Community News & Notes

Eat Pancakes, Support Education

If you’re looking for a reason to go out for breakfast, the Original Pancake House ( 370 W. Broad St, Falls Church) has a proposition for you. On Thursday, March 23 they will be holding Dine-Out Day and donating a portion of their daily proceeds to the Falls Church Education Foundation. Come in from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. and enjoy over 15 types of pancakes.

The FCEF is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization established to provide supplemental support for the Falls Church City public school. For more information, go to www.fcedf.org.

Local High School Band to Compete

On Friday, March 3 the George Mason High School Symphonic Band will compete at Robert E. Lee High School ( 6540 Franconia Rd, Springfield). This year the band is playing their most challenging music to date, and competing against school with student populations from 1500 and up. The band will be performing at 9 p.m. but the bus will leave from GMHS at 7:15 p.m. Check out the calendar in the next few weeks for more upcoming performance announcements.

Essay Contest Offers $15,000 in Scholarships

The Washington Regional Transplant Consortium (WRTC) will be awarding $15,000 in scholarships to high school seniors for the third straight year. The 2006 Legacy of Life Scholarship challenges students to write an essay persuading someone to give the ‘Gift of Life’ by saying yes to donation.

WRTC will award nine scholarships, three each in D.C., Virginia and Maryland in memory of Leslie Ebert, a young employee who died suddenly after being diagnosed with leukemia. WRTC is dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation, and is the federally designated non-profit organ and tissue recovery agency.

For information, a list of rules and an entry form, visit www.BeADonor.org.

Kids Can Play Spies This Summer

The International Spy Museum ( 800 F Street NW, D.C. ) will hold its first ever KidSpy Camp this summer. Kids ages 1013 are invited to put their spy skills and street smarts to the test. The camp will run from August 7-August 11 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Activities will include making disguises, breaking codes, using spy gadgets and uncovering the science behind spying. Tickets for the camp are $400 and advance registration is required. To register, call 202-654-0930 or visit spymuseum.org.

Local Mom Turns Entrepreneur, Offers Advice

Jennifer Sprague of Vienna knows that busy parents use the internet for shopping and information, that’s why ten months ago she launched highTopBabyDesigns.com. The website offers an array of handmade, natural baby care products and items to pamper moms and mother-to-be as well.

Sprague’s business doesn’t just benefit customers, though. She also donates funds and cloth diapers to miraclediapers.com, a non-profit organization that supplies cloth diapers to low income families. Another feature of the website is the list of blogs, which Jennifer says supply the latest expert parenting articles and advice. For more information, check out www.hightopbabydesigns.com or www.advice-for-parenting.blogspot.com.

Local Residents Receives Academic Honors

Northeastern University recently announced their fall semester 2005 dean’s list. Fairfax resident Caitlin Scott was named to the list, which recognizes students with a grade point average above 3.25. Congratulations Caitlin!

Washington University in St. Louis also announced their dean’s list, which included Falls Church resident David Hall. To qualify, a student’s GPA must be 3.60 or above. Congratulations David!

Softball Teams to Hold Golf Tournament

On Friday, April 28, the Vienna Starts Softball Teams will host their 2nd annual Golf Tournament, to be held at the Fairfax National Golf Club ( 16850 Sudley Rd , Centreville).

Players of all levels are invited to play, and may register individually or as a foursome. An after party will be held as well as other fun events including a “ Longest Drive ” and “Closest to the Pin” competition. For more information in participating, or to find out how to be a Hole sponsor, contact Dorothy Hettmann (703-753-5352) or Thea Avakian (703-850-2853).

Take Home Art from Vienna Art Center

The Vienna Arts Society is holding a “Ticket to Art” raffle event now through March 19. Ticket holders are guaranteed a piece of original art from a Vienna Arts Society Artist. Names will be drawn on Sunday, March 19th at 3 p.m. at the Vienna Art Center ( 115 Pleasant St , Vienna ).

Each piece of artwork donated is worth a minimum of $100 (the cost of a raffle ticket), and can be viewed now until the drawing during gallery hours. For more information, call 703-319-3971 or visit www.viennaartssociety.org.

Radical Speaker Series begins at Local Church

St. George’s Episcopal Church ( 915 N Oakland St , Arlington ) will kick off their six-week Tuesday evening dialog with Dr. Bert Ransom, a former aid to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who will be talking about “Spending ourselves radically.” The March 7 event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a light dinner followed by the discussion and prayer service.

Future subjects include Radical prayer, Radical Love and Radical Church . For more information, call 703-525-8286 or visit www.saintgeorgeschurch.org.

