Images from Memorial Day 2011 in the Little City

Thanks to Kathleen Nixon for preparing this collage of City of Falls Church Memorial Day festivities.

Photos by Shaun Dakin

Farmers’ Market is Number One Again

Special to the Falls Church Times

For the second year in a row, a painting of the Falls Church Farmers’ Market won first place in the Falls Church Arts Plein Air Festival juried show.  This past Saturday, May 28, prizes were awarded during a ceremony at the Falls Church Community Center. The juror, noted local artist and teacher Gwendolyn Bragg, commented that she had a hard time picking the first-place winner but “enjoyed jurying this group as there was a lot of variety and style represented.” 

The $500 Don Beyer Volvo-KIA Plein Air First Place Prize was awarded to Meg Walsh for her painting titled “The Farmer’s Market”.  The second place prize – a $100 gift certificate from Art and Frame of Falls Church — was awarded to Leni Gurin for her painting “Locally Owned, Sustainably Grown.”  Gurin’s painting also won The People’s Choice Award, a $100 gift certificate to Argia’s Restaurant.

A $75 gift certificate for art supplies was the third place prize and was given to “Summer Days I – The Falls Church Community Center” by the artist V.T.

The Plein Air Show and Sale continues in the City Hall Permanent Gallery on the lower level of City Hall, outside the Dogwood Room, through June 24. 

The 2nd Annual Plein Air Festival, whose theme again this year was “Scenes in the City,” was open to all artists who had their canvas and papers stamped with the Falls Church Arts Plein Air stamp and drew or painted outdoor scenes in Falls Church City during May.  Generously assisting FCA in making the stamps available were two local retail businesses, Art and Frame of Falls Church and Stifel and Capra.

Organizers from Falls Church Arts expect next year’s Plein Air Festival to attract more artists to create vibrant and interesting “Scenes in the City.” The 2012 Plein Air Festival will be extended, running during May and continuing into June, to allow artists more time and opportunities to paint during Memorial Day activities, the Tinner Hill Blues Festival, and other outdoor events.  Details will be released later this year and posted on FCA’s web site www.FallsChurchArts.org.

We’re A Football Town!

By STEVEN VALLEY

May 30, 2011

You read that right; Falls Church City is a football town! You wouldn’t know it from walking down the street, but it’s there, just below the surface and it’s looking for a way to be heard.

Every year George Mason High School fields a team of experienced players who take on other high schools with decades of football culture and tradition behind them and the Mustangs win! Before they got to GMHS though some of them have spent anywhere from 2 to 5 years working with one of the local clubs: The James Lee Razorbacks, the McLean Mustangs, or Vienna Youth football. But, as most of the parents involved with the program will tell you, it is a struggle, a labor of love, and for those parents it’s one that takes years to support and nurture. Dozens of Falls Church City residents send their kids to football camps, join youth football clubs, and then watch as a few years later their child takes to the field wearing the red and black helmet that is the George Mason Mustangs for the first time!

So to aid in increasing the participation in football by the youths of the City of Falls Church, the Falls Church City Football Association (The FCCFA) was founded. At first it was just to mail the youth football info a couple of Dads had found through their own research and send it out as a flyer in the Friday Folders. Over the past 4 years however those flyers have grown into so much more. Increased awareness of youth football opportunities, a weeklong football camp, and an annual scholarship to a GMHS football player who has previously participated in local youth football.

On March 14th 2008 the FCCFA was launched. It was in the Mustang Cafeteria with 4 members, 2 parents, and 2 future players along with coaches from the 3 local clubs looking on. It was a pretty inauspicious start to say the least, but the FCCFA was able to hang on and establish itself and in the process has become stronger. Last year the FCCFA held its first citywide pre-season summer camp, it became a full fledged non-profit, and it funded and gave its first scholarship. Most importantly it began supporting Head Coach Tom Horn in developing young players who will eventually attend GMHS. 2011 marks the first year that Coach Horn will be receiving players who have been helped by the Association.

The 2011-12 Football Season is on us!  The FCCFAs season starts with the pre-season summer camp, which will be held July 18-21st from 6 to 8 PM rain or shine, the camp fee is $75.00 and to sign up go to: http://www.thefccfa.org/styled/styled-2/ SIGN-UP FOR CAMP TODAY! It’s the best way to get ready for the 2011 season!

