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Things to do in Loudoun County, VA This Weekend Nov 16th-19th

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend in or near Loudoun County, look no further! You’ve found the right place!

Whether you are looking for a winery/brewery visit, a night out for some live music or perhaps a fun class or something to keep the kids busy near you in Loudoun, you will find it here.

Disclaimer: Look at Loudoun is not affiliated with any of these events. For accurate info on like start times, or locations, weather cancellations, etc., please contact the organizer.

Loudoun County, VA Events

After a week filled of work, I certainly enjoy a break by getting out and about in the area. I find it relaxing and enjoyable. Do you feel the same way?

If so, why not take advantage of the bountiful activities our County and surrounding area has to offer? I’ve picked a variety of events for the you all to enjoy. I also welcome suggestions if you are looking for different types of events not listed!

Let’s take a look at the events coming up!

Thursday, November 16, 2023

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at Sterling Playmakers

Harvest Gap Brewery Trivia at 5:30pm

Friday, November 17th, 2023

Jack Assadourian Jr @ the Bourban Bayou Kitchen – Ashburn

Lanco at Tally Ho Theater – Leesburg

Live Music by Elijah Myers at Flying Ace Farm – Lovettsville

Paint Pet Portraits at Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park from 2-3pm

Turkey Time Campfire at Claude Moore Park

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Freeze Your Gizzard 5k Cross Country Race and 1 Mile Fun Run – Leesburg

Carved Holiday / Winter Tree Trio at the Clay and Metal Loft

Cigar Lounge Evening at 868 Estate Vineyards – Purcellville 5pm – 8pm

English Tea – Home for the Holidays Tea and Open House

Soul of America – A Tribute to the Legendary Ladies of Soul – Franklin Park

Hops and Harvest Fest at City Tap 11am – 4pm

Intro to Disc Golf 1pm at Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park

Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra Fall Concert

Ornament Pour Paint Party at Firefly Cellars – Paint your Ornaments through the Pour method!

Sunday, November 19th

The Nutcracker Tea – Loudoun Ballet Performing Arts Co

Thanksgiving Wine and Pie Pairings at Firefly Cellars

If you have events you’d like to see listed or need me to search for, leave a comment and I will try to find out where and when it might be! Enjoy and happy weekend!

Eating Out for Thanksgiving 2023?

Local

Thanksgiving is coming upon us faster than we think. If you are not planning on cooking this year, here are a few alternatives!

Clydes of Willow Creek in the Broadlands Community in Ashburn is having their traditional Thanksgiving dinner. For more information, check out this link: Willow Creek Farm | Hours + Location | Clyde’s | American Bars & Restaurants in the US (clydes.com)

Also in Ashburn, Coopers Hawk is offering two ways to enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner. Dine in options – view menu here. Or they are offering a Thanksgiving meal kit. Check out the menu for take home here. Both look scrumptious and offer you a lot less work than having to cook the full Thanksgiving dinner at home.

Close by in Lansdowne, the Lansdowne Resort is offering a buffet from 10am – 2pm. See the full menu here.

Eddie Merlots has a classic Turkey dinner with all the fixings for $49 a person and $24 for children. Eddie Merlots Thanksgiving Dinner

If you want to drive east, the McLean area has 3 great Thanksgiving restaurants to try: Flemings Steakhouse, The Founding Farmers in Tysons, and lastly J Gilberts.

For those of you who want to pick up your dinner, there are many options as well such as your closest Cracker Barrel, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter or Magnolia’s in Purcellville.

Whatever you choose, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and laughter. Stay safe!

Honoring Our Veterans

Local

Today, we come together to express our gratitude and appreciation for the incredible sacrifices made by our Veterans. It is a day to reflect on all that the Veterans have done to safeguard our liberties.

Remember our Vets and thank you to all those who have served.

Things to do in Loudoun County for Nov 9th-12, 2023

Events, Local

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend in or near Loudoun County, look no further! You’ve found the right place!

Whether you are looking for a winery/brewery visit, a night out for some live music or perhaps a fun class or something to keep the kids busy near you in Loudoun, you will find it here.

Disclaimer: Look at Loudoun is not affiliated with any of these events. For accurate info on like start times, or locations, weather cancellations, etc., please contact the organizer.

Loudoun County, VA Events

After a week filled of work, I certainly enjoy a break by getting out and about in the area. I find it relaxing and enjoyable. Do you feel the same way?

Let’s take a look at the events coming up!

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Horseshoe Curve Restaurant – Live music with Dylan Woelfel

Bingo at Harvest Gap Brewery 5:30-7:30pm

Connect Social Mixer + Networking Event for Female Entrepreneurs at AWL Creative 6:30pm

Friday, November 10, 2023

Chili Weekend at Dirt Farm Brewing

Pilates and Pints at Solace Brewing Company

Who remembers The English Beat? They are playing at the State Theatre in Falls Church at 8:30pm! Advanced tickets required!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday Events, November 10-12, 2023

30th Annual Northern Virginia Christmas Market at the Dulles Expo Center – features 225 fine artisans from more than 30+ states.

