Public schools 

Manassas City Hall doubles as public art gallery  

The Hall at City Hall is open with an inaugural exhibit by the p-ART-ners, a professional network of Manassas area artists. What is The Hall at City Hall? It is the new place for local artists to display their work. When Councilman Ian Lovejoy talked to City Manager W. Patrick Pate about replacing the 1980’s artwork in City Hall at low or no cost, an idea was born.

In 2009 the City Council created an Arts and Tourism District in the Historic Downtown area of the city. With City Hall being right in the middle of the district, why not bring public art inside City Hall? Staff was tasked with learning about gallery space and making the area ready for artist displays.

Local artist Michele Frantz, Center for the Arts Gallery Director Anna Mish, and Osbourn High School Art Teacher Sarah Weaver were consulted to help with preparations for the opening. A picture railing already existed in the first floor hallway, so very little was needed to turn the hallway into The Hall.

P-ART-ners volunteered to be the first group to display their art in The Hall. The exhibit features an eclectic mix of vibrant scenery, Civil War portraits, and historic sites from more than 10 different artists. There is something for almost any taste. The exhibit runs from Feb. 13 through March 13. Exhibits will rotate in and out of The Hall and will include different forms of visual art.   Visiting The Hall is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and later when evening meetings are held in the building.

“It is our hope that this new gallery space will be a great place for the public to visit,” said City Manager W. Patrick Pate. “Maybe it will inspire artists of the future.”

The preceding post was written by the City of Manassas under a marketing agreement with Potomac Local. Read More

In order to help keep the local Boys & Girls Clubs’ programs running, Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is reaching out to the community with the Prince William County Annual Giving Campaign to raise $50,000.

“What we’re trying to do is make up a $50,000 shortfall, to make sure that the clubs can keep all of the programs for the Manassas, Dale City and Dumfries Boys & Girls Clubs,” said ST Billingsley, owner of Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire and a Board Member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Prince William County.

By aiding the clubs to raise the money, they will be able to continue to offer their wide range of activities, particularly their athletics programs, Billingsley said.

At the Prince William County Boys & Girls Club’s locations, they offer basketball, volleyball, flag football, tackle football, soccer, baseball, wrestling, karate, fencing, cheerleading, and dance.

For Billingsley, supporting programs like these are crucial for the enrichment of the community and its children.

“I know that growing up, in the military, we had programs like this on base, and when I found out that this was the type of program for the kids in our area – for what it lets them do, and the opportunities that they have, and that it’s a safe place for them to go – I knew that it was the right kind of organization to support,” Billingsley commented.

In addition to the giving campaign, Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire has done outreach work for the clubs. They also regularly perform repairs and maintenance on the vans that the clubs use to transport children from their school and to club-related activities.

To raise funds for the campaign, Billingsley stated that individuals can donate on the Crowdrise website and that every bit helps towards reaching their $50,000 goal.

There’s even a bit of friendly competition amongst the Club Board Members to see who can raise the most funds to help benefit the clubs.

The preceding post was written by Potomac Local under a marketing agreement with Steve’s Auto Repair.

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More new shops, restaurants opening in Historic Downtown Manassas

The City of Manassas and its downtown development partner, Historic Manassas Inc., have been gradually moving away from referring to Old Town in favor of the moniker Historic Downtown Manassas. This helps to avoid being confused with that other “Old Town” in Northern Virginia.

But in this case, the title seems to resonate because the City is welcoming a host of new businesses to its historic district.

Over the past 12 months more than 16 new businesses have opened or announced their intent to relocate into the Virginia Main Street Community. As 2014 drew to a close, the City had already welcomed new retail outlet Records and Rarities; professional office users Caitlan Jordan, Attorney at Law, and SCS Integrated Support Services; personal services provider the Man Cave; and restaurants the Bone and Zandra’s.

In January a regional favorite, Malone’s, expanded to offer consumers a more casual dining and bar area on the second floor to complement the fine dining experience locals and visitors have grown to love.

Beginning late last year, a series of announced closures by long-time business owners in the Historic Downtown Manassas left development officials scrambling to identify new business prospects. They need not have worried as the City proved both its resiliency and attractiveness to entrepreneurs who are rushing in to fill the spaces being vacated. 

“What really happened was a generational opportunity for a new wave of small business owners to realize their dreams of opening or relocating their businesses in our Downtown. In many instances these spaces are some of the most attractive and high profile storefronts available,” City Manager Pat Pate told the Old Town Business Association.

A number of business owners obviously agree. Historic Downtown Manassas has recently announced that new business openings are pending by retail operators Scatter Seeds, a purveyor Fair Trade goods and local artisan products, Amy’s Bridal (formerly of Woodbridge), Manassas Olive Oil and Totally Vintage Design (formerly of Haymarket); raw bar and restaurant CJ Finz and ice cream parlor Jitterbug will join the crowd as will CutRate Barbershop and the NEW School.

In addition, and proving that Manassas is becoming a living destination of choice in addition to a retail and dining mecca, two new urban style apartment projects have been approved which will bring almost 200 new studio, one and two-bedroom luxury units into the Historic Downtown.

Economic Development Director Patrick Small and Historic Manassas Inc. Executive Director Debbie Haight say there are still a few opportunities left for new businesses that may have missed the initial rush to open. One of these, the site of the former Opera House Gourmet, is possibly the most desirable retail location in the City.

Located diagonally across Center Street from Harris Pavilion, it is the most prominent and highly visible storefront as people enter Downtown. Small and Haight say this and the few remaining retail spaces still on the market won’t be vacant long. In fact, several confidential business announcements are pending.

