Announcements

Encore Stage & Studio is celebrating the magic of “Theatre by Kids, for Kids” with a benefit on Thursday, May 26 at 8:30 a.m. at the Washington Golf and Country Club (3017 N. Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22207). Community members are invited to learn about Encore’s array of award-winning theatre arts education programs, including productions, classes, and outreach to underserved children.

“We are delighted to host the breakfast in person again and to share the impact of our programs,” says Executive Director Sara Duke. Encore will honor Susan A. Keady with the Celeste Groves Award. For over thirty years, Susan has served children and families with her inspired artistic direction and dedication to Encore’s mission. Erin Driscoll will perform in Keady’s honor. There is no cost to attend the breakfast. Attendees are asked to make meaningful donations in support of Encore’s programs. RSVP at www.encorestage.org

Want to win sushi restaurant gift cards, anime goods and convention tickets, or free Japanese language, cooking, and culture classes? If so, buy $2 raffle tickets on or before SJA’s (Study Japanese in Arlington) Japan Spring Festival.

May 5th is Children’s day in Japan — come celebrate it with kid’s activities, martial arts performances, and a yard sale with kid’s items, anime, Japanese goods, snacks and tea.

The festival will be at the First Presbyterian Church Arlington (601 N. Vermont St. Arlington, VA) near the Ballston Metro station on May 22, from 2-4:30 p.m. There is plenty of free parking.

Free kid’s activities
• Origami-making (Ukraine Crane)
• Edamame chopstick challenge
• Go Japanese games

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May General Membership Meeting May 16, 7-9 p.m.

Open to the public. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting. Register to attend here: https://tinyurl.com/2s37ey4t 

Guest Speaker Presentation (7:15 p.m.) — 7:45 p.m.

Restore & Renew with Maryam Ovissi — Mental Health Awareness Month. Join Us and Maryam for a brief discussion and experiential exploration regarding the importance of the care of the whole self in supporting our work towards cultivating social inclusion and accelerating social justice. She will highlight evidence-based trauma-informed yoga practices that ground and support our nervous systems, individually and collectively!

Your kids will love the creative themes and fun teachers at our weeklong summer camps, June 21-July 22. We’ll be creating giant animals, exploring cultures around the world — Greece, Japan and Australia — as well as weaving, tie-dyeing, playing games and more. We also have a camp for foodie artists! Many camps have filled, but we still have some openings. Camps are 3 hours long, Monday-Friday, morning or afternoon.

Art House 7 is located on Lee Highway near the Lee Harrison Shopping Center. We have an ample 2-story studio, and plenty of free parking.

Weeklong summer camps at Art House 7

• Starting June 21, ending July 22
• Ages 5-7 and 8-11
• 9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1-4 p.m.

All campers must be vaccinated and wear a mask. 

More info here: arthouseseven.com/summer-camps

After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive is returning on Saturday, May 14. AFAC is partnering with the National Association of Letter Carriers in this nationwide event. All food collected in Arlington will come to AFAC!

On the morning of May 14, residents can leave non-perishable food donations in a bag by their mailboxes by 9 a.m. for their local letter carrier to pick up and deliver to AFAC. The most wanted food items are: canned goods (tomato, tuna, soups, and beans) and cereal.

*Low sodium and sugar items preferred; no glass, expired food, or household items, please! 

If your donation gets missed or if you have a communal mailbox, we will have food drive boxes set up at locations across the county where donations can be dropped off for collection. For more information, visit our event page.

Cody Chance and Dick Nathan of Long & Foster are hosting an online workshop on “down-sizing” Wednesday, May 11 from 5:30-7 p.m.

We have created a workbook with an extensive planning guide to enable you to design a personalized written plan for your move. It includes copious resources specific to Northern Virginia to help you to find the best people to assist you, and to get your extra belongings into the hands of people who will value them. The format is a “guided group discussion” of the workbook, with a chance for the participants to ask their own questions.

