Winter Lantern Festival Debuts for Holiday Season
Winter Lantern Festival will debut a spectacular holiday light adventure at the Lerner Town Square in Tysons starting December 16 through February 12th. Created by Kaleido Arts & Entertainment Group, Winter Lantern Festival will feature a total of over 10,000 of LED Chinese-inspired artisan lanterns, along with live performances and on-site food vendors.
Winter Lantern Festival comes to the Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia area for its first immersive DMV Winter Lantern Festival. From New York with 150,000 annual guests, 3 years in a row, this is an experience for the whole family. Running until 2/12/23, the Lerner Town Square at Tysons will be transformed into a dazzling world of light with over 1000 Chinese lanterns; all handmade by artisans with decades of experience.
Winter Lantern Festival will feature over ten thousand handmade Chinese lanterns created by over one hundred artists, illuminated by LED lights. Located in the Lerner Town Square at 8025 Galleria Drive, Tysons.
Wreaths to be Provided to Oakwood Cemetery
Earlier this year, Wreaths Across America worked with the Oakwood Cemetery Manager and Board of Trustees to establish Oakwood as a participating location to receive the same wreaths that are placed at Arlington National Cemetery each December.
In the past few months, Oakwood received over 100 sponsored wreaths through the WAA website which will be placed on grave sites the same day as over 3,400 cemeteries across the United States to honor our military veterans.
There will be a short ceremony starting at noon on Saturday, December 17th involving local veteran organizations and the Oakwood Board of Trustees. They are also inviting the Falls Church City Council and have a tentative yes, awaiting confirmation of attendee(s) who will have the opportunity to present remarks and lay a ceremonial wreath. Following the ceremony, wreaths are placed at the veterans graves which have been previously marked with American flags. They encourage members of the community to attend the ceremony, and if desired, to help place the wreaths.
Jingle in the Season with the Alexandria Symphony
The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will present a holiday program, “Jingle!” Saturday, December 17, 2022 (7:30 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center and Sunday, December 18, 2022 (3:00 p.m.) at the George Washington Masonic Memorial.
Adult prices for single tickets start at $20, and all tickets for youth are priced at $5, making ASO concerts affordable for families. Military, senior and group discounts are also available in select sections. Seating is very limited at the George Washington Masonic Memorial and is almost sold out, so book tickets early. Visit www.alexsym.org or call (703) 548-0885 for more information.
Goodwin Living Centers Receives Highest Ratings
On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, U.S. News & World Report released its annual “Best Nursing Homes” list for 2022-23. Both Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads (GHBC) and Goodwin House Alexandria (GHA) received the highest ratings.
To develop the “Best Nursing Homes” list, U.S. News reviewed more than 15,000 short-term and long-term nursing care centers throughout the country, covering every state and nearly 100 metropolitan areas. Out of all those evaluated, 2,426 (16 percent) centers received the “Best Nursing Home” distinction.
According to the U.S. News website, this year’s ratings were the first to feature measurements on weekend staffing and infection rates that led to hospitalizations. This newly available data provides even more information about how nursing homes rate when it comes to the safety of their residents. For the 2022-23 listings, GHA and GHBC each received the “High-Performing” rating in both the Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care categories. “High-Performing” is the highest level of recognition offered.
Washington Revels Presents Annual Celtic Crossroads
Washington Revels’ annual Christmas Revels draws an audience of over 10,000 revelers every December for the past 40 years. Washington Revels celebrates different cultures and traditions through the arts and brings it to life onstage at GW Lisner Auditorium for a lively, exciting, and mesmerizing 7 show run!”
This year’s show celebrates the deep Scots Irish connections to the music, traditions and cultural life in Appalachia. The music, dance, and family rituals bring together neighbors in a 19th century “hollow” in celebration. A fully staged holiday production combining Scottish, Irish, Appalachian, and African American musical influences, create a rich, uniquely American mashup of toe-tapping reels, lush ballads and soaring spirituals, all culminating in a joyous Cèilidh. As in every Christmas Revels, the audience is invited to sing along and join in the fun.
