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Mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Reception HeldNews, Page 3
A Show with A Big HeartEntertainment, Page 8
There’s a New Youth Advisory Council in Town
News, Page 5
Page, 2
Claire Jones, 13, a Councilmember on the new Herndon Youth Advisory Council tries out the gavel before the start of the meeting.
online at www.connectionnewspapers.com April 18-24, 2018
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2 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By Marilyn Campbell
In an era when consumers can pur-chase merchandise and depositmoney into a bank account using asmartphone, teaching money smarts
to children can be fraught with complica-tions. April is Financial Literacy Month andlocal financial advisors say teaching chil-dren how to manage their money responsi-bly is a necessary part of becoming a finan-cially responsible adult.
“How a parent treats cash is the way theirkids will treat cash; lead by example,” saidAndrea Foster, professor and departmentchair of Business, Economics, Accounting,Computer Applications and Paralegal Stud-ies (BEACAPS) at Montgomery College. “Ifyour kid sees you cutting coupons and bud-geting, when they grow up they will do thesame. They will see the benefits and thevalue of your thriftiness. “
One of the most important financial les-sons that a parent can teach is how to save,advises Foster. “Teach them how to budgetso that they can learn how to save for whatthey want,” she said.
Children pay attention to and learn fromthe ways in which their parents managemoney and it’s critical that they learn finan-cial literacy at home, suggests Victoria G.Henry, assistant vice president at West Fi-nancial Services, Inc. in McLean.
“Explaining the concept of savings earlyto children is key,” added “It is natural towant to spend everything right away, so itmay be hard to understand why it is impor-tant to set a little aside for future expenses.Perhaps it could be explained by saying thesavings will come in handy if a favorite toybreaks or is lost.”
An ideal time tooffer a lesson in sav-ing is when a childreceives money as apresent for a birth-day or other occa-sion, says Henry. “Itis a good practice tohave them saveeven 10 or 20 per-cent of the gift, andlet them have therest to spend howthey want,” shesaid. “If they decideto spend their funmoney on some-thing and thenquickly return ask-ing for money forsomething else, it is a good to remind themthat maybe they should think more care-fully about how they want to spend theirmoney in the future. This will help themget into the practice of making wise choiceswith spending and saving down the road
when they start earning money as well.”Foster also suggests helping children de-
velop savings goals.“[Whether] by piggybank, envelope, can, or jar, a vessel is animportant toolfor teaching kidshow to save formajor mile-stones,” said Fos-ter. “Identify agoal for the sav-ing and havethem save to-wards that goal.”
Transparencybuilds enthusi-asm, adds Foster.“Using a clear jarfor saving createsenthusiasm andmotivation as thekids see it fill upwith the coins,”she said. “[Sav-ing] also teachesthen self-reliance and not counting on theirparents to help them for everything. By giv-ing a reward, kids can learn the value ofmoney and how to spend money.”
Foster also suggests encouraging childrento keep a spending diary and limiting theamount of money they can spend or thenumber of items they can purchase whenshopping for themselves. “Show them thatstuff costs money,” she said. “Have themkeep track of all the money that mom anddad spend on them in one month, from foodto clothing and other things. They will re-alize how much it costs to maintain themand how much all the stuff that they wantcosts.”
Involve children in a family’s charitabledonations, advises Henry. “Ask your childrento think about what kinds of charitable ef-forts the family should support,” she said.“Have them research and pick a charity and
then make a smallcontribution tothat organizationon their behalf.”
“Have childrenearn their allow-ance and let chil-dren experiencethe pain of nothaving enoughmoney if theydon’t budget cor-rectly,” said Dr.Brian Hollar assis-tant professor ofAccounting, Eco-nomics & Financeat MarymountUniversity. “Expe-rience is a good
teacher and learning when the stakes arelow is invaluable.”
Hollar underscores the importance ofteaching solid math skills. “It’s hard to de-velop strong financial literacy without un-derstanding exponential growth,” he said.
April is FinancialLiteracy Month.
“Explaining the concept ofsavings early to children iskey. It is natural to want tospend everything rightaway, so it may be hard tounderstand why it isimportant to set a littleaside for future expenses.”
— Victoria G. Henry,West Financial Services, Inc.
Managing Money
Teaching youngchildren about theconcept of savingmoney is a criticalpart of financialliteracy.
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
NewsHerndon Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic
703-778-9414 or [email protected]
By Mercia Hobson
The Connection
The Herndon Farmers Market isset to open Thursday, April 19for another fantastic season. Lo-
cated in 700 block of Lynn Street, OldTown Herndon, the market will operateThursdays, 8 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. until earlyNovember.
The Herndon Market is one of elevenFairfax County Farmers Markets pro-duced by the Fairfax County Park Author-ity. On their website, the Park Authoritystates: “By providing access to locallygrown foods, our farmers market pro-
so be sure to bring cash.The Herndon Farmers Market partici-
pates in the SNAP Double Dollar Pro-gram, an incentive of the INOVA HealthFoundation. According to theFoundation’s website, recipients of SNAPbenefits, formerly food stamps, can pur-chase the fresh local foods using theirVirginia EBT card and visiting the boothwhere they can receive Double Dollartokens, up to $20. Shoppers can use theirtokens on any SNAP-eligible food itemsat the market.