We will cover three major themes:

• Handling a lifetime’s worth of possessions
• Ensuring that your legal and financial arrangements reflect your needs
• How to sell your current home and find another that is the “right size” for you

If you would like to join, call (864)525-9253 or email [email protected].

(This Community Post was written by (UrbanArias) and underwritten by Embracing Arlington Arts.)

UrbanArias presents Why I Live at the P.O., a world premiere comedic opera based on the classic short story by Eudora Welty.

On the Fourth of July, Sister’s uneventful life is interrupted by the arrival of her sister, Stella-Rondo, who has just left her husband and returned to the family home in Mississippi with a child in tow. When Sister questions Shirley-T.’s dubious parentage, Stella-Rondo begins to turn the rest of family against her, starting with Mama, then Papa-Daddy, and finally their eccentric Uncle Rondo. At the end of the day, Sister has had enough. She collects her belongings and moves into the Post Office, where she is Postmistress.

This interpretation sees the character of Sister split into two actors. One is the Sister of the present, recalling the terrible day and the injustices she suffered at the hands of her family. The other is the Sister of the past, whom we observe in the drama, seeing her long suffering service and devotion to her family be completely disregarded upon the return of Stella-Rondo. Of course, the truth lies somewhere between these two perspectives, and the audience is left to decide whether Sister is truly “getting along fine.”

Why I Live at the P.O. runs April 30-May 7. Tickets available through the Keegan Theatre website.

Divorce is difficult both emotionally and logistically. Divorce Mediation assists couples in untangling their life while reducing the elevated stress of the process. The mediator will help divorcing couples through the process in a few short sessions creating a solid foundation of understanding on which each can construct their independent new destiny.

The legal complexities of divorce, as well as the vagueness of the required legal conditions, are difficult enough without having to arrange a new independent life at the same time. While many partnerships end after a divorce decree is issued by the court, many others continue, especially if children are involved.

Join Walid from your device for a 1:15 (75 minute) live webinar to learn more about the divorce process and get answers to your questions regarding expectations, steps involved, and length of each phase.

REGISTER here: www.aethermediation.com/webinar for one of the available May sessions.

Candidate Forum: Virginia’s 8th Congressional District Primary
Free and open to the public.

Presented by the Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax branches of the NAACP

Thursday, May 12
7-9 p.m. VA District 8 Candidates:
Donald Beyer (D) (Incumbent) Victoria Virasingh (D) Monica Carpio (R) Jeff Jordan (R) (not confirmed)Heerak Christian Kim (R)Karina Lipsman (R) Kezia Tunnell (R) not confirmed)

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Is home ownership a goal of yours in 2022? Now is the time to make it happen! Grab a (virtual) drink with the area’s top Real Estate experts, learn all about the home buying process and on how you can get $1,500 towards your closing costs immediately!

Did you know the average Arlington renter will spend $150K in 5 years of renting? Stop paying down someone else’s mortgage! Join us for a Rent vs. Buy Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 27 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.

A lot has happened in the local market since the beginning of the pandemic. Sip on your drink of choice and learn from Northern Virginia, Arlington and Washingtonian Magazines top producing agents! We will discuss the latest market updates, the home buying process and rent vs. buy cost savings. Please RSVP by clicking here.

Call/text Manavi at 703-869-6698 with any questions!

(This Community Post was written by 9th Street Chamber Music and underwritten by Embracing Arlington Arts.)

9th Street Chamber Music is proud to culminate its first season of operation with two major performances at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 N Oakland Street.

On April 29 at 6:30 p.m., 9th Street Quartet performs their final ‘Rush Hour’ Concert, a program that includes the hidden gem of George Walker’s String Quartet No. 1 and Take This Hammer, a piece written by one of 9SQ’s favorite living composers, Steven Snowden.

On May 11 at 7:30 p.m., the 9SCM Youth String Quartet Intensive will also hold their final concert of the season, and will perform an entire program of beautiful music written by living composers including Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery and Osvaldo Golijov. Come see the incredible skills developed by these talented musicians who represent over fifteen area schools in grades 8 through 12.

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