GUEST POST by Reston Resident Katie Vizenor I hate shopping. I try to avoid stores as much as possible. But, I love buying things and receiving interesting gifts. My solution to this problem has been to try subscription boxes. I’ve tried food, clothing, snack, smoothie, beauty and makeup supplies, crafts, men’s gifts, educational products, and…

The author of one of my son’s favorite books, Dozi the Alligator Finds a Family, lives right here in Northern Virginia. My son has excellent taste, too; the book is a gorgeously illustrated story with charming rhyme and humor. The whole premise is funny — the book stars a young alligator who secretly hitches a ride in a kid’s stroller at…

NOTE: This events calendar is from 2015. The guide to 2016 holiday events can be found HERE. Ready or not, here come the holidays! Here are some of the greatest celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa in Reston and the surrounding areas of Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 Tysons Corner Center’s…

If you have young children, you can’t miss the Cox Farms Fall Festival. It’s 90 acres of sheer silliness. This fall festival is one of the largest and most well known in Virginia, and has been listed by USA Today as one of the coolest pumpkin patches in the country. Cox Farms is a family farm in Centreville that…

The weather might be cooling down, but local events are still going strong. Highlights this month include Oktoberfest Reston, the Washington West Film Festival, the Reston Home Tour, and lots of family fun for fall and Halloween. Here is your October events calendar for Reston and the surrounding areas of Northern Virginia, including Herndon, Great…

This has been a week of reflection as we celebrate the life of Bob Simon and the founding of Reston. Much has been said about Simon’s community vision where people work together, live together and inspire one another. Reston is one of the nation’s most successful planned communities because of these concepts, but what does that look like…

The first day of school is right around the corner and we’ve vowed to improve study skills, cut back on screen time and walk instead of drive to school this year. But nothing has more of an immediate impact on the environment than lunch-packing. These days, we put a lot of energy into packing healthy foods that are good for our kids,…

Summer is wrapping up — don’t miss your chance to enjoy all the music, festivals, and more. August’s event highlights include the Fairfax 4H Fair and Carnival, two triathlons, and a new happy hour concert series on Thursday nights at Reston Town Center. Here is the event calendar for August in Reston, Herndon, and the surrounding areas of Northern…

It’s one of the zaniest ideas to come to town. By now, you may have heard of the BEACH exhibit in Washington, D.C. It’s a sea of white plastic balls where you can swim in the climate-controlled, shark-free, and architecturally magnificent National Building Museum. This temporary installation has received rave reviews from the press. After comparing my experience…