To view information on the benefits of playing youth football go to: http://www.thefccfa.org/styled-4/

To get more information on the local clubs in the area go to: http://www.thefccfa.org/styled-5/

To become a member of the board or to volunteer at the camp contact The FCCFA directly at: info@thefccfa.org

The FCCFA is a non-profit 501 c 3 organization. The current officers are Brian Sulc, Steven Valley, Kevin Creed, and Dave Hagigh. The association was founded with the mandate to increase awareness of and participation with local youth football clubs, host an annual football summer camp for kids 7-14, and handout one-time scholarships to graduating senior players who exemplify the game. For more information about the association go to: http://www.thefccfa.org

CITY MEETINGS: May 30 – June 3

Click on [Read More] to access links.

Monday 5/30: No meetings scheduled. 

Tuesday 5/31: City Council Work Session.  Dogwood Room, 7:30 pm.  Agenda and documents.

Wednesday 6/1: Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.  Falls Church Community Center, 7:00 pm.

Architectural Advisory Board.  Council Chamber, 7:30 pm.

Thursday 6/2: Long Range Financial Working Group.  Magnolia Room, 7:30 pm.

LEAPFROG Meeting.  Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Library.  7:30 pm

Friday 6/3: City Council Economic Development Committee. Oak Room, 7:30 am.

Meeting notices are obtained from the City and School Board on-line calendars and from the notice board at the east entrance of City Hall. Meetings may be subject to re-scheduling or cancellation. Meetings are held in City Hall, 300 Park Avenue, unless otherwise indicated.

Giant Oak Falls on Ellison, Rests on Even Bigger Oak

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times staff

May 27, 2011

A tall oak tree on Ellison Street was uprooted by a violent wind gust during Friday night’s thunderstorm and fell on to an even larger tree, where it was still resting as of 8:59 pm Friday.

Pieces of the tree fell on to Ellison, and the fire department and police responded and cleaned up the largest branches. The tree fell between two nearby houses, with each luckily avoiding any damage. No one was hurt on the street, either, but some drivers were turning around to avoid driving under it.

Fire officials said there was nothing they could do about the tree resting somewhat precariously in the branches of its larger neighbor, a truly giant oak, and said it was the owner’s responsibility to call an emergency tree service. They seemed to believe the tree was secure, at least for now, and they did not close off the street to traffic.

The line of thunderstorms that moved through from the southwest contained powerful lightning and loud thunderclaps, and winds that were forecast by the National Weather Service to reach 70 mph.

The tree that fell appeared healthy, but must have had shallow roots for a tree that large. It’s also possible the ground was loosened by the water saturation from last week’s relentless rains.

Saturday, 5/28: Plein Air Art Show & Sale

Special to the Falls Church Times

Falls Church Arts is holding the 2nd Plein Air Festival on Saturday, May 28 from 10 am to 4 pm.  Come to the Farmers’ Market and then drop in to the Community Center and view the art created during the Falls Church Plein Air Festival.  Every painting and drawing in the “Scenes in the City” exhibit was painted in and around Falls Church during the month of May.

Vote for your favorite entry to win the People’s Choice Award.  All are welcome to vote and winners will be announced at 3 pm at the Community Center.  A juror will select the winners for several awards including the Don Beyer Volvo-KIA Plein Air Award for first place and gift certificates from Argias,  Art and Frame of Falls Church, and Plaza Arts.

Posters and notecards of last year’s winning entry by Isabelle Babington will be available for purchase.  All art entered into the Plein Air Festival is for sale.

For further information go to www.fallschurcharts.org.

FOOD: A Visit to Huong Viet Restaurant

By RA CHAN

Special to Falls Church Times

May 27, 2011

After some time traveling,  I was really craving some authentic ethnic food. So when my mother in law invited us to dinner, I was totally on board and ready to whip my taste buds back into shape. I’ve dined at Huong Viet before, it’s one of the few reasons I’ll actually venture out to Eden Center. I really enjoy the savory dishes here, the reasonable prices, and the authentic flavors that somehow remind me of home. I didn’t even bother browsing through the menu, my mother in law ordered for us and she knew exactly what to get so we could have a wide variety of flavors and textures.