The preceding post was written by the City of Manassas under a marketing agreement with Potomac Local.

Rotary Day is typically a fun, informal event to introduce the community to Rotary and their local beneficiaries.

Rotary Day is not just for a club or district. There are National Rotary Days in many countries and even an International Rotary Day at the United Nations. The Rotary Day events convey the Rotary’s relevance and highlight the good work and involvement.

The theme for Rotary International, this year is “Light Up Rotary” so there is increased effort this year to illuminate the great things that Rotarians facilitate. This year is also the 25th Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Manassas Bull Run, so there is extra pride in this year’s Bull Run Rotary Day.

This year’s Bull Run Rotary Day will be on Feb. 21 at the elegant Hylton Performing Arts Center and is called “Love and Laughs.” It is on the eve of Rotary International’s 110th Anniversary and just a week after Valentine’s Day for those couples that couldn’t make a date night. The evening entertainment will feature DC’s Capitol Steps.

Purchase your tickets online.

An architectural firm relies on graphics. When they can’t access them, that can be a problem.

Alexis Peck is the Vice President of Design at Peck Peck & Associates, an architectural firm located in Woodbridge, Virginia that has been in business for 42 years.

Peck also heads the marketing and IT department and is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Peck Peck and Associates needed Jewell Technical Consulting, Inc. (JTC, Inc.) to assist them with the recovery of data, lost from corrupted hard drives.

Peck explained in detail the entire process.

“We had a couple of backup hard drives for some graphics of ours from archive projects and one day when we tried to access the backups, all of the actual hard drives had been corrupted,” said Alexis Peck. “I’ll note that it was not equipment that we bought through JTC, it was something we bought years and years before they came on board and so we contacted them to see if they could help us recover the data….”

JTC, Inc. was unable to solve the problem in-house and reached out to another company for extra assistance.

“…Through JTC we worked with another company and sent the hard drive out and they were able to recover some of it (not all)…” said Peck. “It wasn’t any client information or anything like that, it wasn’t anything critical to our operations, it was just something we wanted to keep for nostalgic reasons.”

Though the other company was located out of state, Peck said overall experience was very easy.

“We did everything through JTC so they came, picked up the hard drives from us. We paid everything through them, they took care of everything.”

Peck also noted that without JTC, Inc.’s network, they would not have known what company to contact.

Peck Peck and Associates have worked with JTC, Inc. for over four years and originally chose JTC, Inc. for two reasons:

1. JTC, Inc. had been recommended by the previous company Peck Peck and Associates employed for their IT services

2. JTC, Inc. offered the best agreement to their firm.

JTC is a Microsoft Certified Partner and a Dell Authorized Partner and utilizes Microsoft and Dell technology.

The preceding post was written by Potomac Local under an agreement with Jewell Technical Consulting.

The Capitol Steps are coming to the Hylton Performing Arts Center, and proceeds from the show will go to help Calling All Souls, a group that provides a helping hand in our community. 

Anyone living knows that life is not easy. It becomes harder when we lose our jobs, have to escape an abusive situation, and have to take care of a loved one. The mission of Calling All Souls (CAS) is to provide relief and restoration for families and individuals who are in the midst of life’s overwhelming situations.

They do this by providing goods and services donated by our community and delivered by our volunteers. These acts-of-love are anchored in the messages of Jesus Christ and by bringing both, we want to bring Hope where there may be none. And also show those whom we support that by Faith and with Love we can all overcome adversity. Our vision is driven by God’s word and founded in the verse “Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.” – Hebrews 13:16”.

The goal

By selling out the 1,200 seats at the Hylton Center, we will raise $50,000. All proceeds raised will go directly to organizations that are on the front lines helping care for, encourage, lift spirits, give hope and opportunity to our struggling neighbors.

These organizations are the unsung heroes in our community whose compassion makes our community a place to be proud of. They cannot do it alone!

Order tickets online from the Hylton Performing Arts Center or call 1-888-945-2468. If you or your business would like to sponsor the event, please contact Steve Chapman, [email protected] by February 10.

Manassas Mayor Parrish highlights the City’s many successes in 2014

Recently, Mayor Harry J. Parrish II delivered the State of the City of Manassas address.  The address was delivered in a video message to city residents. In his address, Mayor Parrish welcomed new businesses to the city, like El Cactus, Don Lencho, The Bone, Fire House Subs, Zandras and the Olde Town Man Cave. He also spoke about expanding businesses including Heritage Brewing, Bad Wolf Brewing, Fauquier Bank and a few others. 

Mayor Parrish spoke about the many family friendly events held in the city, Manassas City Public Schools and the summer camps held by the Fire and Rescue and Police Departments for Osbourn High School Students. He talked about the citizens group who asked that City Hall be named in honor of Mayor Marvin Gillum and how their civic involvement and community spirit led not only to raise funds for the signs, but funds for the upkeep of those signs as well. 

Mayor Parrish talked about the City of Manassas’ first Citizen Satisfaction Survey held in 2014. The survey set a baseline for future surveys and will help determine priorities in coming years. This survey is available at www.manassascity.org/css. One of the findings of the survey was that city staff ranks 20 percentage points higher than the national benchmark in customer service.

Mayor Parrish also spoke about economic development for the City of Manassas including the hiring of a new Economic Development Director and a greater focus on business attraction, retention and expansion. In closing, Mayor Parrish said, “For those who appreciate independence and access, the historic City of Manassas enjoys a strategic location in Northern Virginia where Old Town charm combines with a new city spirit so you experience a sense of place, a sense of community and a sense of opportunity.  To watch the State of the City in its entirety, visit www.manassascity.org.

The preceding post was written by the City of Manassas.