By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com Uh-oh! A storm is coming and you know what that means... time to raid the shelves! Whenever a major storm is announced for our area, folks are quick to stock up on "the usual suspects" -- bread, toilet paper, milk, eggs, and so on. You've seen the correlation: the more frequent the announcements, or the more escalated the warnings become, the quicker the grocery stores are to run out of items. If Continue Reading...
Storm prep: Where to buy supplies
By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com Uh-oh! A storm is coming and you know what that means... time to raid the shelves! Whenever a major storm is announced for our area, folks are quick to stock up on "the usual suspects" -- bread, toilet paper, milk, eggs, and so on. You've seen the correlation: the more frequent the announcements, or the more escalated the warnings become, the quicker the grocery stores are to run out of items. If Continue Reading...
Winter is Sweet with These Chocolate Festivals!
By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com Happy 2016! Winter is sweet in Northern Virginia with these chocolate festivals coming up! These day-long events feature lots of scrumptious treats and family-friendly activities. They also benefit local small businesses and community organizations, so by indulging in sweets, you're also doing a sweet thing! To help you keep track of all the festivals, we've summarized them in one place... see our list Continue Reading...
5 Ways to Have Fun This Winter
Winter is here! Does that mean the fun is over? Of course not! Whether "winter fun" for you means hitting the slopes or having a snowball fight or staying inside, nice and toasty warm, there are plenty of options for you in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia. Our recently updated Winter Guide has them all for you in one place! Here are five ways you can enjoy family fun this winter: Visit one of the seasonal outdoor ice skating rinks in our Continue Reading...
Where to celebrate the Chinese or Lunar New Year
By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com Happy New Year! Not the one that just passed -- but the one that is coming up! Each year in Northern Virginia and the metropolitan Washington, DC, area there are several festivals to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Commonly called Chinese New Year, several countries and cultures actually celebrate the holiday, such as the Vietnamese, who host Tet events for the Vietnamese New Year. Some of the Continue Reading...
Lessons from my first blizzard
By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com It's hard to believe, but it's been 20 years already since "the Blizzard of '96." Twenty years! This will always be a highly memorable event for me for many reasons: it was not only a huge storm (that dropped nearly two feet of snow over three days), but my first winter in Virginia (and my first true "winter" ever!), and it took place soon after all other kinds of crazy things were going on, such as the Continue Reading...
Wild winter fun: Water-skiing Santa returns!
By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com Among the unique holiday events in our area is one that is -- literally -- a splashing good time: if you are in Northern Virginia or the DC metro area for Christmas, one must-see event is the annual "Water-skiing Santa!" This free, fun, family-friendly community event has been taking place since 1985 and takes place each year on December 24. The one-of-a-kind Washington DC tradition features a Continue Reading...
Family-friendly New Year’s Eve (and daytime) fun
New Year's Eve... for some people, it may be the one time each year that they can go out on a fancy date or a late-night (or all-night) fun outing with their friends. But those with older children -- or even those with younger ones -- who want to celebrate with their families can still go out and have fun! Here in Northern Virginia we have great ways to celebrate, thanks to all-ages community events that include live performances, fireworks, and Continue Reading...
Dozens of ideas for FREE family fun in late December!
So.... a couple of weeks ago we posted our huge list of 40 totally free ideas for fun things to do this holiday season right here in Fairfax and Northern Virginia. You may be thinking that most of those special events and opportunities have passed, right? Think again! Most of these family-friendly community events go on through Christmas, New Year's, and even beyond! See below for all the fun coming up, plus other ideas for kid-friendly fun -- Continue Reading...
Review: Encore Theatrical Arts Project ‘Christmas in New York’
In what has become a Christmas tradition for us, my family once recently attended the holiday production of Encore Theatrical Arts Project (ETAP), "Christmas in New York." ETAP, known for its Broadway-style musicals, each year produces a fantastic show, the likes of which you'd see from a professional troupe, but whose cast is primarily local students. The Christmas productions are hugely popular shows, and rightfully so: if you can't get to see Continue Reading...
