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A Family Affair
Generations of neighbors gather to celebrate the 51st annual Dunn-Loring Woods block party.
“We try to come back every year. This was a great place to grow up and just be a kid. It still is.” —Michael O’Roarke, who brought his wife Joan and son Lan to Saturday’s 51st annual Dunn-Loring Woods block party.
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Koi Bring a Bit of Japan to Vienna
ZNA Potomac Koi Club hosts weekend competition at Meadowlark Gardens.
If Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and glistening other-worldly koi seem to be a perfect fit, that’s because they were harmoniously wed on Sept. 7 and 8, as the ZNA Potomac Koi Club presented its annual koi show and competition. The competition, bringing in nishikigoi [koi] hobbyists from Connecticut to South Carolina, was open and free to the public. Two hundred and sixty two nishikigoi, “living jewels,” entered the competition this year, breaking the Potomac chapter’s record for the show.
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Regional Flavors of India Come to Vienna
Curry Mantra 3 offers traditional and signature dishes.
Curry Mantra 3 turned upside-down the adage, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” on Sept. 8. Not only did the new restaurant at Cedar Park Shopping Center serve free lunch to celebrate its grand opening, it served free dinner, as well. Vienna guests and loyal customers from Curry Mantra 1 and 2 lined up at the door in support of Vienna’s newest entry into the town’s burgeoning restaurant scene. A hostess manning the door let people in as guests left—that’s how busy it was.
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Inspired to Give
Local teens positively impact youth on a global scale.
Picture this: An impoverished young teenager sits in a hospital bed in rural India, suffering from a life-threatening cancer, opens up a tablet device filled with educational tools and apps to distract them from their daily struggles. You would probably expect the tablet to have been shipped there by a large, national non-profit run by paid staff members. Not so. It was delivered to this teen by other teens, all working toward the same goal: to connect with pediatric cancer patients around the world in order to provide them with encouragement, support and education.
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Week in McLean
The Governing Board of the McLean Community Center (MCC) will hold two meetings on its Proposed FY 2015 budget in September. A finance committee meeting of the Whole and a Public Hearing will be held beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept 16, at the center, which is located at 1234 Ingleside Ave.
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Starshine Theater to Host “How to Audition” Event
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, 4:30-6:30 p.m. the Starshine Theater will host a free event: "How to audition for a show—TV ‘Talent’ or ‘Live Stage,’” for ages 3 through adults. Those younger than 18 should attend with a parent. Duets, groups welcome.
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Riverbend Park Hosts Virginia Indian Festival
At Riverbend Park in Great Falls thousands of visitors stopped by to attend the annual Virginia Indian Festival. Mixing with the crowds and greeting visitors was Park Manager Marty Smith. “I have been working at Riverbend Park for 20 years, and manager for 10 years,” said Smith. It was Smith who organized and developed the concept of an educational event about the indigenous people of Northern Virginia for the general public.
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Weaving Community and Lifelong Learning
Great Falls Library brings threads together.
Concerns about the strength and condition of “the fabric of our society” abound, but how is that fabric woven in the first instance, and how is it used and enjoyed and rewoven into the modern tapestry of community? Spend just one day (or two) with the librarians, volunteers and patrons of the Fairfax County Public Library in Great Falls and you will see. The library opens its doors on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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Uneasy Easement: 1789 Deed at Issue as City Hall Takes on Boat Club
Virginia Supreme Court justices say city is putting one private interest ahead of another.
John Adams was president of the United States when two land owners on Wales Alley secured a deed that gave them private use to a 30-foot easement in the alley.
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Incendiary Remarks in West End Fire Investigation
No arrests yet, but fire chief says investigation puts one individual in the hot seat.
Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Thiel stopped short of calling it "arson." But the chief was clear that city officials believe that the person of interest identified by the investigation into last week's six-alarm fire on the West End started the fire on purpose.
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Book Depicts Her Parents’ Early Relationship
Local author pens memoir "Love Crazy."
One day while helping her parents move their belongings into a retirement community, Potomac resident Selby McPhee stumbled upon a box of letters with the words “Personal letters of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Fleming, Jr — to be destroyed unopened" written on the lid in 1983. "I couldn't resist reading them," she said.
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Letter: Focus on Use Of Pesticides
The following open letter was addressed to the members of the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T&E) Committee.
Americans have been led to believe they need poisons to keep their yard pretty and pest-free. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we use 67 million tons of chemicals on our lawns each year, dropping over $700 million for the privilege of contaminating our surroundings and ourselves.
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Cycling Fuels Wounded Veterans’ Rehabilitation
Local physical therapist works with Ride2Recovery.
Cycling Potomac's River Road is not for the weak. Hills on River Road can drop the equivalent of 10 stories in a mile, only to lead cyclists to the next steep climb of equal height. On Labor Day, one group of cyclists was reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour on the descents and then attacking the next hill. Some members of the group had no legs.
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You Matter
Hoops tournament and fun day held in memory of Evan Rosenstock to raise awareness of teenage depression.
Churchill and Bullis have joined together to host a basketball tournament and fun day this Sunday, Sept. 15 in honor and memory of Churchill varsity athlete Evan Rosenstock.
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Week in Numbers, Wednesday/Sept. 11
4 People have died in the Potomac River since June 26. On Thursday, Sept. 5, rescuers discovered the body of Mark Moore, 22 of Odenton, at 5:45 p.m., three days after river rescue teams were first dispatched to the river on Labor Day, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.
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Annual Ride Raises Funds for Lymphoma Research
Alexandrian patient among the participants.
On Sunday, Sept. 22, the Lymphoma Research Foundation will hold its seventh annual Lymphoma Research Ride. Hundreds of present and former lymphoma patients, as well as families, friends and supporters, will embark on a fundraising bike ride