* Vendor List: Bread and Water Com-pany, Chef Eloy’s Kickin’ Salsas, ColvinRun Mill, Fork IT issimo catering, Grace’sPastries, GreenFare Organic Cafe, J &W Valley View Farm, McCleaf’s Market,Mt. Olympus Farm, Pickle Factory, SantaCruz Produce and The Lamb’s Quarter.
Herndon Farmers Market Prepares to OpenCraving freshand local?
The 2018 Herndon Farmers Marketopens Thursday, April 19. (Photofrom 2017 Farmers Market).
By Mercia Hobson
The Connection
The 34th Annual Mayor’s Volun-teer Appreciation Reception washeld Sunday, April 15, 2018, atthe Herndon Community Cen-
ter. The Mayor and Town Council of theTown of Herndon had invited 440 nomi-nated volunteers from 330 organizations tothe reception in recognition of their out-standing service to the community.
To be eligible and nominated, volunteershad to serve 100 hours or more during thelast year.
Quoting President George H. W. Bush,Mayor of Herndon Lisa C. Merkel definedthe meaning and qualities of a volunteer.“A volunteer is a person who can see whatothers cannot see; who can feel what most
do not feel. Often such gifted persons donot think of themselves as volunteers, butas citizens, citizens in the fullest sense; part-ners in civilization.”
Guest speaker for the event was TommyMcFly who retold his first remembrance ata very young age of volunteering, the im-portance of learning to give back to the com-munity. McFly recalled making perogies,many perogies. Sharing his story with theaudience, others recalled their first lessonand the importance of volunteering.
During the reception, Merkel said thatsince 1985 when Mayor Rick Thoesen firstintroduced the event, the mayors and TownCouncilmembers had celebrated the accom-plishments of more than 11,500 Outstand-ing Volunteers and more than 100 Distin-guished Volunteers.
“The Distinguished Corporate Service
Award honors a business or corporation thatcontributes to the Town through an out-standing commitment or promotion of theTown for the greater good of Herndon,”Merkel said.
This year Merkel presented the award toJimmy’s Old Town Tavern. “They are alwayswilling to step up and get involved with themany community endeavors,” Merkel saidnoting Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern’s partici-pation in the annual charity golf tourna-ment, 9/11 Memorial Motorcycle Poker Runand a host of fundraisers for many nonprofitorganizations in the Town.
Distinguished volunteers were also rec-ognized. These individuals demonstratedthe highest level of service over severalyears or in projects that required a signifi-cant level of leadership, service, and effort,Merkel said.
Nominated by Herndon Middle SchoolPrincipal Justine Klena, the first award pre-sented went to Karen Joseph who created“Food for Neighbors,” making food avail-able to Herndon’s middle and high schoolfamilies in the summer and over breaks.
The second Distinguished VolunteerAward went to a community member whodeveloped a free and inclusive music pro-gram called “Percussion Works,” aka BucketDrumming to benefit the children in theHerndon area. She also made music schol-arships available. The award went to LauraReadyoff, owner of The Music Loft.
In closing, Merkel said that she had seenso many people in the town engage in vol-unteer service. “Each of us on the Councilthanks each of you individually, and all ofyou collectively for all you do for our Town,our community and each other.”
Mayor Lisa C. Merkel (second from right) presents Karen Joseph (center)the Distinguished Service Award for her work in creating and maintain-ing the Food for Neighbors Program as (from left) Del. Jennifer Boysko,(D-86); Town Councilmembers Jennifer Baker, Sheila Olem and SigneFriedrichs; Tommy McFly, Dranesville Supervisor John Foust, (D), andTown Councilmember Bill McKenna join.
Laura Readyoff (center) received the Distinguished Service Award forher innovative free music program “Percussion Works” and for provid-ing need-based music scholarships. From left, Tommy McFly, Del.Jennifer Boysko, (D-86), Town Councilmembers Jennifer Baker, GraceWolf Cunningham, and Sheila Olem, Mayor Lisa C. Merkel, SupervisorJohn Foust, (D-Dranesville), Town Councilmember Signe Friedrichsand Bill McKenna gather.
Mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Reception HeldEvent recognized and celebrated outstanding service in the Herndon community.
gram strives to improve the health of FairfaxCounty citizens, support local food produc-ers, and protect the environment.”
This year, the Herndon market featureseleven vendors, all of whom are bringingtheir seasonal abundance of producer-onlyitems, raised either on their farms or made-from-scratch, many using local items in therecipes. The market vendors will offer pro-duce, fruits, berries, vegetables, bakedgoods, meats, fresh bread, pasta sauces,grits, ground flours, pickles and more.
A Master Gardener Plant Clinic will beon site, staffed by personnel knowledgeableto answer questions about plant selectionsand their care. The Park Authority wantsshoppers to know that for health and safetyreasons, the market cannot accommodatepets, except service animals. In addition, notall vendors may accept credit or debit cards
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4 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Opinion
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 13this year, and as every year atthis time, This newspaper callsfor submissions to our Mother’s
Day photo gallery.Send photos of mothers, grandmothers,
great-grandmothers, with children or withoutchildren in the photos. Please name everyonein the photo, the approximate date taken, de-scribe what is happening in the photo and in-clude your name, address, email address andphone number. We will not print your full ad-dress or contact information.
