Just in time for Spring and a return to daylight saving time, the arts are blooming in Mason District. Whatever strikes your fancy – music, dance, watercolors, weaving and textiles – opportunities abound to expand your right brain creativity. The Art at the Mason District Governmental Center program features “A Textural Journey” by Annandale artist and arts educator Sharon Safran. Ethereal woven wall hangings, using specially dyed natural fibers, feathers, and beads, are interspersed with exquisitely painted silk scarves, a specialty of Sharon’s. The “journey” starts with several sketches and watercolors dating back to the 1960s, when Sharon began her artistic explorations in one medium, now expanded to many. “A Textural Journey” may be viewed Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., at 6507 Columbia Pike in Annandale, through the end of May.

The Virginia Chamber Orchestra (VCO) will present two concerts in early April, in collaboration with George Mason University’s Mason Symphony Orchestra. Composers featured include Mozart, Ravel, Chabier, and Dukas. The first program, on Wednesday, April 3, will be held at GMU’s Center for the Arts, at 8 p.m. ($15 for adults; $10 for students and senior citizens). The second concert, on Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m., will be held at Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna ($20 for adults, $15 for students and senior citizens). Tickets are free for Wounded Warriors and students in grades K-12. For more information about VCO and its programs, log on to www.virginiachamberorchestra.org.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? The age-old answer is practice, practice, practice. And that’s just what Sleepy Hollow soprano Bharati Soman is doing. In preparation for an October 5 appearance at the famed New York venue, Bharati will perform with 7 Sopranos at a benefit concert this Saturday at 7 p.m. at 1801 North Quaker Lane in Alexandria ($25 donation at the door), and at the Ernst Community Cultural Center in Annandale on April 20, also at 7 p.m. ($20 adults; $10 students). 7 Sopranos is part of the 2013 Artist Roster for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and gives regular opera goers and newcomers alike a unique live performance experience. Good luck, Bharati!

Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads (GHBC) will offer free creative arts classes to senior citizens 60 and older at a Senior Arts Institute to be held from May 6 to June 7 at GHBC, 3440 S. Jefferson Street in Bailey’s Crossroads. The Institute will feature five weeks of daily classes taught by professional and practicing artists in fine art, theatre, dance, and music. Three to five classes will be offered each day. Funding for the Senior Arts Institute is provided by a grant from the Arts Council of Fairfax County. If you are interested in taking a class, contact Amada Buckner at www.SeniorArtsInstitute@goodwinhouse.org, or call 703-578-7116. It’s never too late to get that right brain active!

For an analytical, left-brain exercise, the Mason District Budget Town Meeting will be held next Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m., at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike in Annandale. Fairfax County Executive Edward L. Long, Jr., will present his budget recommendations, with a community discussion to follow. I look forward to seeing you there!