Support Group to be Held

The Epilepsy Foundation of the Chesapeake Region is sponsoring a support group for parents of teens and adults with seizure disorders. The group will meet from 7-8:30 p.m. at West Springfield High School ( 6100 Rolling Rd , Springfield ). The first meeting will be March 2.

For more information, call 703-425-6660 or go to www.abilitiesnetwork.org.

Help Clean Up Your Neighborhood

Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. local residents will gather to help clean up Arlington ’s streets and streams around Washington Blvd and Quincy Street . Volunteers will meet at Washington-Lee High School ( 1300 N Quincy St , Arlington ), and drinks and refreshments will be served.

Come help the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment as they try to keep the neighborhood clean. Register at 703-228-6406 or volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org.

Wammie Awarded to Billy Hancock

The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) recently held their annual Wammie awards. Billy Hancock was awarded the 2005 Roots Rock Vocalist, and his album “Passions” was nominated for roots Rock Album.

WAMA also awarded Dave Chappell its 2005 Musician of the Year, Rock Instrumentalist and Roots Rock Instrumentalist Wammies. Congratulations to these local artists!

Dinosaurs (Not Barney) Visit Hospital

On February 22, the pediatric patients at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children were visited by DinoRock, a popular musical group, who presented a show called “Dinosaur Babies.” The huge dinosaur puppets delighted children and parents alike as part of a performance produced by Pickleberry Pie, Inc., which is a public charity and part of The Children’s Music Web.

The Very Special Concert Series occurs each month at Inova and at the Georgetown University Pediatrics Wards. Foxes Music Company (www.foxesmusic.com) provided the donation for this special performance. To learn more about or donate to the concert series, contact Irene Light at lightmotifs@cox.net.

Area Residents Honored at Virginia Tech Fall Commencement

 Bachelor’s degrees were conferred to approximately 1, 050 students last December at the commencement ceremony. Minnis E. Ridenour was the keynote speaker at the ceremony and Philip Thompson, retired vice president of emerging markets at IBM delivered the Graduate School ceremony address.

Congratulations to the graduates: Julian Looney, Connie Riengnimit, Omar Farooq, Hannah Jackson, Steven Kelley, Wai-Man Lau, Vivian Nguyen, Maggie Pascoe, Gabriela Vieira, Nicole Jasinski, Sung Jin, William, Carpenter, Christopher Ingrao and Ryan Unthank.

The Cat in the Hat is Back

On March 2, the Cat in the Hat will return for the ninth straight Read Across America celebration, sponsored by the Falls Church Education Association.

The date of the event is the anniversary of the birthday of Dr. Seuss, the great children’s author who created the Cat in the Hat, which is now the national symbol of Read Across America. The National Education Association encourages adults to read with their children and help build a reading habit.

Got Art?

Falls Church Arts is seeking submissions in all media for the VERVE! All Member Art Show & Sale .

The show will be held March 24-26 at Don Beyer Volvo ( 1231 West Broad St , Falls Church ). The show is open to current members of FCA, and the deadline to submit is Sunday, March 12. Find an Entry Form and FCA Membership Form at www.FallsChurchArts.og.

Life Coach Offers Workshop

Life coach Hannes Raudner presents a workshop on how to improve the effects of karma in your life. The workshop will take place on Sunday, March 12 from 1-3 p.m. in the sanctuary of the Celebration Center for Religious Science ( 2840 Graham Rd , Falls Church ).

Raudner is an author, motivational speaker, trainer and coach who was raised in Austria . He has a lifetime of experience in Yoga and Eastern Philosophy, and is an initiated Hindu priest.

The workshop costs $25.

Governor Kaine Announces Appointments

Governor Timothy Kaine announced additional appointments in the offices of Commerce and Trade.

Lynette Hammond and Vivek Kundra will serve as Assistant Secretaries of Commerce and Trade, David Ashe will serve as the Director of Business Assistance, and Nicholas Kessler will serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission.

Temple Hall Farm Regional Park Announces Summer Camp Program

A new adventure camp program aimed at boys and girls ages 10 to 14 was announced for July 10-14 this summer. Kids will learn about farm animals and will interact with the breeds at the farm.

Space for the camp is limited, and the registration deadline is April 1. For more information, contact Temple Hall Farm at 703-779-9372.

Band-Aid Ball to be Held

 CrossLink International will host its third annual gal benefit – the Band-Aid Ball. Money raised will fund medical supplies delivered to more than 120 countries. This year’s gala spotlights contributions to African nations in need.

The gala will take place Saturday, March 25 at the Marriott Fairview Park ( 3111 Fairview Park Dr , Falls Church ) at 7 p.m. For more information and reservations, call 703-534-5465.