Friday Download, 12/20: Mount Vernon fireworks, Nutcracker performances, and Greenberg’s Great Train & Toy Show
The weekend forecast and things to do, plus the week’s top Fairfax County headlines
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. Whatever way you celebrate the holidays, here’s hoping you get to spend some time with the people you love (a concept that The Machine, in its cold journalistic objectivity, sadly will never understand).
Below, a few gifts from us to you: this week’s top local headlines, the forecast for the weekend and 17 ways to spend it around the area — from caroling at Reston Town Center to an oddly timed lobster festival to the annual Stafford Christmas Parade.
The latest from The Machine
Mike Graham, Tysons Corner Center’s Santa for 38 years now, has watched the mall and the world change from his Christmas set. I visited him to ask 10-ish Questions:
Local news I read this week
Business and development 📈
Ex-defense and intelligence employees bash Tysons casino plan, call it a national security risk (Patch)
Comstock redevelopment deal collapse leaves former Herndon mayor ‘devastated’ (FFXnow)
Fairfax County tax reduces plastic bag circulation, raises $6 million (FFXnow)
Criminal justice and public safety 🚓
George Mason student accused of plotting mass casualty attack on Israel consulate in New York (WUSA9)
Herndon murder defendant also charged with child abuse, endangerment (WaPo)
Education 📖
Government and politics 🏛️
Rep. Gerry Connolly defeats AOC to lead Democrats on House Oversight Committee (The Hill)
Fairfax County to begin major overhaul of waste collection system next year (FFXnow)
Sports 🏈
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Weekend weather (from the National Weather Service)
Friday: Cloudy, with a chance of rain and maybe some snow that won’t stick. Highs in the lower 40s, lows around 30. 🌧️
Saturday: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy, with some sharp winds. Highs in the mid-30s, lows around 20. ⛅
Sunday: Sunny but cold. Highs around 30, lows around 15. ☀️
Have a tip or an idea for a good Fairfax County story? Send The Machine an email.
Things to do
🏠 Take a holiday tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria (Friday and Saturday starting at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m.; $20)
🎆 Enjoy festive lights and fireworks over the Potomac at Mount Vernon’s Christmas Illuminations event (Friday to Sunday, starting at 5:30 p.m.; ticket prices vary)
💎Buy a sparkly last-minute gift at the International Gem & Jewelry Show, at Dulles Expo Center (through Saturday; $6 tickets online, $8 cash onsite)
🎸Sing along at Jammin Java’s Jingle Jam Christmas Concert, in Vienna (Saturday, noon; $10 general admission, $15 day of)
Note: Tickets to Todd Wright’s Santa ClausterF@#! Christmas Spectacular are sold out, but there are a few left for the “Mostly Acoustic” version Saturday night.
🕺 Wear your best ugly sweater to:
A bash with Santa at Fair Winds Brewing Company, in Lorton (Friday, 5 p.m.)
A Holiday Skate and Dance Night at the Franconia Rec Center (Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m.; $10)
Bunnyman Brewing’s parties in Lorton (Friday, 6 p.m.) or Burke (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
🦞 Eat lobster mac, lobster grilled cheese and/or lobster tots at the Winery at Bull Run’s Lobster Festival (Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
🔍 Solve a Christmas murder mystery, starting at the Rosslyn Metro (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.; $20)
🛍️ Listen to carolers while you stroll Reston Town Center (Saturday, noon to 3)
🎅 Join a Bad Santa Bar Crawl in Clarendon (Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m.)
🎉 Watch the annual Stafford Christmas Parade, in Fredericksburg (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
🩰 See The Nutcracker at:
George Mason’s Center for the Arts, performed by the Fairfax Symphony and Fairfax Ballet (Saturday and Sunday, 4 p.m.; tickets starting at $44)
Capital One Hall, performed by the Virginia National Ballet (tickets still available for Saturday at 6 p.m., starting at $59)
🎁 Venture into — sorry — Maryland for the close of National Harbor’s Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show (Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Ongoing events
Take photos with Santa at the Fair Oaks Mall, Tysons Corner Center or Dulles Town Center through Dec. 24.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens’ Winter Walk of Lights (in Vienna), Bull Run Regional Park’s drive-through Festival of Lights (in Centreville) and Cameron Run Regional Park’s Winter Village (in Alexandria) are all operating through Jan. 5.
Reston Town Center’s ice-skating rink is open through the end of January.
Mount Vernon’s Winter Glow event runs Sunday to Thursday and returns one last time Dec. 23
Shop the Del Ray Artisans Gallery’s 29th annual Holiday Market (Friday 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday 9-5, Sunday 11-5)
My plans
I’ll be hanging with friends at a Chrismukkah party Saturday night and then nerding out Sunday on model trains and miniatures at Greenberg’s Great Train & Toy Show.
’Tis the season, after all.