The end of August today means the end of summer and start of fall is upon us.
With the season change coming, we have compiled 14 fall events coming up in Arlington and around Northern Virginia.
1. Corn Maze and Apple Harvest (Sept. 1-30)
Great Country Farms (34345 Snickersville Turnpike, Bluemont)
September may mean back to school for many, but at Great Country, it means back to the farm for freshly pressed cider and apple picking. Celebrate everything apple with apple picking, their award-winning apple cider doughnuts, and a romp in their 12-acre play area. On Saturdays and Sundays, they add live music, marshmallow roasting, pig races, and cider demonstrations.
2. Bands, Brews, and Barbecue Festival (11 a.m-5 p.m. on Sept. 10)
Manassas Museum Lawn (9101 Prince William St., Manassas)
Historic downtown Manassas will hold its 11th Annual Bands, Brews, and Barbecue Festival, complete with a chance to ride a mechanical bull and try your hand at some ax throwing. Put those tossing skills to work and participate in a fun corn hole competition with a chance to win a trophy. Of course, there will be plenty of food and drinks, with live bands playing throughout the event.
3. Rosslyn Jazz Fest 2022 (1-7 p.m. on Sept. 10)
Gateway Park (1300 Langston Blvd, Arlington)
Jazz is back in Rosslyn. Beginning at 1 p.m., Rosslyn is bringing a diverse lineup of four acts to the stage: Cimafunk, Mwenso & The Shakes, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, and Groove Orchestra. Jazz Fest is FREE, and registration is not required but strongly encouraged (capacity limits are in place).
4. Dulles Day Plane Pull (11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sept. 17)
Dulles International Airport (1 Saarinen Circle, Dulles)
The Dulles Day Festival & Plane Pull (presented by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and United Airlines) is back on the ropes on September 17 at Dulles Airport. There will be a wide variety of food options available, as well as to further support Special Olympics Virginia.
5. Green Valley Day (noon-6 p.m. on Sept. 17)
Drew Elementary and John Robinson Jr. Town Square (2406 Shirlington Rd., Arlington)
“It’s a new day, in Green Valley!” The Green Valley Civic Association will be hosting Green Valley Day fun for the entire family. It will feature a community talent showcase, games and activities, live music, food, and much more.
After more than 80 years, Arlington Cinema Drafthouse is the only remaining theater in Arlington County from the 1930s and 1940s cinema boom period.
The theater, which opened on Aug. 15, 1940, is continuing that legacy this summer and fall as it continues to host live shows by comedians with national profiles.
Below are some highlights of the upcoming schedule.
1. Aaron Weber (Aug. 12-13)
Aaron Weber is a stand-up comedian based in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a regular performer at the Grand Ole Opry. Weber headlines comedy clubs across the country and has been named a New Face 2021 at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.
2. Joe Hill & Friends (Aug. 18)
Joe Hill, a Bronx native, is a stand-up comedian, producer, and writer currently generating buzz on the national comedy scene. Hill has played at various comedy clubs nationally as well as headlined his national comedy tour, “This is Joe Hill.”
3. Punkie Johnson (Aug. 19-20)
Punkie Johnson is a comedian and writer from New Orleans who joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 2020. Johnson was a New Face at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in 2019 and is currently a series regular on the upcoming season of “Love Life” (HBO Max).
4. Shuler King (Aug. 25-27)
Shuler King is a comedian originally from Sumter, South Carolina. King knew at an early age he was destined to be an entertainer, as he was the kid known for cracking jokes. King says, “comedy isn’t about being happy all the time. Comedy is just as much about pain that people endure. When you hear 20,000 people in an arena laugh at a joke it’s because they all can relate to experiencing that same pain.”
5. Paris Sashay (Sept. 2-3) and Paris Sashay and Friends (Sept. 4)
Paris Sashay is a comedian, actor, writer, and producer currently residing in New York. Sashay has highlighted performances at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montréal, along with appearances on Comedy Central, “Pause” on HBO Max, and BET 50 Central. She has performed at The Howard Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Caroline’s on Broadway, Hollywood Improv, The Comedy Store, and is a regular at The Comedy Cellar.
