Friday Download, 1/17: Fairfax Record Riot, NoVA Wine Expo and a battle of the bands

The long weekend’s forecast and 17 ways to spend it, plus the week’s top Fairfax County headlines

(Ryan Bacic/The Machine)

The Friday Download is your guide to the week and weekend in Fairfax and around the area. Subscribe today to get the next one in your inbox and support The Machine’s work.

Happy Friday, all. It’s a long weekend for many of you with MLK Day, so stay in and catch up on some chores or blow them all off and go drink some wine. The objective Machine doesn’t judge.

Here are the week’s top local headlines, the forecast for the weekend and, if you’re up to brave the cold, 17 ways to spend it — including a massive records sale, an art “extravaganza” for kids in Stafford, and service events in Arlington and Reston.

[Follow The Machine on Instagram]

The latest from The Machine

• I got a full-time job, which means I’ll be taking a break here starting Jan. 27. Before we go into sleep mode, I’ll put out one major reported feature, one more Friday Download and a takeaways post.

Local news I read this week

Criminal justice and public safety 🚓

• Minister accused of sex abuse landed one high-profile job after another (WaPo)

• Nepali community raises money for 2 men who drowned in Fairfax County pond (WUSA9)

Culture ✌️

• NoVA’s 10 most anticipated restaurants of 2025 (Northern Virginia Mag)

Education 📖

• Fairfax school board approves new contract with teachers, but pay raises depend on county budget (FFXnow)

Government and politics 🏛️

• Group opposing Fairfax County casino voices concerns in Richmond (WTOP)

• Tysons casino PAC donates to Republican campaigns for lieutenant governor, attorney general (Patch)

Real estate 🏠

• Fairfax home sales, prices went up from 2023 to 2024 (FFXnow)

• On the market: This Great Falls home is encapsulated by nature (Northern Virginia Mag)

Sports ⚾

• McLean man runs seven marathons in seven days, on all seven continents (DC News Now)

Weekend weather (from the National Weather Service)

• Friday: Mostly sunny during the day, mostly cloudy at night. Highs in the lower 40s, lows around 30. 🌤️

• Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a chance of rain showers and slight chance of morning snow showers. Highs in the upper 40s, lows around 30. 🌦️

• Sunday: Partly cloudy, with snow likely. Highs in the lower 30s, lows around 15. 🌨️

• Monday: Frigidly sunny. Highs in the lower 20s, lows around 5 above, though wind chill may make it feel like 5 below. ☀️🧥

Things to do

🎸 Catch the finals of Jammin Java’s Mid-Atlantic Band Battle #28, in Vienna (Friday, 8 p.m.; tickets $15 day of)

🎨 Bring your kids to the 2025 Art Extravaganza in Stafford for more than 15 “hands-on” art stations (Saturday, sessions starting at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; $11 for residents, $13 non-residents)

🎤 See a comedy show by:

• Russell Peters, as his world tour rolls through Capital One Hall (through Sunday; tickets starting at $64 but limited for Friday and Saturday)

• Less expensive local comedians, at the State Theatre in Falls Church (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; $5)

📜 Attend a pair of pre-inauguration history events at Mount Vernon:

• Learn about George Washington’s inauguration garb and sword from curators (Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon; included with admission, or $28 for adult non-members)

• Learn about the history of presidential transitions in a lecture by the head of Washington’s presidential library (Saturday, noon to 3 p.m.; $10)

🐉 Learn to play a tabletop or trading card game and join a tournament at Your Hobby Place’s Winter Bash, in Alexandria (Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day)

🎟️ Spend an afternoon at the Dulles Expo Center for:

• The NoVA Wine Expo, featuring samples and bottles for sale from local vineyards (Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; tickets starting at $40 per person in advance, or $75 for two)

• The La Vang Lunar New Year Festival, featuring traditional dances and music, martial arts demonstrations, food and crafts (Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; $10 general admission)

🥧 Compete in a pie-eating contest or a cornhole tournament at Shipgarten’s America the Great Festival (Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m.; free entry)

🔭 Enjoy guided stargazing, games and hot chocolate at an Astronomy Festival at Turner Farm Park Observatory (Saturday, 5 p.m.; $10)

🎶 Shop some 15,000 vinyl records at the Fairfax Record Riot, near Merrifield (Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tickets starting at $5)

🐺 Check out countertenor and Wolf Trap Opera alum John Holiday in his return to the Barns (Sunday, doors open at 1:30 p.m.; tickets start at $51)

🇺🇸 Mark MLK weekend with local civic events:

• Volunteer Arlington’s eighth annual MLK Day of Service, starting at Washington-Liberty High School (Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon or so)

• A morning of community service at Reston’s Cathy Hudgins Community Center at Southgate (Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon or so)

• A luncheon and keynote address by Angela Rye at the CenterStage in Reston (Sunday, 11 a.m.; tickets $5 for Reston attendees and $20 non-Reston, with wait list opening at 10 a.m.)

• A child-level intro to King and his legacy at Frying Pan Farm Park (Monday, 10:30 a.m.)

A few ongoing winter events

• Leesburg’s Harry Potter-themed “Forbidden Forest Experience” runs through Jan. 26.

• Reston Town Center’s ice-skating rink is open through the end of January.

• Cameron Run Regional Park’s Winter Village still has daytime skating on Saturdays and Sundays through Jan. 26.

My plans

I’m grinding away at one last major story for you all, with a couple hangouts with friends waiting on the other side as rewards.

Our house painting goes on, too. Even The Machine cannot compute how there can be so many shades of mustard and yet none of them look good in our living room.