This week in Ashburn: a wine-and-food festival out in Purcellville, a stacked New Orleans night at Wolf Trap, free concerts close to home, and one power-line vote with a hard July 20 deadline.
The 5-second plan
Best with kids — all weekend: beat the heat at
Volcano Island waterpark, Algonkian.
Best daily habit: today's Ashburn puzzle (below).
🧠 Before you go — today’s Ashburn puzzle. Two minutes, keep your streak. Play →
Editor's Pick
The Purcellville Wine & Food Festival is back — Sat 7/18. Its 13th year runs 2–8 p.m. at Fireman's Field in Purcellville: area wineries and breweries, local food vendors, and live sets from the Rick Reeves Band and the Franklin Park Big Band. It's $5 in advance, $12 at the gate (drink tickets sold separately). About a 30-minute drive west — make an afternoon of it and stop at a farm stand on the way home.
This Weekend
Our best bets. The full slate's down in Extra Credit.
The New Orleans party — Sat 7/18: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Mavis Staples and The War & Treaty, 7 p.m. at
Wolf Trap, Vienna. The biggest bill of the weekend if you're up for the drive (~40 min).
Best indie-funk night — Sat 7/18: Magic City Hippies with Doc Robinson at
Tally Ho, Leesburg — doors 7 p.m., about 20 minutes out.
The only pro home game — Sat 7/18: Loudoun United FC hosts Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. at
Segra Field (Nats, Spirit and DC United are all away). Budget-friendly pro soccer close to home.
Best Sunday wander — Sun 7/19: Locally Sourced Sip & Shop at
Stone Tower, Leesburg — a local makers' market with wine by the glass and no entry fee.
Easiest Friday out — Fri 7/17: free live music (California Bob) 6–9 p.m. at
Solace Brewing, Sterling — and Solace circles back Sunday with music bingo and tabletop D&D (2–3:30 p.m.).
Family
If you've got little kids, Thursday morning is the easy yes.
The easy yes — Thu 7/16: Lemonade Stand LIVE with Mr. Rob & Band, 10:30 a.m. at
Bles Park, Ashburn — free; register ahead for lemonade and the first 100 kids get a bucket hat.
Saturday morning — Sat 7/18: the Unicycle Lady brings comedy, juggling and unicycling to
Reston Town Square Park — free, outdoors, all ages.
Sunday send-off — Sun 7/19: Sunday Art in the Park: Bone Voyage, a free open-air evening performance in
Reston.
Monday reset — Mon 7/20: Rocknoceros on the plaza at
One Loudoun — the band that gets the whole plaza dancing (Mondays through Aug 31).
What Actually Matters
The one to act on: the power-line vote has a hard July 20 deadline.
Most important deadline — by July 20: the Golden-to-Mars power line. After the state approved Route 3A, the county has
pressed the School Board to act on the easement by July 20 — the call that sets which neighborhoods the towers cross. If you live near that corridor, this is the one to watch.
Register to vote — by Fri 7/24: want a say in the Aug 4 primary? July 24 at 5 p.m. is the hard cutoff to register or update your address;
early in-person voting is already open in Leesburg.
Registration Radar
Fall sports sign up over the summer — the deadlines worth putting on the fridge.
Dulles Youth Basketball (grades K–5): open now — $200 through July, $225 in August, then $250 after
Sept 1, so earlier is cheaper; Oct evaluations required.
Register here.
PRCS Fall Activity Guide: posts online mid-July — fall youth-sports windows open through
PRCS Connect.
Loudoun South Little League — fall ball: registration open, T-Ball through Juniors (
lsll.org); season runs late Aug–Oct.
Save the Date
The county fair turns 90 — Tue 7/21–Sat 7/25: carnival rides, livestock, the Pig Scramble and Cow Pie Bingo at the
Loudoun County Fair, Leesburg. Ninety years in, it's still the closest thing we've got to a hometown week.
Ashburn Village Kids Triathlon — Sat 8/8: swim-bike-run for ages 6–15 at the Lakes Rec Center right here in the Village; $55 residents / $60 non-residents. Registration's open now and these fill up —
sign up here.
Peach Fuzztival — Aug 1–2: peach pie, slushies and ice cream plus local vineyard and brewery partners at
Great Country Farms, Bluemont.
Loudoun Wildlife Butterfly Count — early August: the annual community count is open for sign-ups now, beginners paired with experienced counters. (The Willowsford butterfly walk is already full, but the
countywide count is the real thing to join.)
🎒 Extra Credit
Everything else worth a look this week — grab what you like.
More live music: Alison Krauss & Union Station, the 27-time Grammy winner, plays the
Wolf Trap Filene Center
Thu 7/16 and Fri 7/17 — the Thursday night is sold out, so aim for Friday · Comedy Night from DC Improv at
Tally Ho, Leesburg (Fri, doors 6:30) · Given To Fly, a Pearl Jam tribute, at
Capital One Hall, Tysons (Sat).
More food & markets: the
EatLoco farmers market at Ashbrook runs Saturday 9 a.m.–1 p.m., year-round and close to home.
For the pets: Loudoun's Animal Services runs a walk-in low-cost vaccine clinic in Leesburg
Thu 7/16 and Thu 7/30, 9–11 a.m. — rabies, DHPP and FVRCP shots are $10 each and microchips are free for county residents, no appointment needed (
details). About 20 minutes out and a genuinely good deal.
Live life, together.
Today’s puzzle is waiting 🔥
Two quick local word games — W&OD and The Interchange. A couple of minutes a day, a streak to protect, and a neighborhood leaderboard. Play today’s game →
Which of these are you actually going to?
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