This Saturday beings the return of the Farmer’s & Crafter’s Market to Lake Anne, along with music, outdoor dining and all the rest that make life on Lake Anne so wonderful! Drop by this Saturday to catch up with your old friends and to see the McTell Brothers who will be performing in front of Reston’s Used Book Shop!
Ukuleles, Music & Movies
July 8, 2014
Summer is here and the Plaza is blooming with all sorts of fun things to do. The Thursday night Take A Break concerts are in full swing – grab a chair and picnic and come hear some great tunes. July 12 is the 4th Annual Ukulele Festival, this year features some great talent from around the Country. Music starts with a Community Show Case hosted by Cafe Montmartre at 9:30. The main stage opens at 11:00 with 5 great groups featuring a range of music from traditional Hawaiian to Swing! Don’t miss this Summer favorite!
Tulips, Wine & Chocolate – to take off the chill.
February 3, 2014
February can be chilly but there’s plenty to warm both body and soul going on at Lake Anne. Kalypsos Sports Tavern has all sorts of music options throughout the week, not to mention none stop sports from the plethora of big screen TVs. It’s nice to spend an evening with a cold beer and a friendly crowd. Need something a little quieter? Try Jasmine Cafe or Singh Thai for more intimate settings by chef owned restaurants. Cafe Montmartre can rock it out with best of them and the food is great; check out the Thursday Vietnamese Menu! Lake Anne Florist is running their annual tulip festival- you can get flowers, wine and chocolate all at the same shop! Need I say more? So drop in and say hi.
Lake Anne Revitalization & RA Land Swap
November 18, 2013
Five years ago Reston Association’s initial efforts to restore the streams and watershed damaged by erosion met with irate concern from many about the loss of trees necessitated by that project. Today it is generally acknowledged that the short term loss of some trees was necessary to benefit the greater system, and the project areas are deemed beautiful.
The Lake Anne community redevelopment project has a similar goal, the long-term restoration of Reston’s first and some say only village center.
Lake Anne Village is symbolic of the vision that created Reston. Bob Simon’s seven goals describe a balance of the need for housing for all, diversity within a community, amenities, and beauty–structural and natural.
Lake Anne Development Partners has been selected to lead this redevelopment at least in part because of the sensitivity that they and their architects have shown to the original vision. Its plan provides for much needed diversity in housing as well as the promise of revitalization of the Village’s retail and commercial base. In a truly mixed-use community the commercial and residential sectors are interdependent.
Looking at the total site, the unused and neglected 1.01 acre RA parcel under consideration by this RA Board is essential to make this redevelopment work. No other parking site will sensibly benefit the existing and new portions of the plaza with so little disruption to the residential community.
Reston Association owns and maintains 1,350 acres of open space, one seventh of the total land in Reston. This controversial 1.01 acre, which is hardly the gem of RA’s properties, is 0.0751% of the total acreage. And this percentage is not lost in the exchange; a slightly larger parcel is being swapped which will provide a needed green buffer next to Baron Cameron at the Crescent property. Additionally, not all the trees on this site will be removed for the parking structure, and RA will be receiving other significant proffers in the exchange.
I hope we all can achieve some perspective about what is important here.
While we can all agree that the preservation of natural beauty has made Reston a unique place to live work and play, what is at stake here is an opportunity to restore the total Reston vision. I hope we can see the community for the trees.
Welcome to Fall!
September 30, 2013
It’s was a spectacular Summer and so far the Fall is looking great. This year we’ll have an extended Farmers Market- we’ll be going all the way through the Fall to December 22nd. So you’ll be able to secure the freshest ingredients for your holiday meals from our Farmers and purchase the most unique gifts from our Crafters and Artist. There will be 14 of our normal 24 Farmers plus a few new faces who don’t normally sell at our Market.
Lake Anne Plaza will be hosting our first Fine Arts Festival on October 12 – 13. This event is put on by Paragon Art Events. They put on fine art festivals through out the United States, we’re thrilled that they selected Lake Anne to host their Boutique Arts Event!
