March With Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation on MLK Day January 15

The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation invites community members to join them on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 15, at 10:00 a.m. at the Tinner Hill Civil Rights Monument (510 South Washington St., Falls Church). Participants will march to The Falls Church Episcopal (115 E Fairfax St., Falls Church) to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Following the march, from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church & Vicinity will conduct breakout sessions inside the church to discuss various social justice topics. Closing remarks will be made by Michelle Leete, President of Fairfax County NAACP, and Rev. Steve Martin, President, of Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation. The event is free and open to the public of all ages. Registration is not required.

Creative Cauldron Touts Artes Para Todos Success

A couple of years ago, Creative Cauldron realized there were many children in the greater Falls Church region who did not have the same access to the arts as the students within The Little City’s boundaries.
In response, they started a Artes Para Todos, an initiative that is breaking down traditional language barriers and welcoming a sector of our community that is vastly neglected by many educational theater programs.

Through “Artes Para Todos” (Spanish for “Arts for All”), they have forged a deep partnership with Second Story, a local nonprofit serving at-risk students attending Title I schools in Fairfax County.

90 percent of these students come from households where Spanish is the primary language. Through the initiative, they offer free after school theater workshops at Second Story’s community-based “Safe Youth” sites, and sometimes help with their drug prevention activities through improvisational drama exercises.
Creative Caudron offers these students scholarships to their Arts Adventure camps, provide complimentary tickets to productions, and even provide transportation.

As a result of the initiative, Learning Theater productions at the Cauldron now feature Spanish language elements, making productions more accessible and enjoyable to both students and families.

The program has also resulted in a strong relationship with Westlawn Elementary School, a Fairfax County Title I school where 70 percent of the student population qualifies for free and reduced lunch, most of whom come from primarily Spanish-speaking households. Artes Para Todos has established a year-round after-school drama club on-site at Westlawn with 28 students currently participating. This coming spring, the club will present a production of “Tales from the Americas,” an original adaptation of Central and South American folktales, for school attendees.

With support from Arts Fairfax and the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and individual donors, Artes Para Todos was able to provide $27,000 in scholarships to participants this past year, and almost $2,500 in complimentary tickets. Many of the young people had never been to a camp or a performance before. One young boy, who immigrated to this country with his family from Guatemala only a few years ago, recently joined their professional cast as a performer in “Monarch: A Mexican American Musical.”

This year, Creative Cauldron is trying to raise $150,000 to move the theater to a a new home in the Broad & Washington development currently under construction. To donate, visit creativecauldron.org/artes-para-todos.

Community Honors Veterans on Wreaths Across America Day

On December 16, community members placed over 180 wreaths honoring Falls Church veterans at the historic Oakwood Cemetery. Mayor David Tarter thanked the volunteers for donating and placing the wreaths, and Chuck Robbie, President of Oakwood Cemetery told the assembled crowd about Civil War veteran Milton Roberts (buried in Section A) who was the inspiration for a famous Walt Whitman poem. Councilwoman Erin Flynn and Harry Shovlin from the Greater Falls Church Veterans Council, along with Girl Scouts, students from area high schools and other community members, participated in the event. The F.C. Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted the event, and their members led volunteers to place the wreaths at veteran gravesites. Wreaths Across America at Oakwood Cemetery has become an annual event for Falls Church.