New Events Proposed for F.C. At City-Restauateur Meeting
A range of new events and a revival of the New Year’s Eve Watch Night were among the topics of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting between Falls Church City staff, City Council and Economic Development Authority members and City restaurant owners held at the Viget offices in downtown Falls Church.
New events, such as a seven-block-long “pub crawl” on W. Broad St. and a LGBT Pride event and others were among proposals adopted for moving forward. Restaurateur Thomas Harvey of Harvey’s Restaurant cited numerous shortcomings on the City of Falls Church website in terms of access to information about public events and services. He and Colm Dillon of Ireland’s Four Provinces spoke adamantly that better marketing of the City to outside areas is in the keen interest of the entire City as a whole, and not any one group.
The second meeting of the combined groups, the first since December, grew out of concern for the City’s decision not to close the 100 block of W. Broad for the annual Watch Night event last New Year’s Eve, which cut deeply into City business revenues for that evening.
Falls Church City Hall, Library Closed for Presidents Day Monday
Most City of Falls Church programs and services will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16, for Presidents’ Day, including City Hall and the Mary Riley Styles Public Library. The Community Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Creative Cauldron Welcomes Schwarz’s Scrapbook
Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, an original musical which incorporates over two dozen of Schwartz’s songs, including songs from ‘Wicked,’ ‘Pippin,’ ‘Godspell,’ ‘The Baker’s Wife,’ ‘Rags,’ ‘Working,’ ‘Children of Eden,’ and ‘Enchanted,’ opens tonight (Thursday, Feb. 12) and runs through March 8 at Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron.
The musical is described as “a touching and authentic look into how we fall in love and the poignant power of trusting our hearts and memories.”
City of F.C. Calls for Entries To Memorial Day Festival
Applications to participate in a City of Falls Church’s Memorial Day Parade and Festival on Monday, May 25, are now open. New this year, according to the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks, the City will add a $200 incentive to any group that applies for their float to be in the parade.
Businesses located inside the City of Falls Church may register to participate in the parade at no cost. All others must register as a sponsor to participate.
Calif. City Votes for Rent Freeze
The city council of Santa Barbara, Calif., in a split vote, has approved a temporary citywide rent freeze, joining 35 other cities and counties in California with some form of rent stabilization or rent control ordinances in place.
Once in place, the temporary rent freeze is set to lapse on Dec. 31 or when a permanent rent stabilization ordinance is approved by the city, which could be implemented by 2027.
Santa Barbara’s action also aligns with a broader movement in California: the city is joining 35 other cities and counties statewide that have adopted some form of rent stabilization or rent control ordinance.
The temporary freeze will prohibit many of the city’s landlords from raising a tenant’s base rent this year for rent paid as of Dec. 16, 2025. It exempts many types of rental units, including Section 8 housing, housing built after 1995, single-family homes, some condominiums and government housing.
