Posts Tagged ‘awards’
Festival Spotlight: 1st Annual Chantilly Day
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Celebrate a great NoVA town on Saturday, May 12.
By Lindsey Leake
Shutterstock/J.D.S.
Remember yesterday, celebrate today, embrace tomorrow. These tenets outline the mission of Chantilly Day, an annual festival crafted by the Chantilly-Centreville Chamber of Commerce (CCCC)—a division of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce—that aims to foster a sense of community in the area. The inaugural affair is set for Saturday, May 12 and promises to be “the biggest and best event Chantilly has ever seen!”
CCCC Chairwoman and Chantilly Day creator Saharnaz Farivar knew from the get-go that she wanted the western Fairfax County event to stand out from other festivals and community events of its kind.
“Chantilly Day had to be an annual festival to showcase [the] best of our minds in motion while rebuilding its image of being a fragmented and mostly industrial city,” she says. “Chantilly Day brings [a] sense of community and promotes business, arts, science and education.”
Kicking off Chantilly’s special day is a parade featuring local high school bands, antique cars, local politicians, Civil War reenactments and more. Throughout the day over 100 community businesses will come together to form the festival’s Business Expo, live entertainment will blare from the center stage and patrons can view remarkable rides during the car show. The afternoon will bring an awards ceremony honoring local citizens, educators, businesses and community groups.
Chantilly-area students won’t be left out of the recognition ceremony; the event is sponsoring a youth essay contest asking elementary, middle and high school students to reflect on the festival’s “Remember Yesterday, Celebrate Today, Embrace Tomorrow” theme.
“We are encouraging intellectual and artistic participation of our schools primarily,” Farivar says. “We want to create an environment for our younger generation to be inspired and excited.”
The Taste of Chantilly segment of the day offers attendees the opportunity to sample the region’s finest fare, while the youngest visitors will relish all the Children’s Corner has to offer: face painting, a rock-climbing wall, and bouncing balloons. The celebration will come to a rocking end at the Sunset Concert featuring The Merchants of Cool.
In addition to local politicians like Congressman Frank Wolf and Supervisor Michael Frey, delegates from sister city Chantilly, France, including Mayor Eric Woerth, will be in attendance.
Photo courtesy of the Centreville-Chantilly Chamber of Commerce
Though the 1st Annual Chantilly Day looks to be a great success, plans are already in the works to improve upon the event in future years.
“We will learn much from this year’s experience,” Farivar says. “Our committee, our chamber, our event organizers and our sponsors will be in much better shape for future events, as we try vigilantly to stay on the message and true to our vision and mission statement.”
The celebration will be held on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend each year.
“We believe Chantilly Day will strengthen this incredibly dynamic community in new and exciting ways and build an increased sense of identity among residents and businesses whose interests, talents and activities make Chantilly such a wonderful place to live and work,” says Heather Gray, communications manager of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The chamber anticipates thousands will attend this free event, enjoying an afternoon in the sunshine that is full of laughter, smiles and fun for all ages.”
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, May 12, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Free
Babies R Us parking lot on Metrotech Drive
9:30 – 10 a.m. Parade
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Business Expo
10 – 11 a.m. Celebration of the Bands
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Car Show
11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Taste ofChantilly
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Main Stage Entertainment
Noon–3 p.m. Chamber Awards
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Children’s Corner
4 – 6 p.m. Sunset Concert featuring The Merchants of Cool
CHANTILLY DAY MOTTO
“Paying homage to our heritage and the patchwork quilt that is our community. Events will include reenactment of historical events.
Showcasing local businesses, civic, art and scientific organizations, recognizing those with highest growth and contribution to the local economy.
Recognizing the best in our educational institutions. Identifying and rewarding the high-achieving students who are the best opportunity for creating a better future.”
For more details, visit www.chantillyday.com or contact the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce at 571-323-5304 or info@chantillyday.com.
(May 2012)
F&W Taps Miller, Shields for Best New Chefs 2010
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
(Image: Melany Bundy Mullens)
Last night, Food& Wine named its Best New Chefs for 2010–a culinary who’s who which includes Trummer’s on Main toque Clayton Miller (above left) and Town House chef John Shields (above right).
Other local BNC alumni include Cathal Armstrong (2006) and Dale Reitzer (1999).
We’ve trumpeted the epicurean daring of Miller and Shields (and the wisdom of their respective restaurants for bringing them aboard) in the pages of our magazine, and are glad to see our national peers honor the exemplary cooking taking place around the Commonwealth.
Congrats chefs! Enjoy your trip to Aspen!
–Warren
NoVA Well Represented in 2010 RAMMY Race
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
(Image: RAMW)
Restaurant awards season is now officially underway, with the James Beard Foundation unveiling its 2010 finalists yesterday and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington shining a light on the D.C.-Metro area’s culinary superstars today.
Though they are two very different competitions, there are at least one pair of hometown hopefuls in the running for both the national Beard Awards and local honors: restaurateur Jose Andres–whose minibar has him in contention for a Fine Dining RAMMY and Beard’s Outstanding Chef award–and CityZen pastry chef Amanda Cook (nominated for her delectable sweets by both hospitality scrutinizing bodies).
Meanwhile, Northern Virginia restaurants figure prominently in nine of the 14 RAMMY categories, including:
* Fine Dining: 2941
*Upscale Casual: Liberty Tavern, Vermilion
* Neighborhood Gathering Place: EatBar
* New Restaurant: Eventide, Inox
* Chef: Bertrand Chemel/2941
* Rising Culinary Star: Liam LaCivita/Liberty Tavern, Shannon Overmiller/The Majestic, Jon Mathieson/Inox
* Pastry Chef: Anthony Chavez/2941, Josh Short/Buzz (Neighborhood Restaurant Group)
* Wine Program: 2941
* Beverage/Mixology Program: EatGoodFood Group (AKA Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve/PX/The Majestic fame)
You can browse the full list of 2010 RAMMY nominees here. The winners will be feted June 6th during an awards gala at the Marriott Wardman Park.
Northern Virginia Magazine would like to congratulate all the nominees–yes, even you D.C. restos–and wish you all the best of luck on awards night!
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
(Image: Capital Spice)
Capital Spice’s composite “best of” map that is.
Tech-savvy food blogger Mike Bober has incorporated our latest 50 Best Restaurants picks into an evolving dining atlas demarcating the current dining favorites trumpeted by local critics–myself, Tim Carman of the Washington City Paper, Todd Kliman of the Washingtonian and Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post (with the most prominent Zagat scores thrown in for good measure).
A quick scan of the fully integrated food awards uncovered a few interesting tidbits:
* 2941, Four Sisters and Ray’s the Steaks were the only universally acclaimed establishments
* Of the 19 overlapping reviews, we agreed with Kliman most (74 percent of the time), followed by Sietsema (47 percent) and Carman (42 percent)
We look forward to poking around Bober’s information buffet as it continues to grow.
–Warren
NoVA Restaurants Score Big at 2009 RAMMYS
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Sunday, June 7th, 2009
(Image: Michael Birchenall)
A cadre of stellar local toques and restaurants (many of whom we’ve crowed about in the magazine) did NoVA proud at the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2009 RAMMY awards.
Top honors takers from here in the Old Dominion included:
* Restaurant Eve (Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year)
* The Liberty Tavern (Neighborhood Gathering Place)
* Anthony Chittum (Rising Culinary Star of the Year), and,
* Kate Jansen (Pastry Chef of the Year)
Congratulations to all the 2009 nominees and, of course, to the aforementioned award winners. Peruse the full list of 2009 RAMMY contenders here.
–Warren