Friday Download, 9/13: Sunny skies and a Saturday festival for everyone

The weekend forecast and things to do, plus the week’s top Fairfax County headlines

Sep 13, 2024

Happy/eerie Friday the 13th, Fairfax County.

Here’s your guide to the week in local headlines and what’s ahead for the weekend. With clear skies in the forecast and annual events taking place from Dulles to Alexandria, you might want to spend it outside.

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The latest from The Machine

Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors passed new zoning rules that will guide the future development of its data centers. The Machine broke down what’s in the new rules and what it all means.

Local news I read this week

Business and development 📈

Herndon, Comstock delay downtown redevelopment again and shrink proposed art center (FFXnow)

Criminal justice and public safety 🚓

Culture ✌️

Fans of The Deli, a struggling Herndon staple, come together to support it (Northern Virginia Mag)

Education 📖

Health 🩺

Food insecurity is on the rise in Fairfax County, affecting over a quarter of households (FFXnow)

Housing and homelessness 🏠

Fairfax County cleared the Reston homeless encampment known as “The Hill.” Some residents had lived there for years. (WaPo)

Sports 🏈

After superintendent cleared Hayfield football, as many as nine transfers deemed ineligible (Fairfax County Times)

Weekend weather (from the National Weather Service)

Perfect for spending it outside.

Friday: Mostly cloudy to partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s, lows in the lower 60s. ⛅
Saturday: A bit of clouds in the morning open up to a sunny day and clear evening. Highs in the mid-80s, lows in the lower 60s. ☀️
Sunday: Clear and sunny. Highs in the lower 80s, lows in the upper 50s. ☀️

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Things to do

See “Wicked” witch Kristin Chenoweth and “Traitors”/“Spy Kids”/etc. icon Alan Cumming (Friday) or James Taylor (Saturday and Sunday) at Wolf Trap 🐺
Sample craft beer and paint pumpkins at Tysons Corner Center’s third annual Fall Festival (Saturday) 🎃
Check out Dulles’s annual airport open house, including “the famous Dulles Day Plane Pull” (Saturday) ✈️
Explore wildlife, grab food-truck eats and play some pickleball during Family Day at Annandale Park (Saturday) 🐸
Support the Basset Rescue of Old Dominion at its hound harvest festival for people and their pups in Herndon (Saturday) 🐶
Listen to drum performances, learn indigenous history and buy traditional crafts at the Virginia Native American Festival in Great Falls (Saturday) 🥁
Admire the work of artists from around the country at the 22nd annual Alexandria Old Town Art Festival (Saturday and Sunday) 🎨
“Step back in time” with music, food and artisan wares at the Colonial Market and Fair at Mount Vernon (Saturday and Sunday) 🏺
Metro in to the Kennedy Center for the National Symphony Orchestra’s “Echoes of America” performance (Saturday) or a disco-themed drag brunch (Sunday) 🎵
Buy tickets ahead of comedian Hannah Gadsby’s new show at Capital One Center in Tysons (still available for Monday, sold out for Tuesday) 🎤

My plans

Going back today to “America’s Favorite Place to Eat,” Tom’s Diner, while my dear son, Meelo the cat, has teeth removed in Manassas and becomes approximately 10% gummier.

After that, I’m going to have to pick a festival out of a hat for Saturday. Even The Machine’s weekend-optimization algorithms can’t sort through all those options.

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