To start, we got the cha gio — crispy spring roll with ground pork, crab and shrimp; lotus root salad with shrimp and pork; and steamed mussels in a tomato broth. I loved the crispy shell on the cha gio; it had the perfect amount of crunch and was stuffed with a generous helping of the minced pork/crab meat/shrimp mixture. As a side note, I’m still on a mission to create a really good cha gio in my own kitchen.  The lotus salad had to be my favorite appetizer. It was a mixture of crunchy young lotus roots lightly tossed with carrots, shrimp, and shredded pork, served with a sprinkling of fried garlic over top and deep fried shrimp chips on the side. The dressing is a very light and slightly tangy vinegar mix; which didn’t over power any flavors, but seemed to be the secret ingredient enhancing and binding all the flavors together. The shrimp chips provided the perfect crouton-type texture to the salad, and as you bite into the chip, the airy pieces seemed to just melt into your mouth. The mussels were new to me, it was a special item advertised in the menu. The broth was a tomato base with a very delicate coconut undertone. To be honest with you, I’m not sure how I felt about the mussels. I’ve been to a few places were the mussels were amazing, so I was kind of hoping for the same “wow” factor. It wasn’t bad, but not something I’d come back to Huong Viet for.

For our entrees, we got the sweet and sour tamarind soup with fish, caramelized lemongrass pork chops, and the caramelized fish in a clay pot. The sweet and sour fish soup has been a childhood favorite of mine. My mom used to make it all the time and I fell in love with the complex flavors. I don’t know what it is about the sweet and sour combination, but it always entices my senses. We also ordered our soup spicy, so they sprinkled some ground up chili peppers on top; there’s nothing wrong with a little extra flavor enhancer to wake up my taste buds. The tamarind base gives this soup its tanginess, but the slices of pineapple and lotus roots add to the overall sweet and sour flavors as well. There are also sliced celery, winter melon and a good helping of bean sprouts, so I feel as though I’m getting my daily serving of vegetables with every bowl of soup I slurped down. The fish itself are big chunks that just absorb the sweet and sour flavors of the soup.  Pork is an item I rarely order from a Vietnamese restaurant as I always associate it with Southern style cooking. But this lemongrass pork was delicious. It was caramelized, so it had this sweet flavor that was perfectly offset with the stronger lemongrass paste. With a heaping bowl of jasmine rice on the side, I would have been content with just this dish alone. The caramelized fish in a clay pot seems to be the staple item we order from Huong Viet. I can’t recall a visit here without seeing this dish on our table; not that I mind, I love the sweet and salty flavors. And the fish pieces were so tender and coated so well in the thick sauce. It was a superb combination.

I felt that dinner accomplished my mission of getting some great authentic Vietnamese cuisine. I like that this place is not some fancy restaurant and I can overlook that it’s at Eden Center, which sometimes intimidates me, but the food is in a class of its own.

Top 20 U.S. Counties, Ranked by Property Taxes

By STEVEN VALLEY

May 25th, 2011

Over the past few months I’ve gone to several of my daughters lacrosse games, walked through the Farmers market, and been to get togethers with friends where I’ve overheard and partaken in several discussions about Falls Church City’s tax rate.  In each of these discussions something seemed to be missing or lacking from the exchange, that something being facts beyond speculation and or guessing. So with those recent discussions in mind and coupled with the fact that the City is the richest in the nation and thus become the center for some national press, I decided that I should get some context.  Here is some national information on home values, incomes, rates, and payment that can provide some framework, either positive or negative, on the subject.

Now I am not a Polly-Anna and I know that some folks will have issue with the source, some will have issue with the fact that the city is not a county, and others will have an issue with even pointing this information out.

With regard to the source; The Tax Foundation is pulling their information from federal agencies and it’s just been conveniently aggregated by them, I am not publishing their opinions, just the collected data.

As for the “City” vs. “County” moniker, I am not clear as to what we should be, however, the Federal Government has seen fit to list us as a “County” so in the absence of a better descriptor that is what we are, I guess.  Either way, we’re still an area within a state with boundaries that has a separate government from the surrounding areas and that doesn’t change our rates or our home values.

As for pointing this info out, the facts are the facts and they are there for anyone to see and formulate an opinion from. Now, for some of you who are “plugged-in” you may already know this info and you’re looking at me going “uh… duh”, but for those of you who are like me (meaning not plugged-in) you may find this information very interesting.

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Property Taxes Paid

2005-2009 (five-year average)

On the charts below, I took the same information that’s in the grid above and highlighted Falls Church City and then labeled it along with the next highest County, State in that category.

Source: The Tax Foundation

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