‘Turning of the Screw’ Opens At Cauldron Next Week
“Turning of the Screw,” an original musical by the Falls Church-based duo of Steven Gregory Smith and Matt Conner, is being offered at the F.C.-based Creative Cauldron theater starting Oct. 2 through Oct. 26. It is adapted from the ghost story written by Henry James.
The music is by Conner and the libretto and lyrics by Smith. It received its world premiere at Creative Cauldron in 2015, as part of the “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” initiative and was hailed by critics as “hypnotic and unnerving.” The story follows a governess who takes a position caring for two children on a remote country estate. She soon has eerie encounters.
Told through the musical genius of Conner and Smith, Creative Cauldron’s revival of this chilling psychological thriller will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, a press release notes.
Tinner Hill Hosts Workshop On Policing Activities in F.C.
A workshop of Policing Activities in the City of Falls Church will be held this Saturday, Sept. 27, hosted by the Tinner Hill Foundation at 1 p.m. at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 225 E. Broad in Falls Church.
In this free workshop, Officer Ricardo Feliciano will provide an introductory presentation of the City of Falls Church Police Department with a Q and A session. Topics may range from transparency of police practices, DEI training, community engagement, and more.
Beyer’s Women’s Conference Set Oct. 6 at Mason Square
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer of Northern Virginia will host his Ninth Annual Women’s Conference: The Ripple Effects of Resilience on Monday, October 6 at George Mason University’s new Fuse building at Mason Square in Arlington. This event is free to the public but capacity is limited, so attendees are encouraged to register in advance.
This year’s event will bring together women leaders to share stories of perseverance, strength, and resilience in the face of the challenges confronting our country and community in these unprecedented times.
The discussion will feature Brooke Sydnor Curran, founder of Move2Learn; Lisa Jacobs, Executive Director of the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium; and Elizabeth Jones Valderrama, Executive Director of Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR). The discussion will be moderated by Nyree Wright, Executive Vice President of Crisis & Risk Communications at Edelman. Rep. Beyer will also present this year’s Clara Mortenson Beyer Women and Children First Award.
Mason University Named No. 1 In Virginia for Social Mobility
George Mason University stands out as Virginia’s No. 1 public university for social mobility in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2026, as Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for the Buck” in the Southeast, and as a top 50 public university nationally according to Forbes magazine.
As the only public doctoral university in the state – and one of just five very large public universities in the nation – George Mason has been designated by the Carnegie Foundation and American Council on Education (ACE) in the highest tier of Opportunity Colleges and Universities for its combination of higher access, higher earnings and being a top research university. This distinction reflects George Mason’s preparation of more students to build grand solutions for a brighter future.
“These latest rankings and accolades help spotlight the opportunities, excellence, research capacity, value, and successful student outcomes at George Mason,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “The university achieves all this at scale like few other universities in the country, and we transform more lives than any public university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These rankings are impressive – our graduate success stories are even more so.”
GMU Celebrates Formal Naming of Fuse Today
George Mason will mark a defining moment on today, Sept. 25, with the grand celebration of Fuse at Mason Square, featuring the formal naming of the School of Computing in honor of philanthropists Kimmy Duong and Long Nguyen, the ribbon cutting of the new Energy Exploration (E2) Center, and interactive exhibits as part of George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative.
Located in Arlington, Fuse is designed as a catalyst for collaboration between academia, industry, and government. The grand celebration will demonstrate how George Mason and its partners are advancing research, talent, and business to strengthen the region and addressing today’s grand challenge to drive solutions worldwide. Built in partnership with Mason Innovation Partners (MIP), a development consortium led by Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate, Fuse stands as a model of how universities and private partners can work together to expand opportunity and accelerate innovation.
Plein Air Art Competition Concludes Saturday
Artists that have been painting outdoors around the City of Falls Church during September conclude their efforts with a Quick Draw event this Saturday, Sept. 27, with three hours that are free and open to the public from 9 a.m, to noon.
Citizens will be invited to vote on a “People’s Choice” award, and the event’s juror is Ted Reed. Participating artists will submit their competition works by 9 a.m. and the Quick Draw competition will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. open to all ages. Quick Draw competitors can register for $15 at a table at the Falls Church City Hall grounds event site, 300 Park Avenue, that morning.
Winners of both competitions will be announced at noon.
‘How to Market Your Art’ Seminar This Friday
Jennifer Kahn Barlow will lead a business workshop at the Falls Church Arts Gallery this Friday, Sept. 26, at 12:30 p.m. for emerging adult artists.
The workshop will cover areas like finding your niche, file organization, financials, important template documents, building a digital presence, and more. The lessons are tailored specifically for visual artists and include plenty of practical tips and real-life examples. Entry fee is $65.
Barlow is a seasoned artist with over 15 years in the Washington, DC, arts scene, known for her vibrant and whimsical paintings of sweets. She has been represented by numerous galleries, shown her work in venues across the mid-Atlantic and been featured in publications such as Professional Artist Magazine and The Washington Post.
New Book ‘Empowers Kids Against Hurtful Labels’
In “These ABCs Belong To Me!,” author Alicia McKenzie, with illustrations by Sarah DeMonteverde, draws on her 18 years of parenting five children who are wildly different from each other, as well as her own real-life experiences as a biracial child with boundless energy and an opinionated streak, to create fresh, uplifting takes on 26 all-too-familiar critical and belittling words spanning the alphabet.
From “ambitious” to “messy,” from “timid” to “zany,” kids will discover how to reclaim the words that are commonly used as hurtful labels and transform them into confidence-boosting qualities that make them unique and are worth celebrating.
“As a child who watched my military dad suffer from severe PTSD, and taking a lot of his frustration out on my brother—this book is really about understanding that parents must take a breath and realize that every child has special qualities and is not always cut from the same cloth,” McKenzie assures parents. “Someone might use a word meant to limit or define your child, but it’s up to us as parents to teach them how to flip that script—turn a negative into something positive so that you and your child have the power to create their extraordinary narrative.”