–Children’s ID Program

The Fairfax County Sheriff's Office will host a children's-ID program at theMcLean Governmental Center, 1437 Balls Hill Road on Saturday, October 1  11am-2pm.

Free, laminated IDs that include a photo, thumbprints and other information will be created that can be used by public-safety officials in case a child goes missing.  The process takes less than four minutes and uses inkless technology, county officials said.  For information, call Capt. Stacey Kincaid at (703) 246-3673 or e-mailstacey.kincaid@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Enjoy the Great Outdoors with Park Activities for Sept 24, 2011

Wild Side Wagon Ride: Take a 90-minute tractor ride with a naturalist to parts ofHuntley Meadows that are difficult to reach on foot. Relax as you ride through forest, meadow and wetland habitats. Look for songbirds, wildflowers, butterflies and waterfowl, then stop for a snack at the observation platform. Meet at the South King's Highway entrance to the park. 2 and 4 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday.) Huntley Meadows Park. $6/person. Register online. For information, call 703-768-2525. 

Fall Equinox Hike: Celebrate the arrival of fall with a naturalist-guided two-mile hike. See and feel the changes that are triggered by the shortening days. This hike is appropriate for adults and children age 6 and older. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Potomac Overlook Park. Free. For reservations (required) call 703-528-5405.

Mason District Park Fall Festival: Enjoy police and fire demonstrations, children's activities including moonbounces and pony rides, shopping for crafts, live entertainment, food vendors and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mason District Park. Free (ride tickets available for purchase). For information call 703-941-1730.

Smithsonian Museum Day Offers Free Admission to Three Alexandria Museums on September 24

 Local Museums Open for Free on Museum Day


Three Historic Alexandria museums are participating in the Smithsonian’s seventh annual Museum Day on Saturday, September 24. On that day, Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, Alexandria Archaeology Museum, and the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum will be offering free admission to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket. 


The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. In 2010, Museum Day participants downloaded 227,747 tickets resulting in more than 500,000 museum-goers visiting over 1,300 venues in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.


Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 North Royal Street, consists of two buildings, a ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Hotel, which are named for John Gadsby who operated them from 1796 to 1808. His establishment was a center of political, business, and social life in early Alexandria. The tavern was the setting for dancing assemblies, theatrical and musical performances, and meetings of local organizations. George Washington enjoyed hospitality there and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent patrons included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Visitors to the historic tavern will learn about the history, architecture, decorative arts, social customs, food, and clothing of a past era. For more information, please visit www.gadsbystavern.org or call 703.746.4242.


At the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, located inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center (105 North Union Street, #327), visitors can discover Alexandria’s once-buried past through artifacts and excavations. Learn about the archaeology and history unearthed during the Lee Street site excavation with the exhibit, “A Community Digs Its Past,” and see unique artifacts from an 18th-century wharf, 19th-century taverns, and a Civil War hospital. Also on display is Alexandria’s oldest artifact, a 13,000-year-old Clovis point recovered in 2007. For more information, please visit www.alexandriaarchaeology.org or call 703.746.4399.


The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 South Fairfax Street, is noted for its outstanding collection of shop furnishings, apothecary bottles and equipment, and archival materials, many still in their original location. When the Apothecary closed during the Depression in 1933, the doors were simply locked, preserving the contents for history. More than 8,000 objects, including pill rollers, mortars and pestles, drug mills, and hand-blown glass medicine bottles with gold-leaf labels, were left in place. Medicinal herbs and paper labels remain in their wooden drawers. Large show-globes from the mid-19th century remain in the windows. It also has a spectacular collection of archival materials, including journals, letters and diaries, prescription and formula books, ledgers, orders and invoices. The names of famous customers appear in the documents, including Martha Washington, Nelly Custis and Robert E. Lee. For more information, please visit www.apothecarymuseum.org or call 703.746.3852.

Mason District Park Festival Offers Neighborhood Fun, Sept 24

Fall must be here if it's time for the annual Mason District Park Festival at Mason District Park in Annandale, Va. Join in the seasonal spectacular on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Festival goers will find live entertainment, crafts, hayrides, pony rides and a moon bounce. Children will love the rides and spectators of all ages can watch the police and fire department demonstrations as well.

This year's live entertainment includes:

10 a.m. - DinoRock (Puppet Show) The DinoRockers invite you to meet eight wacky oddballs from the Mesozoic Era, including the thick-headed Pachycephalosaurus; Lumpy and his son Bumpy; Sarah, the Saharan Suchomimus who's only thought is of eating fish; the very cool Elvis, the Cryolophosaurus found in Antarctica, and the little lost T-Rex toddler named Wuzzy, who has feathers!

11 a.m. - Hui O Ka Pua `Ilima (Hawaiian Dance & Music) Hui O Ka Pua `Ilima performs traditional and contemporary songs and dances of Hawaii and the Polynesian islands of New Zealand and Tahiti.

12:15 p.m. - Chin Hamaya Culture Center (Okinawan Dance & Music) Enjoy the beauty of traditional Okinawan music and dance combined with dragon and lion dances.

1:15 p.m. - Fairfax Swing Band (Swing Music) In the tradition of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and other big bands of the '40s, the Fairfax Swing Band has been wowing audiences since 1989 with music from the big band era through today's contemporary sounds.

2:15 p.m. -- The Reunion Music Society Jazz Orchestra (Jazz Music) Led by NOVA's Professor of Jazz Studies Herb Smith, the Reunion Music Society Jazz Orchestra performs selections from jazz notables such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Bird and Miles Davis along with songs from Broadway shows.

Admission to the festival is free and tickets can be purchased for individual rides.

Mason District Park is located at 6621 Columbia Pike in Annandale, Va. Directions are as follows: Beltway Exit 52B (Little River Turnpike, Rt. 236) east two miles to right at John Marr Drive to right onto Columbia Pike to park entrance on right just before Sleepy Hollow Road.

For more information, please call 703-941-1730.