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McLean/Great Falls Notes, 3/27/24 roundup

News of community interest from around McLean and Great Falls
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FIELD IS SET FOR McLEAN COMMUNITY CENTER GOVERNING BOARD RACE: Fifteen local residents – 10 adults and five high-school students – have qualified for the McLean Community Center Governing Board election, to be conducted as part of McLean Day festivities May 17-18.

Four adult positions and two youth positions are open this year.

The adult candidates who receive the three-highest vote counts will serve three-year terms; the adult candidate who receives the fourth-highest vote count will serve out the remaining year of an expired term.

Youth candidates, one from the McLean High School boundary area and one from the Langley High School boundary area, will serve one-year terms. (Youth candidates do not have to attend these schools to serve on the board, but must live within the boundary area.)

Formally appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Governing Board members provide oversight of the McLean Community Center, Alden Theatre and Old Firehouse Center. 

Only residents of Dranesville Small District 1A are eligible to vote during the election. Residents can vote absentee from Wednesday, March 27 through Monday, May 13. In-person voting for will be conducted in the voting tent from 4 to 8 p.m. at T.G.I.F. Carnival Rides on Friday, May 17, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on McLean Day, Saturday, May 18, both at Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road.

Write-in candidates are allowed. Write-in candidates must receive votes from at least 10 residents of the Center’s tax district in order to have their votes counted. 

 Below are statements from the candidates as provided by the McLean Community Center.

For full information on the election, see the Website at www.mcleancenter.org. For candidate biographies, see the GazetteLeader Website at bit.ly/3TybziG.

McLEAN PROJECT FOR ARTS TO OPEN SOLO EXHIBITIONS: McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) will open its 2024 Spring Solo Exhibitions on Thursday, April 11, with the shows running through June 15.

Exhibitions include “Toys in the Hands of History: Paintings by Osvaldo Mesa,” “Return to the Library of L.E. Grothaus: Altered Books by Laura Grothaus” and “Inner Gardens: Works by Abol Bahadori.” An opening reception will be held on April 11 from 7 to 9 p.m.

“We are pleased to offer these three outstanding artists – elected from our recent open call for proposals – solo exhibitions at MPA,” said curator and artistic director Nancy Sausser. “Solo exhibitions are hard to come by, and MPA is happy to be able to offer artists this important opportunity to show a significant body of their work, particularly in light of how many exhibitions were canceled during the pandemic.”

In addition to the April 13 opening reception, an artist talk is scheduled for Saturday, May 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. and a Tea & Talk with Sausser is planned for June 4.

The exhibitions are partly funded by ArtsFairfax. For information, see the Website at www.mpaart.org.

GREAT FALLS SENIOR CENTER TO FOCUS ON ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY: The Great Falls Senior Center will present a program on the unknown stories of those interred at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, April 16 at 11 a.m. at River Bend Country Club.

“There is a story behind each headstone at Arlington National Cemetery,” organizers said. “Unknown personalities to most people, this presentation will tell the amazing stories, often pivotal to key events, of just a few of them.”

Blane Ampthor will deliver the presentation.

The cost is a $15 donation for lunch, with registration required by April 11, and attendees are asked to bring a donation of coffee (instant or ground), dried mashed potatoes, baby wipes or canned meat (except tuna) for donation to Cornerstones.

To register, e-mail Mary Jo Fox at [email protected] or see the Website at gfseniors.org.