You can upload photos andinformation directly towww.connectionnewspapers.com/mothersday/ or email to
[email protected]’s Day is just one of many occasions
throughout the year that we would love to re-ceive photos from our readers. Send us photosand notes when anything of note is happeningin your family, neighborhood, school, club …Be sure to include basic information: Nameeveryone in the photo, the approximate datetaken, describe what is happening in the photoand include your name, address, email addressand phone number. We will not print your fulladdress or contact information. Send [email protected]
Soon after we publish our Mother’s Day
photo galleries, we will begin to ask for sub-missions for our Father’s Day galleries. Father’sDay is June 17 this year.
Each year we seem to receive many morephotos for Father’s Day. We’re curious whetherthat is because it is the second of the set soreaders are more aware or because mothersare more likely to send in images of the Dads.
Twice a year we ask you to send photos andtell us stories about your pets and how theyhave come into, touched and left your lives,publishing the last week in July and the lastweek in February.
In late summer, we invite readers to sharewhat they know about their community forneighbors and newcomers alike.
And wrapping up the year, we gather writ-ing and art from local students to fill our holi-day edition. Each year, through an enormouseffort by area teachers and school staff we re-ceive an amazing display of student talent.
Regular contributions to our entertainmentcalendars, community bulletin boards, schoolnotes, and business notes help us to share newsin your community. We also always welcomephotos and captions from community organi-zations (Scouts, sports teams, faith groups,school activities, etc.) and local businesses.
Please start by sending in photos for Mother’sDay, preferably by May 4.www.connectionnewspapers.com/mothersday/.
Virginia PressAssociation Winners
Connection writers and photographers gar-nered awards at the Virginia Press Associationannual award banquet. Here is the list of ourwinners, with more details to come in the fu-ture:First Place, Michael Lee Pope, Business and Financial
Writing, Great Falls ConnectionFirst Place, Bonnie Hobbs, Public Safety Writing,
Chantilly ConnectionFirst Place, Mark Mogle, Pictorial Photo, Great Falls
ConnectionFirst Place, Mark Mogle, General News Photo, Arlington
ConnectionFirst Place, Eden Brown, Public Safety Writing,
Arlington ConnectionSecond Place, Dan Brendel, Government Writing,
Alexandria Gazette PacketSecond Place, Vernon Miles, Feature Series or
Continuing Story, Alexandria Gazette PacketSecond Place, Fallon Forbush, Breaking News Writing,
McLean ConnectionSecond Place, Fallon Forbush, General News Writing,
Reston ConnectionSecond Place, Bonnie Hobbs, General News Writing,
Fairfax ConnectionSecond Place, Marilyn Campbell, Education Writing,
Great Falls ConnectionThird Place, Shirley Ruhe, Personality or Portrait Photo,
Arlington ConnectionThird Place, Fallon Forbush, Education Writing, Great
Falls ConnectionThird Place, Mary Kimm, Editorial Writing, Great Falls
Connection
Send in Mother’s Day Photos
Editorial
It’s Time toGive Volunteersthe CreditThey DeserveTo the Editor:
This week, April 15-21, is Na-tional Volunteer Week, an oppor-tunity for organizations across thecountry to pause and recognize theimportance and impact of the mil-lions of selfless individuals whovolunteer in our communities. Gov-ernor Northam recently honoredsome of Virginia’s most remarkableindividuals and organizations thathave committed to service acrossthe Commonwealth at the 2018Virginia Governor’s Volunteerismand Community Service Awards.Their stories of service were touch-ing, uplifting, and an inspiration forall of us to do more for others. Iencourage you to read more aboutthese remarkable volunteers atVirginiaService.virginia.gov.
And yet, this amazing group ofvolunteers are just a fraction of themore than 2 million who serveannually in Virginia. Each day, in-dividuals give their time and tal-ents to make our communitiessafer, healthier and stronger.Whether it is the parents andgrandparents volunteering in our
schools, community members col-lecting and donating food to ourfood banks, or busy professionalsutilizing their skills to help indi-viduals and organizations in timesof need — volunteers are the forcebehind addressing our greatestchallenges.
On behalf of the Governor’s Ad-visory Board on Service andVolunteerism, I would like to thankthese fantastic volunteers. Thankyou for caring. Thank you for com-mitting. Thank you for under-standing the power of service. Wewant you to know that we see youand we hear stories of how you arechanging communities for the bet-ter. You provide hope to so manyand inspire others to follow yourlead to serve.
Jessica BowserGovernor’s Advisory Board on
Service and Volunteerism
Long Backups atPark EntranceTo the Editor:
With spring upon us, the week-end traffic problem at the intersec-tion of Georgetown Pike and OldDominion Drive (entrance to GreatFalls Park) is causing long back-ups from both directions onGeorgetown Pike and also north
on Old Dominion Drive. The lackof turn lanes increases the conges-tion.
In the absence of physicalchanges to the intersection, thereshould be police presence duringbusy mid-day hours on weekendsto direct traffic and not allow longbackups when the Park’s parkingis full.
As Great Falls Park is a NationalPark, one would assume that theresponsibility for traffic manage-ment would belong to the US ParkPolice. No private venue would beallowed to avoid responsibility iftheir venue created this kind ofproblem. The alternative to thePark Police is the Fairfax County
Police Department. In any event,mitigation of this problem belongsto one or more of our governmen-tal entities.
