Posts Tagged ‘Vienna’
Our Vintage Film Comes to Jammin Java
Posted by Hunter Woodall / Monday, May 21st, 2012
Indie pop rock group Our Vintage Film will take the stage at Jammin Java this Tuesday, May 22. The band released The Midnight Sun EP in July of 2011.
According to their website, the EP represents the journey the band members faced during their college years. The band’s goal is to release music with themes that tie into “meaningful everyday concepts.”
The group originally started out as an acoustic band, but over time has grown to become a seven piece band. The current lineup features a cello, violin and piano. On the bands website, the group refers to their sound as both “power pop” and “indie-pop progression.”
The band is working to increase fans exposure to their msuic through online marketing, as well as a kickstarter campaign to help fund their 2012 Summer tour.
Our Vintage Film will take the Jammin Java stage Tuesday along with openers Bonaventure, The Offset and Money Can’t Be Eaten. Tickets are $10 prior to the show and $13 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Grammy-Nominated Kids’ Group Milkshake Rocks Jammin Java
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
Grammy-nominated kids’ band Milkshake comes to Jammin Java this Saturday, May 19.
Milkshake is different than most kids’ groups. They’re a real rock band who just happen to play kid- and family-friendly music.
Hailing from Baltimore, they formed from the remnants of a ’90s grown-up rock act called Love Riot. But with the band’s demise and arrival of kids, the singer and guitarist from Love Riot decided to partner once more, this time with a group to fit their new lives as parents.
Thus, Milkshake has something most children’s music lacks–coolness. Although the lyrics feature themes like pirates, Halloween and aquariums, true pop sensibility hovers in the background. Part Monkees, part Cheap Trick, all fun.
Their 2009 release, “Great Day,” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Musical Album for Children category.
Saturday’s show provides a sneak preview of songs off Milkshake’s upcoming album, “Got a Minute?” as well as their favorite tunes from the past few years.
Milkshake is a six-piece band, but the Jammin Java performance is a special, intimate event with the Milkshake Trio–Mikel, Lisa and Sheppy.
Tickets are $12, and are on sale now. The show begins at 11 a.m.
Lick Your Screen: Put A Fry On It Edition
Posted by Stefanie Gans / Monday, May 14th, 2012
Photo by Stefanie Gans
Plaka Gyro, a pork and French fry sandwich | Plaka Grill | Vienna
[Do you have a lick-worthy photo? Send it in: food desk]
Posted by Matt Basheda / Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Mother’s Day and May flowers are a match made in heaven.
There’s no need to give a pre-made bouquet, though. Surround mom with swaths of flowers, and take her to one of this area’s bevy of Mom’s Day garden tours.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna is perfect for any time of year, but Mother’s Day is a special focus. They’ll even have a casual buffet in their atrium. The garden holds a guided tour from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This is Meadowlark’s peak season. The grounds are exploding with color and life–butterflies flash through the air, and choral birds put on a show. Admission for this event is $30 for adults, $15 for kids.
A slice of the Virginia State Arboretum's massive garden fair. Photo by Tim Farmer/State Arboretum of Virginia.
The massive Virginia State Arboretum, off Route 50 west in Boyce, is definitely worth the drive. In fact, this springtime road trip is the focus of our current issue’s May Getaway column. Mother’s Day adds yet another reason to make the hour drive to this profuse, manicured wilderness, with VSA’s enormous Garden Fair.
This year’s Garden Fair offers tours of the magnificent grounds, birding walks and kids events. But it also turns VSA into one of the biggest plant nurseries in the area, for two days only. Hundreds of plants–of every shape, size and variety–will be on sale, plus a sizable selection of gardening tools, supplies and even artwork.
The rain-or-shine extravaganza runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13. Admission is a bargain, at just $10 per car.
If city life suits your mom better, that’s no problem. In fact, luxurious downtown homes and picture-perfect gardens go hand in hand. Thus, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society holds a Mother’s Day home and garden tour of its own.
The tour features two flawless front gardens and 13 stunning homes, each an architectural marvel. This is the tour’s 55th year. Hours run Saturday, May 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 13 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $30.
