Friday Download, 11/15: Bull Run Festival of Lights, the 2024 Holiday Craft Show, and the DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival
The weekend forecast and things to do, plus the week’s top Fairfax County headlines
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Happy Friday, all.
The best Friday Download photos (including today’s) have all been ones that my wife and in-laws have taken, but let’s open it up: Do you have a Fairfax County photo you’d like to submit? Send it to The Machine, and I might feature it in a future newsletter.
Here are this week’s top local headlines, the forecast for the weekend and 17 ways to spend it around NoVa — from annual holiday craft markets to festivals/fests of lights, games, astronomy and more.
The latest from The Machine
[What are you seeing in Fairfax County that local news should cover?]
Local news I read this week
Business and development 📈
Criminal justice and public safety 🚓
Park Police officers were justified in shooting of Bijan Ghaisar, investigation finds (WaPo)
Several teenagers arrested in what Fairfax County police call ‘brazen’ crime spree (WTOP)
Man caught on video bragging about Hybla Valley killing sentenced to life (WaPo)
Two years later, license plate readers aid Fairfax police in hundreds of cases (WTOP)
Government and politics 🏛️
Real estate 🏠
Transportation 🚍
The I-66 express lanes saved an RV-driving dad 20 minutes — and cost $569 (WaPo)
Dulles police detain House Foreign Affairs chief for appearing drunk (Semafor)
Weather 🌨️
Brace for winter. It may not be as tame as some expect in the D.C. area. (Capital Weather Gang)
Weekend weather (from the National Weather Service)
Friday: Cloudy. Highs in the upper 50s, lows in the mid-40s. ☁️
Saturday: Sunny. Highs around 60, lows in the upper 30s. ☀️
Sunday: Mostly sunny to mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 60s, lows in the lower 40s. 🌤️
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Things to do
Drive through Bull Run Regional Park’s 2.5-mile-long Festival of Lights (Friday through Jan. 5) 🎄
At Capital One Hall in Tysons, see comedian Matt McCusker or time-travel to the ’90s with a throwback concert (both Friday) 🎤
Yee-haw with your youngins at a country-themed Family Skate and Dance Night in Franconia (Saturday) 🤠
Shop and enjoy live performances and a fireworks display at Tysons Corner Center’s Holiday Kick-Off Celebration (Friday) 🛍️
Find a holiday gift (or something for yourself) at The Closet’s Everything Christmas Sale in Herndon (Friday and Saturday) 🎅
Check out the annual Local Author Book Festival at the Chantilly library (Saturday), or score at library book sales in Centreville (Friday through Sunday) or Kingstowne (Saturday) 📚
Catch the Kennedy Center’s new Sounds of US orchestral music festival (Saturday) 🎻
Stargaze with a cup of hot chocolate at the Astronomy Festival at Turner Farm Park in Great Falls (Saturday) 🔭
Have a “shuckin’ good time” at Murphy’s Oyster Festival in Old Town Alexandria (Saturday) 🦪
Stuck with batteries and old electronics you don’t know how to get rid of? Bring them to Fairfax Recycles Day 2024. (Saturday) ♻️
Shop the 38th annual Holiday Craft Show at Fairfax High School, for works by local artisans and others from around the country (Saturday and Sunday) 🎁
Learn and play more than 200 board games (plus D&D) at Arlington GameFest (Sunday) 🎮
See a musical mashup of classic Disney stories in “Disney in Concert: A Dream is a Wish” (Sunday) 🐭
My plans
Preparing to weep at “The Wild Robot” tonight in Herndon, then stockpiling on Saturday at the DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival at Dulles Expo Center.
We’ll close out the weekend by grabbing dinner in Reston on Sunday with some friends — including one who would give me grief if I did not mention those plans here.