The Park is a treasure and awonderful part of our community.We have visitors from all aroundthe area who very much appreci-ate and enjoy the
Park. Reasonable traffic man-agement would make their expe-rience a better one and improvethe quality of life for those of uswho use Georgetown Pike and OldDominion Drive for our normalweekend travels.
Peter GarahanGreat Falls
Letters to the Editor
Submit civic/community announcements at ConnectionNewspapers.com/Calendar.Photos and artwork welcome. Deadline is Thursday at noon, at least two weeks be-fore event.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDVolunteers Needed for Northern
Virginia Fine Arts Festival. AtReston Town Center, 11900 MarketSt., Reston. Greater Reston ArtCenter’s (GRACE’s) largest annualfundraiser. Draws up to 30,000visitors and there is free garageparking all weekend. Over 500volunteers are needed. Volunteersperform a variety of roles includingsetting up with the logistics crew,welcoming and booth sitting forparticipating artists as part of theArtist Hospitality entourage,welcoming visitors and accepting
donations for GRACE as a FestivalAmbassador, or helping young artistswith their creations in the Family ArtPark. Visit restonarts.org/fineartsfestival.
The Herndon High School PTSA isin need of a treasurer, but anyoneinterested in serving on the board iswelcome. The HHS PTSA works toprovide connections betweenstudents, teacher and parents. Theyoffer mini-grants to teachers,scholarships and achievement awardsto students as well as appreciationevents for staff. Email
Bulletin Board
See Bulletin, Page 7
www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
@HerndonConnect
An independent, locally owned weeklynewspaper delivered
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Local Media Connection LLC
1606 King StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314
Free digital edition delivered toyour email box. Go to
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NEWS DEPARTMENT:[email protected]
Kemal Kurspahic Editor ❖ 703-778-9414
Mercia HobsonCommunity Reporter
Andrea WorkerContributing Writer
Jean CardProduction Editor
ADVERTISING:For advertising information
Debbie FunkDisplay Advertising/National Sales
David GriffinMarketing Assistant
Classified & EmploymentAdvertising703-778-9431
Editor & PublisherMary Kimm
[email protected]@MaryKimm
Executive Vice PresidentJerry Vernon
Editor in ChiefSteven Mauren
Managing EditorKemal Kurspahic
Art/Design:Laurence Foong, John Heinly,
Ali KhalighProduction Manager:
Geovani Flores
Oak Hill & Herndon
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
On Saturday, April 14,WashingtonExec hosted its fifthannual K-12 STEM Symposiumat The Nysmith School inHerndon. The event attractednearly 4,000 students, parents,industry leaders, governmentofficials, non-profit executivesand educators.
Attendees enjoyed Altamira’s“Girls in STEM” interactivewing, Vencore’s flight simulatorand a variety of other interac-tive exhibits. Among the biggesthits were the virtual realityshowcase, 3D printers and slimecreation stations.
In addition to the displays,attendees had the opportunityto hear from former NASA as-tronaut Cady Coleman, NASAChief Information Officer (CIO)Renee Wynn and other STEMSuperheroes.
New to the Symposium’s pro-gramming this year,
WashingtonExec presented sev-eral awards. The STEM RisingStar award was presented toKavya Kopparapu and KirthiKumar, students at ThomasJefferson High School for Sci-ence & Technology. AnneSwanson, U.S. education andworkforce development coordi-nator at CGI Federal wasnamed Most Inspiring STEMExecutive of 2018. BooleanGirls, a non profit dedicated toeducating girls to code, build,invent and animate took homeSTEM Non-Profit of the Year,while Business Women’s GivingCircle and Northrop Grummanwere awarded Best STEM-Sup-porting Businesses of the Year.
This year’s WashingtonExecK-12 STEM Symposiumbrought together key players inthe STEM field to enthrall stu-dents with the science andtechnology they learn in theirclassrooms. Elevating STEMeducation through events likeWashingtonExec’s K-12 STEMSymposium spurs the nationalconversation among leaders,parents and students aboutSTEM’s increasing importanceto the future.
Ed Swallow, K-12 STEM Symposium Chairman andSVP, Civil Systems Group, The Aerospace Corporation,moderates panel on what it takes to be a Superheroin STEM with Kristy Clark (Chief Engineer, Vencore),Renee Wynn (CIO, NASA), and Ted Davies (CEO,Altamira).
STEM SymposiumHeld in HerndonThe eventattracted nearly4,000 partici-pants.
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Although it has only been a few months sinceits formation, the new Herndon Youth Advi-sory Council is off to a good start. Created in
late 2017 by the Herndon Town Council, the YouthAdvisory Council is made up of students in middleor high school who either live in the Town of Herndonor attend classes at Herndon Middle or Herndon HighSchools and who are in good standing in the com-munity.
The stated purpose of the council is “to advise theelected body on activities, issues, and decisions rel-evant to youth and to advocate for legislation ad-dressing issues that impact the lives of Herndon’s
young people.”During the Wednesday, April 11, 2018 meeting,
the council discussed their proposed CommunityTeen Center Project. The youth shared that therewas no place for them to “hang out” in the summer;that they wanted somewhere slightly supervised sotheir parents would let them go, but not havingclasses or courses.
As the discussion continued, students spoke aboutpossible locations, furnishings, expenses, and evensnack storage.
Plans were made to bring the discussion forwardto Town staff and the Herndon Town Council.
Town Councilmember Bill McKenna oversees theYouth Council.
