to prove.”

Photos via Twitter

A new bus route will connect the Vienna Metrorail Station to the Pentagon via I-66, starting on Jan. 22.

The new express Route 698 will operate during weekday rush hours only, with ten trips in the morning and evening. The route, approved by the Board of Supervisors in November, will be supported by the Commuter Choice Program and I-66 toll revenues.

The first bus will leave Vienna at 5:40 a.m. and the last bus will arrive in Vienna at 6:46 p.m.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation also announced the Fairfax Connector’s holiday schedule. While most Fairfax Connector buses will not be operating on Christmas Day, the following bus lines in the Tysons area will not operate on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Day:

• Route 422: the Tysons Circulator
• Route 461: Flint Hill-Vienna
• Route 494: Lorton-Springfield-Tysons
• Route 495: Burke Centre-Tysons
• Routes 624, 634: Stringfellow Road-Fair Lakes via Vienna Metro Station
• Routes 640, 642, 644: Stone Road – Centreville North via Vienna Metro Station
• Route 724: Lewinsville Road via McLean Metro Station

Photo via Facebook

It’s mid-December and the Holiday events season is in full swing around Tysons.

In Vienna, the Volunteer Fire Department will host its annual All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast tomorrow, Saturday, at 400 Center St. S. From 8 a.m.-12 p.m., the department will be serving pancakes, sausage, bacon, juice, and coffee. At 9:30 a.m., Santa Claus will arrive to green children or adults at the breakfast, and is scheduled to stay until 11 a.m.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office will be on hand to provide a free photo of your child and take a set of fingerprints using clean, inkless technology to help authorities in missing child situations.

Tours of the fire equipment at the station will be held at 9, 10, and 11 a.m.

But for the pancake averse, there’s plenty more to do across Tysons, including a live Christmas event featuring Chewie the camel.

Tonight (Dec. 14)

• 70’s Disco & Funk Holiday Party (8 p.m.) — Jammin Java at 227 Maple Ave E. in Vienna is hosting a 70’s themed party with hits from James Brown, Donna Summer, the Jackson Five and more. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for dinner and drinks, with prizes awarded for best 70’s holiday-inspired outfit. The dance party starts at 8 p.m.
• 80’s Christmas Party (8 p.m.-2 a.m.) — The Palladium’s weekly 80’s party turned holiday themed tonight at 1524 Spring Hill Road. Attendees must be 21 to enter, but tickets reserved in advance are cover-free.

Tomorrow (Dec. 15)

• Holiday Jam at Records and Rarities (2-8 p.m.) — The record shop in the Tysons Corner Center mall is hosting a holiday themed party featuring a lineup of live DJs.
• 2nd Annual Festivus Celebration (8 p.m.-2 a.m.) — The Tysons Biergarten at 8346 Leesburg Pike is throwing a Festivus celebration. The party includes a “re-gifting” table, where unwanted gifts can be dropped off and donated to charity.

Sunday (Dec. 16)

• Live Nativity (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) — The McLean Presbyterian Church at 1020 Balls Hill Road is hosting a live nativity scene featuring real animals, like Chewie the camel, that children can pet.
• Orangetheory Fitness Tysons Grand Opening (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) — Tysons’ newest workout studio will host a grand opening celebration at its 1430 Spring Hill Road location. The event will include food, drinks, music, and a raffle.

Photo via Facebook

It’s a new week with a new crop of job opportunities opening up in Tysons, with management positions available in everything from cybersecurity to opera.

The Taste of UrbanSpace food hall that opened last week in the Tysons Galleria is searching for an assistant food hall manager. According to the job posting:

We are looking for passionate and operations-savvy Assistant Manager to oversee A Taste of Urbanspace. You will be the [general manager’s] right hand, liaising with vendors and the rest of the in-house team to ensure a superior guest experience through smooth daily operation and quality facilities maintenance.

Applicants should have experience in food management, but most of the other requirements are along the lines of “a strong instinct for hospitality” and “a strong communicator and team player.”

For those looking for a different sort of management position, Capital One is looking for a manager in the Transformation and Optimization Team. This work would primarily involve handling security operations, engaging vendors, and working closely with the intelligence and security operations teams.

Applicants should have experience working in cybersecurity technology with either a bachelor’s degree or military experience and several years of experience in various IT or system analysis fields. An MBA or Master’s degree are preferred.

For those looking for a more artistic type of management, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts is looking for an assistant director for artistic operations, particularly for opera and classical programming. The assistant director would help manage classical programming activities at the Filene Center as well as managing the opera operations, from auditions to managing artistic housing.

There’s several job openings related to animal care. PETCO in Vienna is looking for a dog trainer or dog trainer apprentice for those interested in enhancing communication and teamwork between dogs and their owners. An aquatics specialist is also needed to provide care and aquatic life education to prospective owners and to care for the animals.

Meanwhile Dogtopia in Tysons is looking for a general manager, a front desk coordinator, sales manager and canine coach. Among the job benefits are that dogs are always allowed to come to work.

Other jobs around the area this week include:

• Babysitter — A sitter is needed for morning work in Vienna from 6-9:15 a.m., Monday through Friday with every other Friday off. The job would include getting a 2 and 8 year old dressed and ready for school, making breakfast, cleaning dishes, light room cleaning and driving the children to school. The job would pay $15 per hour and starts in early January.
• Pilates Coordinator — Equinox is looking for applicants to help manage pilates sessions at their studio in Tysons Corner. Applicants must be certified in Pilates training and have experience in customer service.
• After School Chess Instructor — Chess Wizards in Vienna is looking for tutors to teach elementary school students the fundamentals of the game. The work is part time, paying $60-65 per hour with between 1-5 one-hour classes per week. Instructors will need experience in maintaining an organized and ordered classroom and an ability to make chess fun.
• After School Minecraft Instructor — Fairfax Collegiate is offering courses teaching students basic engineering and programming, either through Lego robotics or Minecraft. Instructors in these classes should have at least one year of college experience, experience in the course material, and ideally experience in handling younger students. The job is part-time and pays $45-50 per hour.

Additionally, several of the Alarm.com jobs from last week remain open to applicants.

You’re cordially invited to the Town of Vienna’s holiday reception tomorrow (Friday) afternoon from 4-6 p.m. No RSVP necessary.

The reception will be held inside the Vienna Town Hall at 127 Center Street S. The annual party is scheduled to be attended by the Town Council, in case you’re one of the commenters with strong opinions on the school trailers or the log cabin removal discussed earlier this week.

The reception will include light refreshments and musical performances.

If you’re looking for more holiday festivities around Vienna, on Sunday (Dec. 16), The Insight Shop will host its annual Sing-Along on the Town Green at 144 Maple Ave E. The Sing-Along will run from 5-6 p.m. with hot beverages served to keep attendees warm.

Photo via Facebook