6. Jon “Polar Bear” Gonzalez: Whispanic Causing Panic Tour (Sept. 8)
Jon “Polar Bear” Gonzalez is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and entertainer living in the heart of Texas. Polar Bear found success through the release of multiple comedy skits which went viral on Facebook and TikTok and have toured all over the country.
7. Chad Daniels (Sept. 16-17)
Chad Daniels is one of the most listened to comedians of all time, with close to a billion streams of his six albums to date. Originally from, and still residing in, Minnesota, Daniels has been touring the country for over 20 years. He has made six late-night appearances to date, and is one of only 13 comedians to be featured on ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”
8. Pour Minds (Sept. 18)
Drea and Lex, Houstonians residing in Atlanta, navigate their way through life, friendships, and dating together. The two discuss all the hot topics while enjoying their favorite glass of wine — it’s just like a good therapy session with friends.
9. David Koechner (Sept. 22-24) and Office Trivia w/ Real Todd Packer (Sept. 24)
David Koechner is an actor, writer, and producer, known for his roles as Todd Packer on “The Office” and Champ Kind on “Anchorman” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Koechner is an alumnus of Chicago’s Second City Theater, receiving his first break as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” In addition to live stand-up, Koechner will host an “Office” trivia contest during which teams will compete for mediocre prizes while hearing behind-the-scenes stories from the “Pack-man” himself.
10. More shows coming this fall
Ryan Hamilton, Brandon Broady, Paul Farahvar, Jimmy Dore, Adam Ferrara, Steve Wrigley, Devin Siebold, Desi Alexander, Brian Posehn, Dulce Sloan, Omar Terrell, Rachel Feinstein
When Diana Gamerman was little, she wanted to do exactly what her older sister did.
The Arlington resident has a studio in Alexandria called DianaArt, where she sells her work, but it’s on Nextdoor where she have been gaining a degree of local fame.
Gamerman has been painting professionally since she was 22 years old, she told ARLnow. While she owes her initial interest in art to her sister, the now 80-year-old has continued her passion, specializing in watercolor, oil painting and sculpture work. Her work has even been featured in the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
“[I’ve] done it all,” Gamerman joyfully said.
Gamerman’s inspiration comes from everyday life experiences. What she chooses to paint is influenced by things she likes — if she sees a beautiful landscape, she’ll create art from it. She also takes her inspiration from Wayne Thiebaud, a California artist who specialized in landscapes and cars.
She said watercolor is more convenient to use but she opts for oil pastel when the weather is good — “don’t have to worry about things flying away.”
One painting, of her music teacher, took three years to complete, she said.
Gamerman posts to Nextdoor, the social media website for neighbors, photos of her paintings, which are most often pictures of homes in the neighborhood. From time to time, she posts sketches of people sitting at Compass Coffee or pictures of her sculptures.
The posts have become something of a fixture of the local social network.
One post she made on Nextdoor, of a home in her neighborhood, garnered hundreds of likes and dozens of comments on her talent. Her feed shows dozens of paintings of “what is happening” in her neighborhood, at a development project, at her studio, at a coffee shop.
In another painting, vivid yellows and oranges mesh together to show scenes of workers at a construction site and another with workers doing road work.
“I can show you what is happening in my neighborhood because I love [to] paint the work men because they wear such bright colors,” she wrote with the post.
She called Nextdoor a “wonderful” platform where she can share her work and people reach out to her to commission paintings. Her posts are a way to make extra money and enjoy her time — another hobby of sorts, in addition to playing the banjo and mandolin, she said.
The site is also a place to find a sense of community that transcends the local and national controversies that prompt less neighborly discussions.
“Everybody makes nice comments on Nextdoor,” Gamerman said.
Gary Shulman has only lived in Arlington for about three months but has created a popular Facebook group all about the warm and wonderful feelings the county evokes.
Shulman, a retired early education specialist and published poet, was already using his outreach and advocacy skills to connect with Arlington residents in the Facebook group, Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19 after he moved to Rosslyn in April.
Without even realizing it, that page became the “Gary Shulman Show,” he said, where he would post all of his and his partner Marc’s adventures. The intention of the page was not for it to become the “blog” of one user. So, others encouraged Shulman to begin a new Facebook page — a page that could remind Arlingtonians what makes the county special.