Asked for his feedback, McKenna wrote, “What anhonor it is to work with a bunch of students whotruly want to not only understand how local govern-ment works but want to make a difference. The ideasthey have are truly spectacular, and it definitelymakes me look forward to the time when they willbe the leaders of our community, and hopefully ourcountry.
We need more people like we have on the HerndonYouth Advisory Council.”
Members of the new Herndon Youth Advisory Council are (from left) Ian Nordling, 18,Growing Kids Therapy Center; Zachary Skalagan, 14, Herndon High School (HHS); AndyFreeman, 13, Herndon Middle School; Laura Evans, 15, HHS; Katie Evans, 15, HHS; LucyBrown, 14, HHS; Claire Jones, 13, HMS; Tea Geary, 12, HMS; and Priyanka Mani, 14,Congressional School (Not pictured: Kade Cralie, Meredith Kepier, Kento Moore, andAnkit Poudel).
There’s a New YouthAdvisory Council in TownHigh school and middleschool aged studentsmake up the councilmembership.
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6 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
HerndonMiddle TheatreTo Present‘Disney TheLion King Jr.’
The Herndon Middle School Per-forming Arts Department willpresent “Disney’s The Lion King Jr.,”Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m and Satur-day, April 21, 2 p.m and 7 p.m in thetheatre at Herndon Middle School,901 Locust Street, Herndon. Thefamily-fun performance is appropri-ate for all ages. General admissionis $10. Visit www.hmsdrama.org orcall 703-904-4976.
WatershedCleanup, EarthDay & ArborDay EventsAnnounced
Join your fellow communitymembers and help clean-upRunnymede Park, Sugarland Runwatershed, and various other parkand stream locations on Saturday,April 21, 8 a.m. – 12 noon. Indi-viduals, students, families, scoutsand other groups can choose be-tween doing a stream clean-upand/or native plant garden work.Volunteers should dress for theweather, wear boots with sturdysoles, and bring work gloves andcome to Runnymede Park, 195Herndon Parkway between Elden& Queens Row Streets and BreadyPark Pavilion, 814 FerndaleAvenue.There will be a free securedocument shred truck atRunnymede Park from 9 a.m.-Noon. Everyone is welcome to takeadvantage of this service. There isa five container limit per vehicleand all containers will be returnedimmediately. The following thingsare accepted: all grades of officepaper, including staples, and pa-per clips and binder clips. The fol-lowing items are not accepted:newspaper, magazines,phonebooks, cardboard (overnightenvelopes), three-ring binders,electronic media (hard drives,tapes and discs), and plastic ormetal objects. For safety’s sake,people should remain in their carsuntil they reach the shred truck. Aspecial thanks to Stohlman Auto-motive Family for sponsoring thisevent. Earth Day and Arbor DayCeremony will be held at 9:30 a.m.in the Bready Park Pavilion. Therewill be a brief ceremony in honorof our Tree City USA designation,followed by a tree planting. All arewelcome and no RSVP needed.
Week
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.
By KENNETH B. LOURIE
Though I immerse you regular readers inthe excruciating details of my cancer-affectedlife, rarely do I bombard unsuspecting con-versationalists who unknowingly yet sincerelywander into territory with which many of youare intimately detailed. Not that I don’t havestories to tell, and/or perhaps even unsolic-ited advice to offer; generally speaking, if Ican avoid it, I don’t want to drag the conver-sation into a cancer-centric black hole.
It’s not because I’m uncomfortable talkingabout cancer, or that I would feel it an inap-propriate invasion of my privacy, or that Iwould feel the need to blather on non-stop.Hardly. But I would see it as the end of aninnocent inquiry undone that then takes on amore empathetic, sympathetic and possiblyeven pathetic tone, some of which mightmake me uncomfortable.
The reason being: part of what feeds myself-preservation and sense of well-being isreading and reacting to the feedback I receivefrom others when the subject matter turns tocancer, however well-meaning their inten-tions may have been.
Sometimes the reactions I get aren’t help-ful (“Tell me Ken, how’s it feel to knowyou’re going to die?”). Sometimes, I findmyself rationalizing, explaining and revisitingissues and experiences more helpful and ofinterest to the party that asked the questionrather than to yours truly who’s now havingto answer the question. Not that I don’t wantto be helpful or have difficulty empathizing;nothing could be further from the truth.
It’s more that I don’t want to see theirexpressions/hear their apologies when theirinnocent question (“So what do you do?”)elicits an extremely unexpected answer. “Nottoo much. I have stage IV, non-small cell lungcancer.”
Then I have to decide how I involved Iwant to get them in my life. Since I’d just assoon not get them involved for all the reasonsI’ve outlined, usually I deflect their questionsand/or redirect them away from me and backto them. I don’t exactly shut them down. It’smore like a gentle closing. I’m not rude orthe least bit off-putting. I’m more like a trafficcop re-routing emotions to avoid any acci-dents – for all parties engaged.
My experience has been that respondingto an innocent question with a “I haveterminal-cancer”-type bombshell tends totake the conversation in an entirely differentdirection than likely intended. The serious-ness of my response/situation and the emo-tions – maybe even memories it stirs in theperson who asked the question, can hijack anevening and cause at least for a few minutesanyway, a rather dreary dynamic. All of whichI don’t want to happen and more so, don’tneed to happen. As a cancer patient, I don’tneed dreary. I don’t need pity. I don’t neednegativity. I need humor. I need encourage-ment and compliments. I need to be made tofeel, as Tony the Tiger might say: “Not justgood, but GREAT!”