Showing from December 16th — 18th at the George Washington Lisner Auditorium.
Barkley Pet Spa Taking Donations for the Holidays
Barkley Square Pet Spa is taking donations for the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Starting December 9th through the 23rd they will accept donations in their front lobby. Please come by any day, Monday-Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to drop off donations.
They appreciate in-kind donations of supplies to help with caring for their animals as well as helping with the administrative side of rescue. Animal needs include dog leashes, bath and beach sized towels, training treats, Martingale style collars – all sizes, Frontline for dogs and cats – all sizes, high quality canned cat food, high quality canned dog food, hot dogs, string cheese and tough toys like Kongs and Nylabones.
Office needs include white copy/printer paper, Brother toner cartridges TN-760, Brother toner cartridges TN-221 black and color and postage stamps. Gift cards needed include gas stations, Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway and Home Depot. Cleaning supplies needed include bleach, laundry soap, dish soap, paper towels, toilet paper and nitrile gloves – all sizes.
Hanks Williams Tribute Show Hosted by Birchmere Hall
The 25th Annual “Tribute to Hank Williams” plays the Birchmere Music Hall on Friday, December 30 at 7:30pm. This country, honky tonk, swingin’ extravaganza of musical friends collaborating to bring to life classic songs from the real roots of country music.
Grammy winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer host the evening with Daryl Davis and Prairie Home Companion stars Robin and Linda Williams (Staunton, VA). The Honky Tonk Band includes Patrick McAvinue on fiddle (Country Current) and Alex Lacquement on bass.
Hank Williams was a consummate country songwriter, with hits that included “So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Your Cheatin Heart,” “The Lovesick Blues” and “Jambalay.” He died at the age of 29, on New Year’s 1953, leaving behind a legacy of songs and performances that will not be forgotten. This popular show brings together an all-star cast of friends who get together just once a year to celebrate the songs of a country music idol.
Local F.C. Resident Publishing Book
Leanne Berthiaume is a City of Falls Church resident and author of the upcoming book “Defining Me,” which will be published by News Degree Press in May 2023.
“Defining Me” is a novel about a woman at a crossroads in her life, who revisits past decisions and memories in order to shape her path forward. Berthiaume said she wrote the book because it has always been a dream of hers to become a published author, but also because she wanted to tell a story about the struggles many women face but hardly talk about.
Along with the book’s publisher New Degree Press, Berthiaume developed a pre-launch effort to help spread the word and message of her book. She is hoping to raise enough pre-sale dollars to fully publish the book in paperback and eBook. The presale campaign runs through December 18, 2022. She will also donate 5 percent of her presale proceeds to the Falls Church Elementary PTA for everyone who places a preorder.
The link to Berthiaume’s presale page where one can read more about her journey, her book and the presale campaign is here: https://leanne-berthiaume.presale.manuscripts.com/
“A Christmas Angel” Holds Speical Performances
A Scrooge-like spinster learns a lot about the spirit of Christmas in this fun family musical “that’ll give you a little more hope and believe in humanity.”
Creative Cauldron will be holding special performances of their production of “A Christmas Angel” on Friday, December 16th and Saturday, December 17th.
On Friday, December 16th, guests can attend the performance in their favorite “ugly” holiday sweater. Ugly Sweater Day at Creative Cauldron will grant a person a free drink ticket when one wears their ugly holiday sweater to the performance at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, December 17th, the performance of “A Christmas Angel” will be live streamed at 7:30 p.m. for those who want to watch the production, but can’t leave their homes or work. One can stream it live for only $15.
Based on a little-known 1910 novel by Abbie Farwell Brown, this tale about a spinster and her heartwarming transformation into the Christmas spirit echo Dickens and the journey of Ebeneezer Scrooge.
This production features adult professionals and students enrolled in their Musical Theater Pre-Professional Training program.
