The Workhouse Arts Center announces BrewWorks, an outdoor beer, wine, and spirit tastings festival, on May 20.
In addition to sampling microbrews, wine, and spirits, participants can enjoy food and lawn games while listening to local bands throughout the day.
A variety of food trucks will be on campus for the duration of the event. During the festival, the art galleries, artist studios, gift shops, and Lucy Burns Museum will be open.
This year’s event will showcase approximately 15 local breweries, three wineries, and two-spirit distilleries. While the details are still being finalized, the anticipated participating vendors include:
- Bunnyman Brewing
- Ono Brewing Company
- Settle Down Easy Brewing Co.
- Väsen Brewing Company
- Fair Winds Brewing Company
- Mustang Sally Brewing Company
- Buskey Cider
General Admission tickets are $40; Premium Admission tickets $75. Designated Driver and Child Admission tickets are available.
The Workhouse Arts Center sits at 9518 Workhouse Way in Lorton.
Crews will be blasting near Occoquan between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Residents will hear horns blowing.
Mayor Earnie Porta says:
The construction of the tunnel under the Occoquan River will involve occasional underground blasting procedures starting this month and projected to end in September. Such blasting will consist of a single, one-second blast every other day, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. No blasting will take place on Sundays. When blasting is scheduled, there will be a temporary 30-minute closure of the pedestrian footbridge, River Mill Park, the Mill Street cul-de-sac, and the access road on the north side of the river. There will also be audible air horn signals 5 minutes and 1 minute before any blasts and an all-clear signal after. It is not expected that anyone will feel any vibrations from the blasting.
The Occoquan River Crossing project, as it’s called, is a joint effort between Fairfax Water, Prince William County Service Authority, and Virginia American Water to increase drinking water transmission capacity and enhance system reliability in eastern Prince William County.
This project will replace aging potable water transmission lines with two 42-inch mains inside a 400-foot-long tunnel to cross beneath the river. Construction should wrap up in late 2024.
Blasting will occur through September 2023.
The project is funded by the Prince William Service Authority and Virginia American Water.
Prince William County Transportation Director Rick Canizales said this team is reconsidering a plan to build a flyover at the county's "Frogger" intersection at Route 123 and Old Bridge Road near Occoquan.
"We're taking a step back and looking at other concepts," said Rick Canizales, transportation director. "We're taking a moment to make sure we're doing the right thing for the citizens, the businesses, and the travelers of this area."
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Occoquan is partnering with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network to install two water quality monitoring stations in the Occoquan River.
More in an email from Mayor Earnie Porta:
To operate, the program requires a network of volunteers who are willing to collect the scientific data from the monitoring stations on Wednesday mornings and bring the data to the PRKN’s floating lab, Sea Dog, where it is analyzed and released weekly on the SwimGuide app and PKRN’s social media pages. The more volunteers, of course, the less frequently any one individual has to collect and deliver the data.
Free training to be a Community Science Water Quality Monitor can be completed in two ways. For those who are interested in a live training session, one will be held on Wednesday, April 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at National Harbor Marina. To sign up contact Morgan Bench at [email protected]. Additionally, training may be completed by watching three training videos online and then successfully completing a Water Quality Monitoring Certification Exam. For more information on the latter go to potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/volunteer and scroll down to the section on “Community Science Water Quality Monitors.”
This is a great way to become involved in citizen science endeavors and support the health of our namesake river.
Occoquan announces their spring event is back for 2023. Peep Week in Occoquan takes place from April 4 to 8, 2023.
Peep week is an annual spring event in Occoquan that invites the community to participate in building a Peeps diorama. If you enter, you can win a $50 prize in your category, or you can vote for one made by a local Occoquan business.
A Peeps diorama is a 3D constructed scene of your choice that includes the PEEPS®marshmallow within the scene.
Creating your own diorama includes entering one of these four categories:
- Individual
- Family/Team
- Youth (ages 12-16)
- Kids (12 and under)
If interested in voting on the community-made dioramas, they will be found at 314 Mill Street, Occoquan Historic District, 22125. They will be available to vote on April 4 to 8 2023, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is rolling out a new policy that requires visitors to show a government-issued ID and have their photo taken when they visit the hospital in Woodbridge.
The new Visitor Badging System (VBS) is now in effect for all visitors entering the hospital at 2300 Opitz Boulevard.
Sentara provides medical services to those in eastern Prince William, northern Stafford, and southern Fairfax counties.
More in a press release from the medical center.
Visitors will be asked to:
• Show a photo ID at reception, such as a driver license, state-issued ID, or military ID.
• Tell receptionists at the visitor badging station their destination.
• Have a photo taken for a visitor badge, to be worn visibly at all times.Additionally, all individuals must lock firearms, knives, and other weapons in their vehicles before entering the hospital.
Sentara hospitals are seeking the balance between being welcoming and being safe. Visitor badging has been shown to reduce violence against staff and limits opportunities for theft of personal items from patients or employees.
The VBS expands a long-standing badge protocol in Family Maternity Centers, which helps ensure that everyone entering those secure units is appropriate. The broader goal is to have every person in Sentara hospitals wear a badge, including employees and providers, vendors, outpatients, and visitors.
Health care workers suffer 73 percent of all workplace violence, mostly from patients and visitors. The Visitor Badging System encourages respectful interaction between visitors with staff. Sentara leaders believe that most visitors will welcome VBS to help them enjoy a safer experience.
The first Sentara Commitment to our patients is to ‘Always keep you safe.’ This includes quality care and a safe healing environment. Visitor badging is one tool to help us keep that promise.
Sentara Healthcare is rolling out the new VBS at its 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina.
The Workhouse Arts Center announced its winter-spring performance lineup.
The eclectic offerings range from a classic, old Hollywood-style jazz singer to a family-friendly, progressive hip-hop artist. Comedy show formats include an audience participation round-table discussion and individual stand-up comedians.
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The Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association will meet virtually on Thursday, January 26, to discuss alternative designs for a proposed flyover at Prince William County's "Frogger" intersection.
Dr. Jack Kooyoomjian, with the civic association, said members are concerned about the geology of where a new "inside/outside" flyover would be built on the cliffs of the Occoquan River.
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As some of you are no doubt aware, after 20 years in the Town of Occoquan, Mom's Apple Pie is closing this weekend.