When I assess my nine-plus years post-diagnosis; having lived now years beyond myoriginal “13 month to two-year” prognosis, Ican’t quite attribute my amazing good for-tune to anything in particular. However, I willadmit to this: trying not think about my diag-nosis/prognosis too much, trying to remainpositive, trying to be funny and self-effacing,and trying to avoid people and situationswhere I might feel bad, are all components.Are they working to keep me alive more thanthe medicine, my pills and my miscellaneousnon-Western alternatives are?
Yet another question or two I’d rather notanswer.
If Only It WereThat Simple
[email protected] to learnmore.
STEM Professionals Needed. Help assist K-12STEM teachers as part of the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science’sSTEM Volunteer Program, stemvolunteers.org,during the 2018-19 school year. In the 2017-18school year, there are 85 volunteers in sixNorthern Virginia school districts. Contact DonRea at 571-551- 2488, or [email protected].
Volunteer Adult Mentors Needed. Help assistthe Department of Family Services’ BeFriendA-Child mentoring program. The mentors provideopportunities for companionship, guidance andsupport to children who have been abused andneglected, or who are at risk of abuse and neglect.Contact Ibrahim Khalil [email protected] or 703-324-4547.
Volunteer Victims Needed. Virginia Task Force 1(VA-TF1) is holding a full scale exercise and needsvolunteers to act as victims in need of rescue. Theexercise will take place from the evening ofMonday, April 23 through afternoon of Thursday,April 26. A minimum shift of six hours is expected,overnight volunteers are especially needed.“Victims” will need to be able to crawl in and outof rubble piles, capable of sitting or lying in placefor extended periods of time, and not mind gettingdirty. Contact Christopher Yorty [email protected].
PARENTS HELPING PARENTSParent Support Partners, a service of the
Healthy Minds Fairfax initiative, are all parentswho have received training and are qualitied tooffer education, support and assistance at nocost to families or caregivers. They providereliable information that families can use indecision-making and are familiar with servicesand resources that can help families in distress.Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/healthymindsfairfax or www.nami-northernvirginia.org/parent-peer-support.html.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATIONChild turning 5 years old by Sept.30? If so,
contact your child’s school to makearrangements for kindergarten enrollment. Mostschools begin getting information together nowfor parents of incoming kindergartners, andmany host an orientation or open house. Allkindergarten programs are full-day and locatedin FCPS elementary schools. Check your school’swebpage or contact the school directly forspecific enrollment information and dates oforientationor visit www.fcps.edu/registration/kindergarten-registration.
THURSDAY/APRIL 19FACETS’ Opening Doors Breakfast. 7-9 a.m.
at Fairview Park Marriott, 3111 Fairview ParkDrive, Falls Church. Free breakfast to educatethe public and local businesses about FACETS’work to help families and individuals who arestruggling in the Fairfax community. SeveralFACETS’ clients will be sharing their storiesabout homelessness and efforts to overcome it.Contact Shawn Flaherty at 703-554-3609.
Community Food Packing. 10-11:30 a.m. atDominion Energy, 3072 Centreville Road,Herndon. Assistance League of NorthernVirginia, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization,invites community members to help pack foodfor its Weekend Food for Kids program. Thiscritical program provides nonperishable foodover the weekend to children who receive freeor reduced-price meals. Arrive at 9:30 if youwould like to help with setup. Free. [email protected] or visitwww.northernvirginia.assistanceleague.org.
FRIDAY/APRIL 20Super Salad Social. 12:30-2:30 p.m. at Rose
Gallery - Reston Community Center Lake Anne,A, 4305 1609, Washington Plaza N, Reston.Enjoy lunch with fellow OLLI members and hearthe candidates for the OLLI 2018 Board ofDirectors election. The election runs May 4-18.Please bring a salad (green salad, pasta salad,grain salad, or fruit salad), fruit, or dessert toshare. Visit bit.ly/2q06Ngf.
SATURDAY/APRIL 21Special Education Conference. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at
Hayfield Secondary School, 7630 Telegraph Road,Alexandria. Dr. Pamela Mims, the keynotespeaker, will present Using Evidence to GuidePractice: Justifying Inclusion for All. Choose fromover 60 workshops. Register online atwww.fcps.edu/spedconference2018 or call 703-204-3941.
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8 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 18-24, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By David Siegel
The Connection
A light-hearted retellingof the Hans ChristianAndersen classic fairy
tale “The Princess and the Pea”is in store for the entire familyat NextStop Theatre.The show is called “Once Upona Mattress” and it has unex-pected twists that refresh theclass tale, including music anddancing.
“Our ‘by kids, for kids’ pro-ductions have become a reallyamazing holiday tradition andgreat successes,” said EvanHoffmann, NextStop’s produc-ing artistic director.
“We decided that we wantedto expand that program into thespring.” “Once Upon a Mat-tress” is the spring production.
“‘Once Upon a Mattress’ is aclassic show with many won-derful opportunities to featureour young performers,” addedHoffmann.
“The story will appeal to kids,parents, and even grandparents.”This production has a cast of twodozen young performers workingalongside artists from the profes-sional NextStop company.