The journey is short–only about a mile, so it’s definitely walkable, and a refreshing opportunity to walk off that heavy brunch. Additionally, tea will be served in association with the house tour at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Street.
If you’re looking for Mom’s Day destinations a little further from home, we’ve got a guide for that. But if you’re looking for a combination of everything in this blog, head to Richmond.
The Museum District Mother’s Day House & Garden Tour features eight beautiful southern homes and their gardens. Most of the houses are nearly 100 years old. Each has at least one incredible story, but the Floyd Avenue structure is the stuff of movies: the owners bought the house without knowing that it was built by ancestors.
Richmond is a balanced blend of country life and urban society. The houses sit on sizable plots brushed with greenery and all manner of flora, but cosmopolitan downtown Richmond is just a couple blocks away.
Tickets are $25. The tour’s hours run 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 13 only.
Stay tuned for even more exclusive coverage on the many moods of Mother’s Day. If my list was too specific for you, check out fellow Game Planner Lorin’s loaded brainstorm of activities. And don’t neglect our food and drink guides–after all, eating is the second most important aspect of the day. As if that wasn’t enough, we have Mother’s Day shopping guides, too.
Northern Virginia Weekend Events
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, May 4th, 2012
We’ve got a few weekend events heading down the pipeline for you.
First up, local ballet. We have exceptional talent out here in the ‘burbs. The Cuppett Performing Arts Center in Vienna is throwing a “Golden Gala” this Saturday, May 5.
Shutterstock.com/Andrew Williams
The Cuppett Center’s founder, Alzine Cuppett, was a former Rockette and even received tutelage from Gene Kelly. She started the dance school in 1962, and it’s become one of the premier schools in the area.
The “Golden Gala” features pieces from several classic ballets, including “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Saturday holds two exclusive performances: 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 at the door. The venue is Kenmore Middle School’s theater at 200 S. Carlin Springs Road in Arlington.
If that doesn’t strike your fancy, try a heartstopping airshow. The Flying Circus’ first show of the 2012 season takes off this Sunday, May 6. The show begins promptly at 2:30 p.m.
Airshows are something of a lost art. They used to be a classic, popular form of entertainment. But The Flying Circus is a throwback, and is now 42 years old.
The show features stunts galore, including formation patterns, aerobatics and wing-walkers. Anyone can sign up for a calm sight-seeing trip aboard one of the planes, too.
Bealeton, Va., the show’s location, is to the slight south but easily accessible. Simply take Route 28 south and you’re there in an hour. Tickets are just $10, but don’t worry if you miss this show–there’ll be another airshow every Sunday until October.
Shutterstock.com/Tony Gates
If you’re looking for something a little more down to earth, Prince William’s “Arts Alive!” celebration springs to life this Sunday afternoon in Manassas.
“Arts Alive!” is a massive celebration featuring dozens of performances, demonstrations and readings by local authors, all happening simultaneously in various sections of the Hylton Performing Arts Center. If you don’t want to watch, you can interact. Authors will provide writing exercises and kids can take part in art projects.
The food is as unique as the performers. Options include Cajun and crepes.
Best of all, there is no charge for general attendance. That’s right–it’s free. “Arts Alive!” happens from noon to 6 p.m.
–Matt Basheda
Action Against Hunger Charity Concert at Jammin Java
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
A new movement is brewing at Jammin Java.
Courtesy Matt Colwell
The Concert for Action Against Hunger goes down this Saturday, May 5. All proceeds benefit the charity group, an organization that supplies starved communities around the world with nutritious food, clean water and the ability to sustain itself.
The bold call to action is the brainchild of Matt Colwell, a 15-year-old sophomore at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church.
“I feel like I have grown up in a very privileged family,” said Colwell via email. “I’ve never had to worry about not having a meal on my plate, or not having a place to sleep at night, but unfortunately that’s not something that can be said for everyone on this planet. … I knew that [AAH] was the perfect fit for what I was trying to go for.”
Such initiative is rare in 15-year-olds, but Colwell has it in spades. He’s also the owner of a company–a website called The Fresh Selection that features a new musical artist each day. Colwell’s work with The Fresh Selection helped him find local musicians who would lend their talents to the AAH show.
