We're taking a break

The Annandale Blog is taking a brief summer break. 

We’ll have a lot to catch up on when we resume posting. The blog should be up and running again by July 5.

Hope you all have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

2018 public safety bond includes funds for projects in Mason District

The Mason Police station shares a building with the Mason District Government Center.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, at its June 19 meeting, authorized a $182 million public safety bond referendum that includes $13 million for improvements to the Seven Corners Fire Station and $23 million for the Mason Police District.

Release the Craycken joins Taste of Annandale

Release the Craycken is in Seoul Plaza.

Release the Craycken, a restaurant specializing in crayfish and chicken, is the first restaurant to sign up for the fourth annual Taste of Annandale.

The Taste of Annandale is a community festival on Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with food, live entertainment, a 5K race, children’s programming, a chili cook-off, pet contest, and more. It’s happening along Tom Davis Drive in the center of Annandale.

Paws for pets: Teddy the terrier is a spunky diva

This is the second blog post in a new series focusing on readers’ pets. 

Theodore, also known as Teddy, “is a spunky little pup with a lot of personality,” says Chelsea Place of Annandale. She adopted the six-year-old terrier mix in 2012 when his first owners were looking for a new home for him.

“He loves squeaky tennis balls, toys as big as he is, and small rubber ducks,” Place says. “He fears the big bad scary beep emitted when packages are scanned for delivery.”

Craft brewery opens in Falls Church

Audacious Aleworks is a popular gathering spot in Falls Church. 

Five years ago, Annandale resident Brian Reinoehl walked into the Bad Wolf Brewery in Manassas and had a thought, “I want to do this.”

Reinoehl and his business partner Mike Frizzell opened their own brewery, Audacious Aleworks at 110 E. Fairfax St., Falls Church, in May.

Summer concert series opens with dance from Taiwan

Young members of the Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe perform a dance called Little Dolls.

The free outdoor Spotlight by Starlight summer concert series is in full swing. The shows at Ossian Hall Park got started Saturday, June 16, with Taiwanese Cultural Heritage Night, as a large crowd gathered on the lawn to enjoy several dance performances.

There were performances by the Alice Gu-Zheng Ensemble, which appeared at the Taste of Annandale, the Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe, the Northern Virginia Chinese School Youth Yoyo Ambassadors, and the Yuan Chi Research Society of Washington, D.C.

Afterschool groups build leadership skills among local Asian-American youths

AALEAD members work on a stream cleanup project. [Photos: AALEAD]

Lower-income Asian-American students at Holmes and Poe middle schools and Annandale High School are learning leadership skills and setting goals for academic success through a regional organization called Asian American Youth Leadership Empowerment and Development (AALEAD).

After-school groups in those schools provide a variety of activities aimed at academic enrichment and positive youth development, says Neel Saxena, executive director of AALEAD, which has offices on Little River Turnpike in Annandale, as well as D.C. and Silver Spring, Md.