Kevin Place directs “Once Upona Mattress.” Place said, “The playbegins with a kingdom on hold:the queen, dominating the muteking, refuses to let her son marryunless the inquiring princesspasses a series of impossible tests.So that he can marry his lady love,young knight Sir Harry brings adifferent kind of princess; this onenicknamed Fred (from Winifred),
who scandalizes and excites theyoung people of the court.”
Surprising developments thentransform the original “The Prin-cess and the Pea” for contempo-rary audiences.
“’Once Upon a Mattress’ feelsincredibly relevant and relatablein the way that it challenges ste-reotypes of how young peopleshould behave based on theirgender and social status,” saidPlace.
Professional actor Jen Bevanplays Queen Agravain. “I didn’thesitate at all to say ‘yes’ whenasked to be part of the production.
I always want to imagine, so Ican’t think of a better cast tokeep my dreams alive, whilehelping kids along the samepath I trod years ago.”
Faith Hargadon, portrayingWinifred (nicknamed Fred)said, “’Once Upon a Mattress’is enjoyable for people of allages. It has parts that both chil-dren and adults will appreciate.It is also a super hilarious, funand exciting show, with fantas-tic music and an incrediblestory.”
Logan Wagner, who plays SirHarry said “the choreography isamazing, the vocals are spec-tacular, and the acting is out-standing.
If you want to come see ashow that is full of comedy, ad-venture, and maybe even somedrama, then ‘Once Upon a Mat-tress’ is for you.”
A Show with a Big Heart‘Once Upon aMattress’ atNextStop:A musicalcomedy for theentire family.
Jen Bevan, who plays Queen Agravainin NextStop’s “Once Upon a Mattress.”
Faith Hargadon, whoplays Winifred inNextStop’s “OnceUpon a Mattress.”
Logan Wanger, whoplays Sir Harry inNextStop’s “OnceUpon a Mattress.”
Where and WhenNextStop Theatre presents “Once Upon a Mattress” performing at 269 Sunset
Park Drive, (Inside the Sunset Business Park), Herndon. Performances, Friday, April27 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Sunday April 29 at 1 p.m.and 5 p.m. Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. andSunday, Mary 6 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets: $25. Call 866-811-4111 or visitwww.nextstoptheatre.org. Note: “Once Upon a Mattress” is appropriate for all ages.All those entering the theatre must have a ticket, regardless of age.
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Submit entertainment announcementsat www.connectionnewspapers.com/Cal-endar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.Photos/artwork encouraged.
ONGOINGMuscle Up Mondays. 6:30 p.m. Meets
Mondays, May through October, atPavilion at Reston Town Center,11900 Market St., Reston. Freefitness classes presented by CRUNCHFitness-Reston group instructors. (Noclass on Memorial Day, May 28.) Call571-267-5000 or visitcrunchreston.com Facebook.com/CrunchReston.
“Into the Woods.” Through April 21at Herndon High School, 700 BennettSt., Herndon. Multiple performances:Saturday, April 21, 2-3:30 p.m.Special Pre-Performance Experiencefor Young Children, Ages 3-7 from 1-1:45 p.m. Tickets: $10/adult & $5/child in advance online; $15/adult &$10/child at box office; Thursday,April 19, 7-9:45 p.m. (pizza night);Friday, April 20, 7-9:45 p.m.; andSaturday, April 21, 2-4:45 p.m.;Tickets: $15/adult and $10/studentin advance online; $20/adult & $15/student at box office. PremiumSeating Tickets: $30/adult and $20/student in advance online. Tickets atwww.HerndonDrama.org.
Pet Supplies Drive. Through May 4,collection bins in building lobbies atReston Town Center has teamed upwith GoodDogz.org of Reston tocollect supplies for organizationstreating pets in need. Items such asdog beds, blankets, toys, groomingproducts, leashes, and crates can bedonated in building lobby collectionbins. Visit gooddogz.org.
Craig Moran: Spaced Out. ThroughMay 29 at GRACE at Signature,11850 Freedom Drive, Reston. AD.C.-based painter known for hisboldly patterned canvases, Moran’snewest body of work is a whirl-windof exuberant colors and energeticshapes, evoking elements of thenatural world and portraiture in adynamic flattened space. Call 703-471-9242 or visitwww.restonarts.org.
Homegrown Yoga. Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday nights atArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St.,Herndon. Alison Adams is bringingHomegrown Yoga to ArtSpaceHerndon. All levels welcome. Drop inand take a class. $25 two weekunlimited pass or drop-in available.Visitwww.homegrownpoweryoga.com tosign up.
The Elden Street Tea Shop.Saturdays in ArtSpace Herndon, 750Center St., Herndon. Sip tea andenjoy a variety of locally made snacksand pastries while enjoying the latestart installations in the gallery. Visitwww.eldenstreettea.com.
Over-40 Softball League. A Fairfax-based league is looking for enoughplayers to form another team. Playersmust be at last 40 years of age to beeligible. All games are doubleheaders- played on Sundays at Bready Parkin Herndon between 11 a.m. and 6p.m. If interested, [email protected] for more.
IMPROVING ENGLISHOne-To-One English Conversation.
Mondays, 1 p.m. at Reston Library,Reston Library, 11925 BowmanTowne Drive, Reston. Free. Multipleone-on-one practice sessions with avolunteer are available each week.Call 703-689-2700 to reserve a spot.