The show’s co-sponsor is Alexandria clothing company Remember Your Roots. Remember Your Roots weaves organic clothing and teams with The Surfrider Foundation to scrub area waterways free of pollution.
For each Remember Your Roots item sold at the concert, Remember Your Roots will pledge to scoop one pound of trash from a local waterway.
Tickets for the show run $10 in advance or $13 the day of. All proceeds go directly to Action Against Hunger. The show begins at 12:30 p.m. this Saturday.
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
WAMU overtakes WTOP as D.C. region’s No. 1 radio station
Voters head to polls for local races
Metro schedules major weekend track work amid sports traffic jam
Ashburn man convicted in $7 million fraudulent mortgage scheme
2 men charged in Culpeper woman’s murder
Wolf wants greater scrutiny of airports board
New Fairfax County middle school breaks naming tradition
55 years later, Vienna man gets a postcard from mom
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake; photo courtesy of Shutterstock/Brisbane)
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, April 27th, 2012
Local kids living the rock star dream.
The Boxer Racers. Photo: Daniel Glass Photography
Pat Sommers’ Rock Shop in Vienna–a “school of rock” type outfit–headed to New York last weekend for a show at The Delancey, a nightclub.
Founder Pat Sommers reunited with his former band Sticky, but the kids stole the show this past Saturday, April 21.
“The club was super super nice to them,” said Sommers. “The club was packed. … [The kids] did an awesome job. … The whole night couldn’t have gone better.”
Seven rock shop bands each played four-song sets.
The rock shop prides itself in the quality of youth bands it puts out. Unlike most “schools of rock,” Sommers has a selection process for admittance to his academy. Regular rehearsal is required, and eventually, the bands get a live show of their own. Not a recital for parents and friends, mind you–a real gig at a real venue.
Back in January, the Rock Shop hit Jammin Java for a headlining show. But live in NYC? That’s a different story altogether, and for these kids, it happened. The event included a tour bus all their own, plus staying up all night and hangin’ with some real rock ‘n’ roll veterans.
Since they’ve clearly grown out of our suburban scene, you won’t want to miss these kids play on the Vienna town green twice next month. They’ll be on Wednesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m., and again as part of the Viva Vienna celebration on Saturday, May 26 at 2 p.m.
These kids are the real deal–so don’t wait until you have to pay $100 to see them at some stadium five years from now.
Here’s Pat Sommers himself and his old band Sticky in full-on reunion mode:
Movie Festivus: Vienna Goes All Civil War
Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Four score and seven years ago ... wait, that's not right. / Photo credit: Shutterstock/ Jose Gil
If you like a little history with your entertainment value, check out Vienna’s 4-weekend long Civil War Movie Festival. This little thing between the North and South happened, oh, around 150 years ago and the town, along with Vienna’s Sesquicentennial Committee, will be showing a stellar lineup of free flicks on the Town Green, including:
>”Glory” (Rated R). Saturday, May 5 @ 7:15 p.m.
> “The Great Locomotive Chase” (Not rated). Saturday, May 19 @ 7:15 p.m.
> “Shenandoah” (Not rated). Saturday, Jun2 2 @ 7:45 p.m.
> “Gone With the Wind” (Rated G). Saturday, June 16 @ 7:45 p.m.
Get there early with your chair/blanket for primo seating, free popcorn (!) and some fun facts about the film’s significance and impact on the War.
P.S. This is not a BYOB event but Historic Vienna, Inc. will have some non-boozey drinks for sale.
P.P.S. If it looks like rain, check to make sure the film is still showing at (703) 255-7842.
Vienna Town Green, Vienna; (703) 255-7842; www.viennava.gov; free.
– Lorin Drinkard
Posted by Geoff Nelowet / Friday, April 20th, 2012
Pavel V Mukhin/Shutterstock
The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department (VVFD) will host the 1st annual Taste of Vienna next Saturday, April 28 from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. The event will showcase the many great restaurants that the Vienna area has to offer. The VVFD parking lot will feature 30 Vienna restaurants and live entertainment. Large crowds are expected. Admission is free and guests will have the opportunity to purchase restaurant food and beverages. Proceeds go to The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.