He started Arlington Through the Eyes of a Newbie on May 13 and gained more than 600 followers within the first day. Now, he has over 700 members that follow his and Marc’s day-to-day life, as well as share helpful tips and suggestions. Shulman and Marc have been able to discover nitty-gritty information — where the best dermatologist is, allergist, dentist, even barbershop.
As he’s explored Arlington, members of the group have recognized him, as if he’s a local celebrity. Some stop and take photos with him to share on Facebook.
“There is a wonderful and caring network [in Arlington] and in many ways, reminds me of my early days in East NY and Canarsie Brooklyn where a sense of community was in every fiber of every neighbor. They all cared,” Shulman posted on his personal Facebook account.
Shulman always fantasized about living in Mayberry, the setting of “The Andy Griffith Show,” where people care about each other, garden, have beautiful homes, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life, he told ARLnow. His Facebook page reminds Arlingtonians to look on the ground and take in their (and others’) neighborhoods, places they pass daily.
He and Marc enjoy trying new restaurants, like Brass Rabbit, and Guajillo, where a post shows them trying out one of its “sangritas.” They also like finding beautiful parks and neighborhoods like Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden and Lyon Village and meeting new friends (especially dogs). Shulman sometimes shares some of his published poems.
Shulman and Marc had only moved to Arlington a month before he started his Facebook group. They spent two years and eight months in Palm Springs, where they had originally thought they’d spend retirement.
However sitting in their Palm Springs home, outside temperatures reaching 120 degrees with 0% precipitation, the COVID-19 pandemic trapped Shulman and Marc inside.
“When it’s 120 degrees, you can’t go any place — you’re a prisoner,” said Shulman. “Something was happening to my mental health. Covid happened, and then everything closed down.”
Since moving to Arlington, they’ve been able to get out and about.
It’s no doubt that Shulman’s “fans” know him and Marc to be walkers. Most of his posts begin with some form of “a stroll through…,” “our goal was to walk…,” or “just a short 3 miler today… .” Shulman explained that walking is good for his health and redirects his brain.
As he walks, he appreciates the beauty of people’s gardens and neighborhood homes. He stops and smells the roses. Talking with ARLnow, Shulman emphasized, “the small things are the important things.”
Now, after making a move from Rosslyn to their Ballston apartment in June, Shulman sees his Facebook page as a way to showcase how wonderful Arlington is and bring Arlingtonians together. It is a mix of Brooklyn, New York, and Palm Springs, California, with a close community and liveable climate.
Shulman and Marc hope “people will get off their behinds to start walking,” Shulman says. “Just learn and appreciate what Arlington has to offer.”
Arlington’s summer days have always consisted of a sweltering combination of high humidity and temperatures. This month has been no exception.
Yet summer is also the season to venture out, try new things, and explore new places.
In the interest of remaining active while cooling down, here are eight tasty, cold goodies in Arlington you can try before summer ends.
1. Nutella ice cream from Nicecream
Nicecream in Clarendon (2831 Clarendon Blvd) uses the process of freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Its selection of ice cream flavors rotates weekly and has flavors spanning from white chocolate peanut butter to grapefruit creamsicle. However, Nutella is a must-try.
2. Nutella açaí bowl from South Block
Similarly, did you know you can get some of that addictive chocolate hazelnut spread in your South Block açaí bowl? We did, so we figured you would want to try that to cool off. Topping off South Block’s Nutella açaí bowl are mixed granola, banana, strawberry, coconut and Nutella.
3. Peanut butter icebox pie from Bakeshop
Bakeshop in Clarendon (1025 N. Fillmore Street) is no ordinary bakery. Offering a slew of flavors of cupcakes, bread, cakes, cookies, pies and macarons, Bakeshop also offers vegan and gluten-free options. Its Peanut Butter Icebox Pie is the perfect pick-me-up for peanut butter lovers.
4. Ice cream cookiewich from Bakeshop
One of the most popular summer treats at Bakeshop that is a must-try is its ice cream Cookiewich. This Cookiewich consists of two mouth-watering chocolate chunk cookies enveloping vanilla ice cream. Bakeshop’s Cookiewich is, in the opinion of this reviewer, beyond any ice cream sandwich you have ever tried.