WEDNESDAY/APRIL 18R4 Collection Day. 1-4 p.m. Pavilion
at Reston Town Center. Reduce.Reuse. Recycle. Bring computers,components, electronics, cell phones,paper for shredding, compactfluorescent bulbs, eyeglasses, andhearing aids. Participatingorganizations include Secured Shred,Turtle Wings, and
more. Visit restontowncenter.com.Youth Music Academy
Performance. 7-8 p.m. at RestonPavilion at Reston Town Center.Enjoy a free orchestra performanceby home-school students presentedby the Youth Music Academy ofPatrick Henry College. Visit
www.phc.edu/youth-music-academy.
THURSDAY/APRIL 19Herndon Farmers Market. Open
Thursdays, through Nov. 8, 8 a.m.-noon at 777 Lynn St., Herndon.Fairfax County Park Authoritymarkets are strictly producer-onlymeaning that vendors must grow ormake from scratch everything theybring to market.
Call 703-642-0128 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farmersmarkets.
Cabaret Concert. 2:15 p.m. at RestonCommunity Center Hunters WoodsCenterStage, 2310 Colts Neck Road,Reston. Free.
A celebrated cabaret singer in theWashington area, Beverly Coshamwill perform songs from the GreatAmerican Songbook and otherfavorites. Visit the website atolli.gmu.edu or call 703-503-3384.
Entry Deadline. Arts Herndon’s TechArts Competition and Young ArtistsScholarships applications are nowopen. These programs are availableto young artists in the area to helpsupport their artistic endeavors! Allentries must be submitted on the
FCPS server and a completed entryform delivered to the Fairfax CountyPublic School Fine Arts Office byApril 19, 2018. Visitartspaceherndon.org to apply.
FRIDAY/APRIL 2011th Annual Empty Bowls. 5:30-8
p.m. at Floris United MethodistChurch, 13600 Frying Pan Road,Herndon. For a small donation,guests receive a supper of soup,bread, beverage, and dessert, as wellas a handmade pottery bowl to keepas a reminder that there are those inour community with empty bowls.Hosted by The Giving Circle ofHOPE. $25 for adults in advance/$30adults at the door/$15 for childrenunder 12. Visitwww.givingcircleofhope.org.
Spring Wellness Evening. 6:30-8:30p.m. at The Lake House, 11450Baron Cameron Ave., Reston. Jointhree local women for an evening ofmeditation, morning ritual, andnutrition: Erin Williams, (SLHS ’87,UVA ’91), and Francie Palmer, (SLHS’87, UVA Med ’96), and Ashley Brown(UVA ’90). Enjoy samples ofnutritious food prepared by Francie,practice meditation with Erin, andreceive a copy of Ashley’s new book:A Beautiful Morning: How a MorningRitual Can Feed Your Soul andTransform Your Life. $60 Email ErinWilliams: [email protected]
Jazz Concert. 7:30-9 p.m. at United
Christian Parish, 11508 North ShoreDrive, Reston. Featuring Swing Dixie,which offers New Orleans Dixielandmusic and has been entertainingaudiences in the D.C. area since1990. Free. Visit ucpreston.org.
SATURDAY/APRIL 21Environmental Events. 8 a.m.-noon
at Runnymede Park, 195 HerndonParkway between Elden and QueensRow streets and Bready ParkPavilion, 814 Ferndale Ave. Helpclean-up Runnymede Park, SugarlandRun watershed, and other park andstream locations. Choose betweendoing a stream clean-up and/ornative plant garden work. There willbe a free secure document shredtruck at Runnymede Park from 9a.m.-noon. An Earth Day and ArborDay Ceremony will be held at 9:30a.m. in the Bready Park Pavilion.Sign-up online at tinyurl.com/HerndonCleanup2018 or contactJohn Dudzinsky at 703-435-6800, x2014 or by [email protected] herndon-va.gov, or call 703-787-7300.
Masonic Lodge Open House. 9 a.m.-noon at Herndon Masonic Lodge, 820Elden St., Herndon. Addison Hurstwill provide a view of U.S. historythrough the aid of historicalweaponry used throughout the years.Hurst is a noted collector andauthority on firearms. The open
house and presentation are free tothe public. Donations accepted forbreakfast. Visitherndonlodge264.org/2018/04/open-house/.
Reston Farmers Market. OpenSaturdays, through Dec. 1, 8 a.m.-noon at 1609 Washington Plaza N.,Reston. Fairfax County ParkAuthority markets are strictlyproducer-only meaning that vendorsmust grow or make from scratcheverything they bring to market. Call703-642-0128 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farmersmarkets.
Crys Matthews Blues Live. 7-9 p.m.at ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St.,Herndon. Matthews blendsAmericana, folk, jazz, blues,bluegrass and funk into bold,complex performances. Visitwww.artspaceherndon.org.
MONDAY/APRIL 23Little Hands on the Farm. 9:45-
10:30 a.m. at Kidwell BarnClassroom at Frying Pan Park, 2709West Ox Road, Herndon. Thisprogram is designed for children ages2-5 to provide a glimpse of farm lifethrough stories, crafts and games.Children ages 3-5 meets from 11 to11:45 a.m. Pre-paid reservations arerequired. The cost is $8 per child.Children must be accompanied by anadult. Call 703-437-9101 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov.
Entertainment