When three young mothers decided to open a children’s consignment shop at Lake Anne, their lawyer and accountant were skeptical. “Adorable,” they said. They didn’t think the business would last a year. Thirty-five years later, Small Change Consignment continues to prove them wrong. There’s a ton of reasons why Small Change has lasted so long in this constantly…

This is well known in Southern Maryland, but I had no idea until recently: some of the beaches there have tons of fossils! The Calvert Cliffs, located south of Chesapeake Beach in Calvert County, Maryland, contain sedimentary deposits from the Miocene age (6 to 20 million years old), and those fossils wash up on the beaches. The…

It will be a waterfront dance party when the Lake Anne Jazz and Blues Festival returns to Reston this Saturday, September 3, 2016. Even if you don’t typically listen to jazz music, I highly recommend this festival. The music and atmosphere are fantastic, and it’s one of my favorite events of the year. The Jazz and…

It’s been so fun to see crowds of people gathering at local landmarks to play Pokemon Go this summer. As I learned through many conversations with players, Pokemon Go has inspired lots of people to spend time outdoors when they would ordinarily be sitting at a screen inside. If you’re one of the many people who…

It’s been called “America’s Best Idea” and it’s having a huge birthday. On August 25, 2016, the National Park Service (NPS) will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of events designed to honor the Service’s century of conservation and recreation. When you think of National Parks, distant destinations such as Yellowstone or Yosemite might come…

Flying — you know you’ve dreamed of it. If you’ve ever envied a seagull soaring over a cliff, or imagined yourself leaping like Ironman, here’s the chance you’ve been waiting for. An indoor skydiving center called iFLY Loudoun opened earlier this year in Ashburn, and we’ve been eager to try it. This facility offers the sensation of…

As we mentioned last week, Reston Town Center is offering new summer events this year, and the Pavilion is now reserved for dogs on Wednesday evenings. Families will be glad to learn that Tuesdays are for the kids! On summer Tuesdays from 4:00-7:00pm, the Pavilion hosts Zoosday, a free play area for young children that includes…

Summer seems to be slipping by faster than ever this year. If you’ve missed out on this season’s free family activities, there’s still plenty of time to catch up. Here is a schedule of this summer’s free movie screenings, both outdoors and indoors, in the Reston area of Northern Virginia.   LAKE ANNE: SUMMER FILM…

I’m sure you’ve seen them, staring at their phones while wandering around Reston Town Center, Lake Anne Plaza, and just about every other landmark in the country. Pokemon Go players seem to be gathering everywhere. This phone game was launched last week, and within a few days its daily usage has exceeded that of Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or Tinder. Whether or not…