7th Annual Lake Anne Jazz & Blues Festival
August 23, 2013
We love to keep it local at Lake Anne but that doesn’t mean small time- This years Jazz & Blues festival features some amazing talent, four of our artists are Reston raised- Mykle Lyons, Sam Gunderson, Peter Fraize and Beverly Cosham couldn’t be more local having grown up right in the neighborhood. They are part of an amazing line up that also includes Rashida Jolley, Adrian Duke, and Unified Jazz Ensemble
The festival has been moved to Labor Day weekend and will be held on Saturday August 31st. The taps open at 12:00 pm with craft beer offered by Mad Fox Brewery. We’ll have fun for the kids, with face painting and beach balls and a few corn-hole boards if you feel like playing a few rounds between sets. Of course we’ll also have the artists and crafters from the Open Air Market. Something for everyone.
Free to the public, some seating available but bring a lawn chair!
Spring is singing!
April 10, 2013
The birds are chirping and the umbrellas are up- Spring has arrived on Lake Anne Plaza! The patios are open and diners are enjoying lake breezes as they eat great food and take in the ambiance that can only be found in our funky little corner of Reston.
This Saturday marks Bob Simon’s 99th birthday! Be sure to come out and join us for our Annual Founder’s Day event. The Reston Museum has put together a great Reston site hunt with great prizes to a few lucky participants.
The markets open on May 4th and this year promises to be our biggest yet! The Farmer’s Market will include a Chesapeake Bay Waterman who will be selling fresh sea food and the Craft Market has some 70 applications on hand! It’s hard to park but worth the struggle! Hope to see you all soon.
If you’re going to freeze do it for a cause!
January 24, 2013
The waters of Lake Anne is freezing up nicely in preparation for the annual Freezin for Reason Polar Plunge held Feb 2nd at 2:00 PM. So don those crazy costumes and join your friends and neighbors to assist in raising money for a super worthy cause; Camp Sunshine the beneficiary of this event sends families with seriously ill children to camp for a week of fun family time away from stress and strain and anxiety of life threatening illness.
It’s cold outside but there’s still plenty going on at Lake Anne. Drop in to any of the restaurants for a meal to ward off the chill; watch Hockey at Kalypsos’ drop in for music on Saturday night at Jasmine Café, or Open Mic on Tuesdays at Café Montmartre. Don’t be a stranger!
Cool and crisp on Lake Anne Plaza
October 14, 2012
Fall is upon us at Lake Anne Plaza. The Open Air Craft Market and a group of 8 -10 Farmers will be staying for the extended market the extended market runs from Nov 10 – Dec 8. There’s plenty of produce and baked goods, great crafts the extended market culminates on December 8th when we hold the Jingle on Lake Anne.
The restaurants and merchants are serving up some great Fall fare with Wine tastings at Lake Anne Florist, and great savory specials at Jasmine Cafe.
Cafe Montmartre is dusting things up with a little interior work, it looks like it’s going to very pretty; come in to see the new look.
Fall is almost here. Find out what’s up on Lake Anne Plaza
September 1, 2012
It’s amazing how fast the Summer has flown by. It’s been a lovely, albeit, HOT Summer on Lake Anne. The lake has been low but the flowers are blooming and the boats are still paddling– though we’d love some rain to fill our lake! There’s still lots of fun to be had. The Farmer’s & Craft Market are going strong, with a great mix of vendors. We have a few more musical guests that will be performing on Saturday in front of Reston’s Used Book Shop.
This September 22 is the Multi-Cultural Festival, a great event that includes a Naturalization Ceremony; if you’ve never seen someone become a citizen we recommend seeing this very moving event. The first Saturday of October is the Lake Anne Jazz Festival. This year we are featuring vocalist from around the region. Our headliner is Rashida Jolley- amazing jazz harpist and vocalist from Washington DC. Check our facebook page for more details on both events.
In the interim drop in and say hi to our newest merchant New Family Naturals, purveyor of a manner of healthy, organic juices in amazing flavorful combinations. You can also buy a few basic staples like eggs and butter. Welcome New Family Naturals!