Lucketts Holiday Open House 10am-3pm

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at Seneca Ridge Middle at 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Celebrate Veterans at Lovettsville Community Park 9:30am-4pm

Another Fine Mess Playing at Spanky’s Shenanigans

Foraging Hike at the Salamander Resort, Middleburg, VA. Learn how to forage for wild edibles

Broad Run High School Band Holiday Market at Saturday at 10am

Berryville Turkey Trot 5k & 1 Mile Kids Fun Run at Saturday at 9am

Saturday and Sunday, November 10-11, 2023

Catoctin Holiday Art Tour

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Nature Sketching/Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve – Requires Early Registration 24 hours in advance

Mark Cullinane at Dirt Farm Brewing / Sunday at 1pm

St Francis de Sales Catholic Church Blood Drive – 7am – 11:30am

Whatever you choose to do this weekend, I hope you have a great time! Feel free to leave a comment on what you did over the weekend, or if you have events you would like to see more of!

Safe Neighborhoods in Loudoun County: Online Crime Statistics

Buying, Local

One of the most common questions realtors face when they are working with buyers is about safety concerns regarding the neighborhoods being looked at. Where is that information found? There are several sources such as the local papers, homeowners associations, etc…but probably the best source is from the Loudoun County website.

Loudoun county utilizes a website for daily crime reports which is located at https://www.loudoun.gov/4727/Daily-Incident-Report. Here you can look at the towns to see where incidents have occurred and what type of incidents. The archive will allow you to look at reports in the past as well.

In addition to the daily crime reports, you may find viewing trends helpful. This information is found at the LCSO Significant Incident Report link.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Dept Facebook page posts the latest incidents or traffic alerts plus other timely information. If you are on social media alot, this may be a good place to keep up to date with the happenings on Facebook.

Not directly related to crime incidents but something that could be of interest to you, is to receive the latest alerts from Loudoun County. The alerts you can receive include emergency information, news releases, traffic information, weather alerts, election information and more. To sign up, vist www.loudoun.gov/alert.

When you are out looking at homes and start to question the safety of the neighborhood, please don’t be shocked if your real estate agent can’t give you that kind of information. It’s not that we don’t want to give it to you. We do… and we definitely want you to feel safe in your new home and out of harms way. But we have some ethics and laws that prevent us from steering our clients either to or from neighborhoods.

As a real estate agent, we have to abide by these regulations. While I can’t tell you whether or not the home you love is in a safe neighborhood, I can and will tell you that whatever home you are looking at, please check the crime reports for that neighborhood and town.

Also, if the concern comes up, I advise my clients to observe the area as they drive through. Check out the general vibe of the neighborhood and see how they feel. Oftentimes, you can learn a lot just by driving through the streets or business areas nearby.

If you have any questions about Loudoun County, please reach out or leave a comment below!

The Magical Ginkgo Grove at Blandy Experimental Farm

Dog, dogs, Local

Strolling through the Ginkgo Grove within the Blandy Experimental Farm is kind of magical and is definitely worth a visit in the fall.

The Grove is one of the largest collections of Ginkgo trees outside of their native home in China.

The Ginkgo tree has been described as a living fossil because they supposedly witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs across Asia, Europe and North America. The species of trees declined in population years ago for reasons that scientists are still researching. Currently, the Ginkgo biloba is the sold surviving species.

The Ginkgo Tree in Blandy exists due to a scientific experiment back in the 1930’s and 40’s. The experiment was started to determine what proportion of trees would develop into a male vs female tree. The trees did not reach maturity for 20 years and the numbers that were tallied up in the 1980s were 157 female trees and 144 male trees. A roughly even number of female to male population.

History aside, the grove is a completely magical place to visit in the fall. There are 300 trees on approximately 3 acres. I’ve made it an annual visit to take pictures of my dogs.

Blandy Experimental Farm has a webpage devoted solely to the leaf watch. Check out https://blandy.virginia.edu for daily updates on what the leaves look like.

I have found that going when the leaves either start falling or have already fallen is a really cool experience. The leaves are very soft and make the ground look like a yellow carpet. Here are some photos of my dogs over the years which demonstrates the ground covered in a sea of yellow.

Breeze and Meg – Gingko Grove
Breeze at the Gingko Grove, Boyce, VA
Maddie – Gingko Grove

In addition to the Ginkgo Grove, the Blandy Experimental Farm has some fantastic walking trails and is a lovely place to visit. If you missed this year, make sure to put this beautiful place on your list of fall experiences.